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'''Muktabai''' | '''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== | ==Early life== | ||
{{expand section|date=February 2020}} | {{expand section|date=February 2020}} | ||
Muktabai's father name was Vitthalpant Kulkarni. She | Muktabai's father's name was Vitthalpant Kulkarni, and her mother was Rukminibai Kulkarni.<ref>Chitre, Dilip. "Muktabai." In ''The Oxford Encyclopedia Women in World History'' : Oxford University Press, 2008. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195148909.001.0001/acref-9780195148909-e-732 .</ref> She had 3 elder brothers named Sopan, Nyaneshvar (also known as Dhyaneshvar), Nivrutti. Folk stories says that these children are studied Vedas. Nivruttinath, Jnandev, and Sopandev | ||
* Brothers of Saint Muktai- | * 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.]] | [[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.]] | ||
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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. | 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 | 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 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]]. | 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]]. | ||
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== Legacy == | == Legacy == | ||
* | * In 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 by 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. | * 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. | *Saint Muktai's abhangas are included in Marathi text books of [[Balbharati]] in Maharashtra. | ||
*Bhagwat Katha readers mention saint Muktai with great respect | *Bhagwat Katha readers mention saint Muktai with great respect. | ||
== See also == | == See also == | ||