Bhaktavijaya

Last updated April 21, 2019

Maha Bhakta vijaya is a Marathi text by Mahipati around 1762 that extols the deeds of the saint-poets of the Varkari sect of Hinduism. It has been translated into various languages in India and is widely read. It forms an important part of the prayer for devotees of Vithoba at Pandharpur. An English translation was published under the provisions of the will of Justin E. Abbott in 1933.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken predominantly by around 83 million Marathi people of Maharashtra, India. It is the official language and co-official language in the Maharashtra and Goa states of Western India, respectively, and is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. At 83 million speakers in 2011, Marathi ranks 19th in the list of most spoken languages in the world. Marathi has the third largest number of native speakers in India, after Hindi & Bengali. The language has some of the oldest literature of all modern Indian languages, dating back to around 900 AD. The major dialects of Marathi are Standard Marathi and the Varhadi dialect. Koli and Malvani Konkani have been heavily influenced by Marathi varieties.

Mahipati was a Marathi language hagiographer who wrote biographies of prominent Hindu Vaishnava sants who had lived between the 13th and the 17th centuries in Maharashtra, India.

Varkari or Warkari is a sampradaya within the bhakti spiritual tradition of Vaishnavite Hinduism, geographically associated with the Indian state of Maharashtra. Varkaris worship Vitthal, the presiding deity of Pandharpur, regarded as a form of Krishna. Saints and gurus of the bhakti movement associated with the Varkaris include Jñāneśvar, Namdev, Chokhamela, Eknath, and Tukaram, Gadge Maharaj all of whom are accorded the title of Sant.

It gives a short biographic account of the various devotees from India:

Namdev, also transliterated as Nam Dayv, Namdeo, Namadeva, was an Indian poet and saint from Maharashtra, India who is significant to the Varkari sect of Hinduism. Bhagat Namdev's writings were also recognized by the "Gurus" of Sikhism and are included in the holy book of Sikhism, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Namdev worship lord Vitthal that is one of the name of lord Vishnu. Also other Hindu warrior-ascetic traditions such as the Dadupanthis and the Niranjani Sampraday that emerged in north India during the Islamic rule.

Tukaram, also referred to as Sant Tukaram, Bhakta Tukaram, Tukaram Maharaj, Tukoba and Tukobaraya, was a 17th-century Hindu poet and sant of the Bhakti movement in Maharashtra, India. He was part of the egalitarian, personalized Varkari devotionalism tradition. Tukaram is best known for his devotional poetry called Abhanga and community-oriented worship with spiritual songs known as kirtans. His poetry was devoted to Vitthala or Vithoba, an avatar of Hindu god Vishnu.

Yogini Meera, also known as Meera Bai or Mirabai (1498-1546) was a Hindu mystic poet of the Bhakti movement. She referred to the Lord, whom she saw as her husband, with different names like Satguru, Prabhu Ji, Girdhar Nagar, Krishna. She even called him the husband of her soul. Due to her mother, her in-laws disapproved of her public singing and dancing as she belonged to a Royal Family of Mewar and was a princess. But she had too much love for her god and sacrificed everything, even her family, for god and attained Moksha through Bhakti Yoga. She is a celebrated Bhakti saint, particularly in the North Indian Hindu tradition.

and many others.^[4]

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Kabir was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint, whose writings, according to some scholars, influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement. Kabir's verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib. His most famous writings include his dohas or couplets.

Bhakti literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity". In Hinduism, it refers to devotion to, and love for, a personal god or a representational god by a devotee. In ancient texts such as the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, the term simply means participation, devotion and love for any endeavor, while in the Bhagavad Gita, it connotes one of the possible paths of spirituality and towards moksha, as in bhakti marga.

The Bhakti movement refers to the theistic devotional trend that emerged in medieval Hinduism and later revolutionised in Sikhism. It originated in eighth-century south India, and spread northwards. It swept over east and north India from the 15th century onwards, reaching its zenith between the 15th and 17th century CE.

Dnyaneshwar Hindu Marathi saint poet (13th-century)

Dnyaneshwar, also referred to as Jnaneshwar, Jnanadeva, Dnyandev or Mauli (1275–1296) was a 13th-century Marathi saint, poet, philosopher and yogi of the Nath tradition. In his short life of 21 years, he authored Dnyaneshwari and Amrutanubhav. These are the oldest surviving literary works in the Marathi language, under the patronage of the Yadava dynasty of Devagiri, and these are considered to be milestones in Marathi literature. Dnyaneshwar's ideas reflect the non-dualistic Advaita Vedanta philosophy and an emphasis on Yoga and oneness of Vishnu and Shiva. His legacy inspired saint-poets such as Eknath and Tukaram, and he has been one of the foundations of the Varkari (Vithoba-Krishna) Bhakti movement tradition of Hinduism in Maharashtra.

Kirtan Musically recited story in Indian traditions, usually a "call and response" group form

Kirtan or Kirtana is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story. It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts, connoting a musical form of narration or shared recitation, particularly of spiritual or religious ideas.

Bhagavata Purana also known as Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata, is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas. Composed in Sanskrit and available in almost all major Indian languages, it promotes bhakti (devotion) to Krishna integrating themes from the Advaita (monism) philosophy and from the Dvaita (dualism) philosophy.

