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Muktabai

2022-03-03T03:23:00Z

2409:4042:90D:C253:5C3A:579E:2937:143A:

{{short description|Varkari saint}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{More citations needed|article|date=August 2008}}
{{Infobox Hindu leader
|name = Muktai Vitthalpant Kulkarni
|image = Muktabai.jpg
|caption = 2003 Indian Stamp depicting Muktabai
|religion = [[Hinduism]]
|birth_date = 1279
|birth_place = [[Alandi, Maharashtra]], India
|birth_name =
|death_date = 1297
|death_place = Muktainagar {{citation needed |date=February 2020}}
|guru = [[Dnyaneshwar]] {{citation needed|date=February 2020}}
|disciples = Changdev {{citation needed|date=February 2020}}
|philosophy = [[
a]], [[Vaishnavism]]
|order = [[Varkari|Varkari tradition]]
|honors = ''Sant'' in Marathi, meaning "Saint"
|literary_works = ''[[Abhanga]]'' poetry, ''Tati ughada dnaneshwara''
|footnotes =
}}
'''Muktabai''' or '''Mukta''' was a saint in the [[Varkari]] Movement. She was born in a [[Deshastha Brahmin]] family and was the younger sister of [[Dnyaneshwar]], the first [[Varkari]] saint.<ref>{{cite book |title=Faces of the feminine in ancient, medieval, and modern India |author=Mandakranta Bose |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press US |isbn=0-19-512229-1 |page=192}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Women Saints of East and West |author1=Swami Ghanananda |author2=John Stewart-Wallace |year=1979 |publisher=Vedanta Press |isbn=0-87481-036-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/womensaintseastw0000unse/page/60 60] |url=https://archive.org/details/womensaintseastw0000unse/page/60 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Women saints in world religions |author=Arvind Sharma |year=2000 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=0-7914-4619-0 |page=169}}</ref> She wrote forty-one [[abhang]]s throughout her life.

==Early life==
{{expand section|date=February 2020}}

Muktabai's father name was Vitthalpant Kulkarni. She has 3 elder brothers named Sopan, Nyaneshvar (also known as Dhyaneshvar), Nivrutti. Folk stories says that these children are studied Vedas.
* Brothers of Saint Muktai-
[[File:Dnyaneshwar humbles Changdev.jpg|thumb|The siblings Muktabai, Sopan, Dnyaneshwar and Nivrutinath seated on the flying wall greet Changdev seated on a tiger. In the centre, Changdev bows to Dnyaneshwar.]]
# [[Nivruttinath]]: The eldest brother of Muktabai, Nivrutti was an authority on the philosophy of the [[Nath]]. Gahininath, one of the nine Nath gurus, accepted Nivrutti as his disciple and initiated him into the Nath sect, instructing him to propagate devotion to Shri [[Krishna]]. Dnyaneshwar accepted his elder brother as his own guru. After the early samadhi of Dnyaneshwar, Nivrutti travelled with his sister Muktai on a pilgrimage along the [[Tapti River]], where they were caught in a thunderstorm and Muktai was swept away. Nivrutti obtained samadhi at Tryambakeshwar. Around 375 abhangs are attributed to him but the authorship of many of them is disputed due to difference in writing style and philosophy.

# [[Dnyaneshwar]] (1275–1296):{{sfn|Mokashi|1987|p=39}} The second of the siblings was a 13th-century [[Marathi people|Marathi]] ''[[Sant (religion)|sant]]'', poet, philosopher and [[yogi]] of the [[Nath]] tradition whose ''[[Dnyaneshwari]]'' (a commentary on the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'') and ''[[Amrutanubhav]]'' are considered to be milestones in [[Marathi literature]].{{sfn|Mokashi|1987|p=39}}

# [[Sopan]]: Her younger brother, attained [[samadhi]] at Saswad near [[Pune]]. He wrote a book, the ''Sopandevi'' based on the Marathi translation of the ''Bhagavad Gita'' along with 50 or so [[abhang]]s.

==Traditional history==
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2020}}
According to [[Nath]] tradition Muktabai was the last of the four children of Vitthal Govind [[Kulkarni]] and Rukmini, a pious couple from Apegaon near [[Paithan]] on the banks of the river [[Godavari]]. Vitthal had studied the [[Veda]]s and set out on pilgrimages at a young age. In [[Alandi]], about 30 km from [[Pune]], Sidhopant, a local Yajurveda Brahmin, was very much impressed with him and Vitthal married his daughter Rukmini.

After some time, getting permission from Rukmini, Vitthal went to [[Varanasi|Kashi]] ([[Varanasi]]), where he met Ramananda Swami and requested to be initiated into ''sannyas'', lying about his marriage. But Ramananda Swami later went to Alandi and, convinced that his student Vitthal was the husband of Rukmini, he returned to Kashi and ordered Vitthal to return home to his family. The couple was excommunicated from the Brahmin [[caste]] as Vitthal had broken with sannyas, the last of the four ''[[ashram]]s''. Four children were born to them; Nivrutti in 1273, Jñāneśvar in 1275, Sopan in 1277 and daughter Muktai in 1279. According to some scholars their birth years are 1268, 1271, 1274, 1277 respectively. It is believed that later Vitthal and Rukmini ended their lives by jumping into the waters at [[Allahabad|Prayag]] which is the confluence of three rivers, the [[Ganges]], [[Yamuna]], and the now extinct [[Saraswati]], hoping that their children would be accepted into the society after their death.

