Shri Madhavnath Maharaj (1857–1936) was a Hindu saint, of Karvi, Chitrakoot,

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

, who continued the

Nath Sampradaya Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.Navnath The Navanath (हिंदी - नवनाथ), also spelt as Navnatha in vernacular languages, are the nine saints, Masters or Naths on whom the Navnath Sampradaya, the lineage of the nine gurus, is based.

s in India.

Birth and early life

Yogabhyanand Shri Madhavnath Maharaj was born on Shak 1779

Chaitra Chaitra (Hindi: चैत्र) is a month of the Hindu calendar. In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Cho ...

Shukla Pratipada, i.e. Thursday 26 March 1857 in Deshastha Brahmin family of Shrimati Mathurabai and Shri Malhardada Ratnaparkhi (

Kulkarni Kulkarni is a family name native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. The name "Kulkarni" is a combination of two words (''kula'' and ''karni''). ''Kula'' means "family", and ''Karanika'' means "archivist". Historically, Kulkarni was the title g ...

) in Paangari, a village in

Sinnar Sinnar (Pronunciation: inːəɾ is a city and a municipal council in Sinnar taluka of Nashik district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Sinnar is the fourth largest city in Nashik district after Nashik, Malegaon and Manmad. History Tradi ...

Taluka, District

Nashik Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nashik ...

Siddhi

Shri Madhavnath Maharaj attained

spiritual enlightenment Used in a religious sense, enlightenment translates several Glossary of Buddhism, Buddhist terms and concepts, most notably ''bodhi'', ''kensho,'' and ''satori''. Related terms from Asian religions are ''kaivalya'' and ''moksha'' (liberation) in ...

in the Balaji temple which contains the samadhi of Shri. Guptanath. After that, Shri Madhavnath Maharaj when thirteen years old went on a journey which would take him to Badri-Kedar,

Rameshwaram Rameswaram (; also transliterated as Ramesvaram, Rameshwaram) is a municipality in the Ramanathapuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel and is about 40 kilo ...

, the twelve

jyotirlinga A Jyotirlinga () or Jyotirlingam, is a devotional representation of the Hindu god Shiva. The word is a Sanskrit compound of ('radiance') and ('sign'). The Śiva Mahāpurāṇam (also ''Shiva Purana'') mentions 64 original ''jyotirlinga'' s ...

s and the

samadhi ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...

sthaan of the Nava Natha's (nine masters). He followed a solitary strict penance for another six years in the Himalayas and attained yogasiddhi. Shri Madhavnath Maharaj then went to Kashi, Trimbakeshwar, Nasik, Jalgaon, Manala, Amarkantak, Indore, Ujjain, Gwalior, Khaandwa, Chaalisgaon, Saptashrungi, and many other places where he blessed people and helped them lead a spiritual life. As a result, a vast shishya parampara was established which continues to grow to this day.

Work and social influence

Shri Madhavnath Maharaj spread the importance of

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

and Naamasmaran throughout India. He blessed his followers to build the lakshmi-venkatesh temple at Rangaari, Devgaon in

Aurangabad Aurangabad ( is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a hilly upland terrain in the Deccan Traps, Aurangabad is th ...

district. Shreenath temple was then built at Thorgavhaan in

Jalgaon Jalgaon () is a city in Maharashtra, India. The city is located in North Maharashtra, and serves as the administrative headquarters of its namesake district, the Jalgaon district. Jalgaon is colloquially known as the “''Banana City of India ...

. With the help of Lakhsmibai halwai Shri Madhavnath Maharaj built the famous Dgadusheth Halwai Datta Mandir in Budhwaar Peth,

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

. Several temples were built in

Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is t ...

, Trimbakeshwar in

Akola Akola () is a municipal corporation and the third largest city in Vidarbha after Nagpur and Amravati and tenth largest city in Maharashtra. is located about east of the state capital, Mumbai, and west of the second capital, Nagpur. Akola ...

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...

Wardha Wardha is a city and a municipal council in Wardha district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Wardha district. Wardha gets its name from the Wardha River which flows at the north, west and south bounda ...

, Hinganghat, Dhaar, Shiraale, Nandgaon, Kashi and other places which helped people attain the spiritual path.Vaavde B.Y., E: ''Shree Madhavnath Sanjeevani'', Shreenath Mandir Vishwast Mandal, 1922.

References

*''Nathasampradaya, uday va vistaar'' - Dr. Prahlad Narhar Joshi *''Shri Madhavnath Sanjeevani'' - B. Y. Vaavde, Shreenath Mandir Vishwast Mandal *''Shrinath Deep Prakash'' - Nathsoot ( Ramchandra Kulkarni ) *''Shri Madhavnath Charit Navneet'' - Vishwanath Shankar Mahashabde *''Shrinath Geetanjali'' - Nathsoot (Ramchandra Kulkarni )

External links

* Shree Nath Mandir Indore: http://www.nathmandirindore.org * Shree Nath Mandir Nagpur: http://www.nathmandirnagpur.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Maharaj, Shri Madhavnath 1857 births 1936 deaths People from Nashik district People from Madhya Pradesh People from Nagpur district 19th-century Hindu religious leaders 20th-century Hindu religious leaders