Vithoba Hindu god considered form of Vishnu or Krishna

Vithoba, also known as Vitthal, Vitthala and Panduranga, is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian state of Maharashtra. He is generally considered a manifestation of the god Vishnu or his avatar, Krishna. Vithoba is often depicted as a dark young boy, standing arms akimbo on a brick, sometimes accompanied by his main consort Rakhumai.

Pundalik or Pundarik is a central figure in the legends of the Hindu God Vithoba, generally considered a Vaishnava deity identified with the deities Vishnu and Krishna. He is credited to have brought Vithoba to Pandharpur, where Vithoba's central shrine stands today. Pundalik is also perceived to be the historical founder of the Varkari sect, which is centered on the worship of Lord Vithoba.

Chokhamela was a saint in Maharashtra, India in the 14th century. He belonged to the Mahar caste, considered "untouchable" in India in that era. He was born at Mehuna Raja, a village in Deulgaon Raja Taluka of Buldhana district. He lived at Mangalvedha in Maharashtra. He wrote many Abhangas. He was one of the first Dalit poets in India. Chokhamela lived with his wife Soyarabai and son Karmamela in Mangalvedha. Chokhamela's task was to guard and work in farms of uppercast people. As a lower-caste person, Chokha was forced to live outside the town in a separate settlement for members of the untouchable caste.

Visoba Khechara, spelled also as Visoba Khechar or Visoba Khecar, was the yogi-guru of the Varkari poet-saint Namdev (c.1270-1350) of Maharashtra, India. Visoba was a disciple of the Varkari poet-saint Jñāneśvar. He had linkages with the Varkari tradition as well as the Nath tradition of Maharashtra. He preached the omnipresence of God and thus denounced idol-worship. Though a staunch Shaiva, Visoba has composed verses in praise of the god Vithoba, the patron deity of the Varkari faith. He has also composed a metaphysical treatisecalled the Shatsthala.

Kanhopatra was a 15th-century Marathi saint-poet, venerated by the Varkari sect of Hinduism.

Bir Kuar or Birkuar, also known as Birnath, is a Hindu cattle-god worshipped by the herder-class of Ahirs of western Bihar in India. He is considered to be a form of god Krishna. He is worshipped in form of wooden posts that depict him standing arms-akimbo. Bir Kuar is honoured as the protector of cattle and the god who infuses fertility in cattle.

Eknath (1533–1599) was a prominent Marathi sant, scholar and religious poet of the Varkari sampradaya. In the development of Marathi literature, Eknath is seen as a bridge between his predecessors—Dnyaneshwar and Namdev—and the later Tukaram and Ramdas.

Bhanudas (1448–1513) was a Hindu sant who brought back the sacred image of the god Vithoba back from Vijayanagara to Pandharpur, its original location. He was Eknath’s great grandfather. As a boy he worshipped the Sun but later came to worship Vithoba. He is the subject of two chapters in the Bhaktavijaya. His Samadhi situated in solkhambi mandap of Vitthal temple at Pandharpur.

Sant Shiromani Narahari Sonar or Narhari Sonar is a 13th-century Hindu poet-saint of the Varkari sect and goldsmith from Maharashtra, India. His hagiography speaks about his transition from a staunch Shaiva to a Vithoba-worshipping Varkari after a miracle that makes him realize that Vithoba and Shiva are one and the same.

Mukund Lath is an Indian scholar and cultural historian, known for his writings on music, dance, aesthetics and culture of India. He was honored by the Government of India, in 2010, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.

References

Notes

Citations

↑ Abbott, Justin E. (1933). Stories of Indian Saints: An English Translation of Mahipati's BhaktiVijaya , Volume 1. Motilal Banarasidass Publishers. pp. Chapter 9, 34–45. ISBN 8120804694.
↑ Novetzke, Christian Lee (1969). Religion and Public Memory: A Cultural History of Saint Namdev in India. New York Chichester: Columbia University Press. p. 53. ISBN 978-0231-14184-0.
↑ Winand M. Callewaert; Rupert Snell (1994). According to Tradition: Hagiographical Writing in India. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 162–166. ISBN 978-3-447-03524-8.
↑ Abbott, Justin E. (1995). Stories of Indian Saints: An English Translation of Mahipati's BhaktiVijaya(Vol I an II). Motilal Banarasidass Publishers.

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[1] Abbott, Justin E. (1933). Stories of Indian Saints: An English Translation of Mahipati's BhaktiVijaya , Volume 1. Motilal Banarasidass Publishers. pp. Chapter 9, 34–45. ISBN 8120804694.

[Novetzkep53-2] Novetzke, Christian Lee (1969). Religion and Public Memory: A Cultural History of Saint Namdev in India. New York Chichester: Columbia University Press. p. 53. ISBN 978-0231-14184-0.

[CallewaertSnell1994-3] Winand M. Callewaert; Rupert Snell (1994). According to Tradition: Hagiographical Writing in India. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 162–166. ISBN 978-3-447-03524-8.

[4] Abbott, Justin E. (1995). Stories of Indian Saints: An English Translation of Mahipati's BhaktiVijaya(Vol I an II). Motilal Banarasidass Publishers.