Earlier the couple set out on a pilgrimage with their children to Tryambakeshwar, near [[Nashik]], where their elder son Nivrutti (at the age of 10) was initiated into the [[Nath]] tradition by Gahininath. The paternal great grandfather of [[Dnyaneshwar]] had been initiated into the Nath cult by Goraksha Nath (Gorakh Nath). The [[orphan]]ed children grew up on [[alms]]. They approached the Brahmin community of [[Paithan]] to accept them but the Brahmins refused. According to the disputed "Shuddhi Patra" the children were purified by the Brahmins on condition of observing celibacy. Their argument with the Brahmins earned the children fame and respect due to their righteousness, virtue, intelligence, knowledge and politeness. Dnyaneshwar became the student of [[Nivruttinath]] along with his younger siblings Sopan and Mukta at the age of 8. He learnt and mastered the philosophy and various techniques of [[Kundalini yoga]].

===Writings===

* "Tatiche Abhang" (The Song of the Door) -
She says: "An ascetic is pure in mind and forgives the offences of people. If the world is hot as fire owing to exasperation, a sage should with pleasure be cool as water. If people hurt them with weapons of words, saints should treat those remarks as pieces of advice. This universe is a single piece of cloth woven with the one thread of Brahman, so please open the door, O Jnaneshwar."

* Preachings to Changdev -
She says: "Though he has no form my eyes saw him, his glory is fire in my mind that knows his secret inner form invented by the soul. What is beyond the mind has no boundary. In it our senses end. Mukta says: Words cannot hold him yet in him all words are."
"Where darkness is gone I live, where I am happy. I am not troubled by coming and going, I am beyond all vision, above all spheres. His spirit lives in my soul. Mukta says: He is my heart's only home."<ref>[http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=10432#sthash.fzC4LcIX.dpuf Muktabai of Maharashtra]</ref>

== Legacy ==

* Many places in Maharashtra devotees worship Muktabai.In north Maharashtra people worship Muktai and do varis (devotional visits) to Muktai's temple.varkari consider saint Muktai 'Adishakti', Goddess.varkaris sing abhangas written on Muktai.They call saint Muktabai - Muktai means mother Muktabai.
* A town's name is changed from Edlabad to [[Muktainagar]] to honor saint Muktabai.This town is administrative center of Muktainagar taluka so the taluka also became Muktainagar taluka.
*Saint Muktai's abhangas are included in Marathi text books of [[Balbharati]] in Maharashtra.
*Bhagwat Katha readers mention saint Muktai with great respect.tech and sing abhangas written by Muktai.

== See also ==
* [[Bhakti movement]]
* [[Namdev]]
* [[Nivruttinath]]
* [[Dnyaneshwar]]
* [[Tukaram]]
* [[Eknath]]
* [[Sopan]]
* [[Chokhamela]]
* [[Sant Soyarabai]]
* [[Janabai]]
* [[Sant Mat]]
* [[Pandharpur Wari]] – the largest annual pilgrimage in Maharashtra that includes a ceremonial ''[[Palkhi]]'' of Tukaram and Jñāneśvar.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Marathi-language writers]]
[[Category:Warkari]]
[[Category:1279 births]]
[[Category:1297 deaths]]
[[Category:Date of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Date of death unknown]]
[[Category:People from Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Hindu female religious leaders]]
[[Category:People from Marathwada]]
[[Category:Marathi Hindu saints]]
[[Category:Women mystics]]

Nivruttinath

2022-03-03T03:19:20Z

2409:4042:90D:C253:5C3A:579E:2937:143A:

{{EngvarB|date=August 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox Hindu leader
|name = Nivrutti Vitthalpant Kulkarni
|image =
|caption =
| religion = [[Hinduism]]
|birth_date = 11 February 1273
|birth_place = Apegaon, [[Aurangabad, Maharashtra|Aurangabad]], [[Maharashtra]], India
|death_place = Sanjeevan [[Samadhi 24 June 1297]] [[Trimbakeshwar]]
|guru = Gahaninath (NathPhilosophy)
|philosophy = [[Advaita vedanta]], [[Varkari]], [[Hinduism]]
|disciples = [[Sant Dnyaneshwar]] (younger brother)
|order = [[Vaishnavism]], [[Nath]]
|known_for = Guru of Saint Dnyaneshwar
|honors = ''[[Sant (religion)|Sant]]'' (Saint)
|footnotes =
}}
{{Hindu philosophy}}

