Eknath

This article is about the 16th century CE spiritual figure. For the 20th century CE spiritual teacher, see Eknath Easwaran.

Eknath (IAST: Eka-nātha, Marathi pronunciation: [eknath]) (1533–1599),^[1] pronunciation^ⓘwas an Indian Hindu Vaishnava saint, philosopher and poet. He was a devotee of the Hindu deity Vitthal and is a major figure of the Warkari movement. Eknath is often viewed as a spiritual successor to the prominent Marathi saints Dnyaneshwar and Namdev.

Eknath
Eknath on a 2003 stamp of India
Personal life
Born	1533 Present-day Paithan Taluka, Sambhaji nagar, Maharashtra, India
Died	1599(1599-00-00) (aged 65–66)
Parents	Suryanarayan (father) Rukminibai (mother)
Honors	Sant (Saint)
Religious life
Religion	Hinduism
Philosophy	Advaita, Varkari
Religious career

Biography

Precise details of his life remain obscure. It is generally believed that Eknath lived during the latter three-quarters of the 16th-century. He was born into a Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin family of Vishwamitra gotra to Suryanarayan and Rukmini Bai at Paithan, present-day Maharashtra and was a follower of the Ashvalayana Sutra. His father probably held the title of Kulkarni and kept financial accounts. Their family deity is Ekvira Devi (or Renuka).^[1]

His parents died while Eknath was young. He was then raised by his grandfather, Chakrapani. His great-grandfather Bhanudas was another revered saint of the Warkari sect.^[2][3] Eknath was a disciple of Janardan Swami^[4] who was a devotee of the Hindu deity Dattatreya. Eknath's samadhi shrine is located at Paithan near the Godavari river. Celebrations commemorating Eknath are held every year around the month of March at Paithan.^[5]

Literary contribution

Eknath was a creative person, who utilized his literary skills to compose religious work in vernacular Marathi language, promoting local devotional religious practice, and opposing the suppressive caste-system.

Eknath's writings include a variation of the Hindu religious text Bhagavata Purana, known as Eknathi Bhagavata.^[6] He also wrote a variation of the Hindu epic Ramayana, known as Bhavarth Ramayan. He also composed Rukmini Swayamwar Hastamalak, a literary piece consisting of 764 owee (poetic metre) and based on a Sanskrit hymn of the same name. He has also tried to shift the emphasis of Marathi literature from spiritual to narrative composition and introduced a new form of Marathi religious song called Bharood.

Asserting the importance of Marathi, he said:^[7]

If Sanskrit was made by God, was Prakrit born of thieves and knaves? Let these errings be of vanity alone. God is no partisan of tongues. To Him Prakrit and Sanskrit are alike. My language Marathi is worthy of expressing the highest sentiments and is rich, laden with the fruits of divine knowledge.

His other literary works include Shukashtak (447 owee), Sukha (510 owee), Ananda-Lahari (154 owee), Chiranjeewa-Pad (42 owee), Geeta-Saar and Prahlad-Vijaya. He introduced a new form of devotional melodies called Bharood and wrote nearly 300 of them.^[6]

See also

• Vasudeva
• Bhagavatism