'''Nivruttinath''' (c. 11 February 1273 – 24 June 1297) was a 13th-century [[Marathi people|Marathi]] [[Bhakti]] [[saint]], poet, philosopher and [[yogi]] of the [[Vaishnava]] [[Nath]] tradition. He was the elder brother and the [[guru|mentor (guru)]] of [[Dnyaneshwar]], the first Varkari saint.<ref>{{cite book |last=Belsare |first=Kishori Devendra |year=983 |title=Sant Nivruttinath _ a critical study}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/mysticisminindia0000rana|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/mysticisminindia0000rana/page/31 31]|title=Mysticism in India: The Poet-Saints of Maharashtra|publisher=State University of New York|year=1983|isbn=9781438416861}}</ref>

==Family and early life==
Nivruttinath was born in Apegaon village on the bank of [[Godavari]] river near [[Paithan]] in Maharashtra into a [[Deshastha Brahmin]] family during the reign of the [[Yadava]] King Ramadevarava.{{sfn|Bahirat|2006|p=1}}<ref name="Author Karhadkar 1976">{{cite journal |last=Karhadkar |first=K. S. |orig-year= January–February 1976 |title=Dnyaneshwar and Marathi Literature |jstor=24157251 |journal=Indian Literature |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=90–95 |year=1976 }}</ref>

Nivruttinath was one of the four children, and the eldest son, of Vitthalapant, a [[kulkarni]] (hereditary accountant), and Rakhumabai.{{sfn|Attwood|1992|p=333}}

Vitthalapant and his wife gave up their lives, within a year of each other by jumping into the [[Indrayani River]],{{sfn|Bahirat|2006|p=13}} leaving two sons, [[Dnyaneshwar]] and [[Sopan]], and a daughter, [[Muktabai]],{{sfn|Sundararajan|Mukerji|2003|p=33}} to be taken care of by Nivruttinath.

==Nath Tradition==
At around the age of 10, Nivruttinath's family moved to [[Nashik]]. During a pilgrimage trip, Vitthalapant along with his family was confronted by a tiger. The family escaped while Nivruttinath got separated from the family. He hid in a cave on the Anjani mountain where he met Gahaninath, who initiated Nivruttinath into the wisdom of the [[Nath]] tradition.{{sfn|Bahirat|2006|p=13}}{{sfn|Ranade|1933|p=33}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.speakingtree.in/blog/from-nivrutti-to-nivruttinath |title=From Nivrutti to Nivruttinath |work=www.speakingtree.in |accessdate=11 August 2017}}</ref>

==Dnyaneshwar as disciple==
[[File:Dnyaneshwar humbles Changdev.jpg|300px|
The siblings Muktabai, Sopan, Dnyaneshwar and Nivruttinath seated on the flying wall greet Changdev seated on a tiger. In the centre, Changdev bows to Dnyaneshwar.]]

The Natha Tradition is an initiatory [[Guru–shishya tradition]].{{citation needed|date=August 2017}} After the death of their parents, {{sfn|Ranade|1933|p=33}} Nivruttinath initiated Dnyaneshwar into the Nath tradition and become his teacher (Guru).{{sfn|Bahirat|2006|p=6}}

Nivruttinath advised Dnyaneshwar to write an independent philosophical work. This work later came to be known as [[Amrutanubhav]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/12485938|title=THE WARKARI MOVEMENT I: Sant Dnyaneshwar – Beyond Brahmanical Tyranny|accessdate=12 August 2017|last1=Abdi|first1=Rupa}}</ref>{{sfn|Bahirat|2006|p=14}}{{sfn|Ranade|1933|p=34}}

{{Clear}}

==Death and Resting Place==
After the Samadhi of Dnyaneshwar, Nivruttinath left [[Alandi]] with his sister, [[Muktabai]] for a pilgrimage. During a thunderstorm, Muktabai was lost. Nivruttinath then attained Samadhi. The Resting place is situated near Trimbakeshwar. At his resting place, a temple has been erected which is visited by numerous devotees.

{{Clear}}

==See also==
{{Portal|India}}
* [[Dnyaneshwar]]
* [[Sopan]]
* [[Muktabai]]
* [[Bhakti movement]]
* [[Changdev Maharaj]]

{{Clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist |33em}}

'''Bibliography'''
{{refbegin|colwidth=33em}}
* {{citation|last=Attwood|first=Donald W.|title=Raising cane: the political economy of sugar in western India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S0UfAQAAIAAJ|year=1992|publisher=Westview Press|isbn=978-0-8133-1287-3}}
* {{citation|last=Bahirat|first=B. P.|title=The Saint heritage of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jJhJ6LuURz4C&pg=PA1|year=2006|publisher=Cosmo Publications|isbn=978-81-307-0124-0}}
* {{citation|last=Ranade|first=Ramchandra Dattatraya|title=Mysticism in India: The Poet-Saints of Maharashtra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Ql0PUJJPp8C|year=1933|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-87395-669-7}}
* {{citation|last1=Sundararajan|first1=K. R.|last2=Mukerji|first2=Bithika|title=Hindu Spirituality: Postclassical and Modern|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UUWIEfAY-mMC&pg=PA32|year=2003|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1937-5}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Marathi-language writers]]
[[Category:Warkari]]
[[Category:Hindu philosophers and theologians]]
[[Category:Marathi Hindu saints]]