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{{Short description|Indian Hindu saint, philosopher, and poet (1533–1599)}}
{{about|the 16th century CE spiritual figure|the 20th century CE spiritual teacher|Eknath Easwaran}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox Hindu leader
| name = Eknath
| honorific_prefix =
| image = Eknath 2003 stamp of India.jpg
| caption = Depiction of Eknath on a 2003 stamp of India
| religion = [[Hinduism]]
| father = Suryanarayan
| mother = Rukminibai
| birth_date = c. 1533
| birth_place = [[Paithan]], [[Ahmadnagar Sultanate]]
| birth_name =
| full_name =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1599|1533}}
| death_place =
| guru =
| philosophy = [[Advaita Vedanta]], [[Vaishnavism]]
| honors = ''[[Sant (religion)|Sant]]'' (Saint)
| literary_works = ''[[Eknathi Bhagwat|Eknathi Bhagavata]]'', ''[[Bhavarth Ramayan]]'', ''Rukmini Swayamwar Hastamalak'', ''Shukashtak'', ''Swatma-Sukha'', ''Ananda-Lahari'', ''Chiranjeewa-Pad'', ''Geeta-Saar'' and ''Prahlad-Vijaya''
| Spouse =
}}
'''Eknath''' ([[IAST]]: Eka-nātha, [[Marathi language|Marathi]] pronunciation: [[Help:IPA/Marathi|[eknath]]]) (c. 1533 – c. 1599),<ref name="Tagare19932">{{cite book |author=Ganesh Vasudeo Tagare |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K3V1AAAAIAAJ&q=Eknath+Deshastha |title=Eknath |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |year=1994 |isbn=9788172014568 |page=4 |quote=EKNATH : A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH* (A. D. 1533–1599). A reference to the Marathi Vangmaya Kosh (A biographical dictionary of Marathi writers) shows that there were three authors called "Eknath" and seven authors who used the mudrika (Pen-name) "Eka-Janardan" used by our author Eknath. Eknath was a Rigvedi Deshastha Brahmin, a follower of the Ashvalayana Sutra. His Gotra was Vishvamitra. His family deity was Ekaveera Devi (or Renuka). His family lived at Paithan, ...}}</ref> {{Pronunciation|Eknath.wav|help=no}} was an Indian [[Hindu]] [[Vaishnava]] saint, philosopher and poet. He was a devotee of [[Vitthal]], a Hindu deity. He is a major figure of the [[Warkari]] tradition. He is often viewed as a spiritual successor to prominent Hindu Marathi saints [[Dnyaneshwar]] and [[Namdev]].

==Biography==
Historical information about his life is obscure. He is believed to have lived during the latter three-quarters of the 16th-century. He was born into a [[Deshastha Brahmin|Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin]] family of [[Vishwamitra]] gotra to Suryanarayan and Rukmini Bai at [[Paithan]], a town in present-day [[Maharashtra]]. He was known to be an adherant of the ''Ashvalayana Sutra,'' a collection of Indian texts detailing domestic rituals for householders. His father held the title of ''[[Kulkarni]]'' and kept financial accounts. The ancestral family deity was [[Ekvira]].<ref name="Tagare19932"/>

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.{{sfnp|Novetzke|2013|pp=141–142|ps=}}{{sfnp|Schomer|McLeo|1987|p=94|ps=}} Eknath was a disciple of [[Janardan Swami]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Coming Soon Page |url=https://www.blog.sagarworld.com/hinduism/history-of-india/saints-of-india/sant-eknath-story/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707193252/https://www.blog.sagarworld.com/hinduism/history-of-india/saints-of-india/sant-eknath-story/ |archive-date=7 July 2020 |access-date=7 July 2020}}</ref> who was a devotee of the Hindu deity [[Dattatreya]]. A ''samadhi'' or shrine venerating Eknath is located at Paithan, near the [[Godavari]] river. Celebrations commemorating Eknath are held every year around the month of March in Paithan.<ref>{{cite book |author=George Michell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GdBbBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT115 |title=Southern India: A Guide to Monuments Sites & Museums |date=1 May 2013 |publisher=Roli Books Private Limited |isbn=978-81-7436-903-1 |page=115}}</ref>

==Literary contribution==

Eknath's writings include a variation of the Hindu religious text ''[[Bhagavata Purana]],'' also known as ''[[Eknathi Bhagwat|Eknathi Bhagavata]]''.<ref name="Columbia University press3">{{cite thesis |last1=Keune |first1=Jon Milton |title=Eknāth Remembered and Reformed: Bhakti, Brahmans, and Untouchables in Marathi Historiography |date=2011 |access-date=9 March 2016 |publisher=Columbia University press |url=http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11409 |doi=10.7916/D8CN79VK |page=32 |location=New York, NY, USA |hdl=10022/AC:P:11409}}</ref> He also wrote a variation of the Hindu epic ''[[Ramayana]],'' also known as ''[[Bhavarth Ramayan]]''. He also composed ''Rukmini Swayamwar'' ''Hastamalak'', a literary piece consisting of 764 ''[[Ovi (poetry)|owee]]'' (poetic metre). It is based on a [[Sanskrit]] hymn of the same name. He also made attempts to shift the emphasis of Marathi literature from a spiritual to a narrative style of composition.

To assert the significance of the Marathi language, he once claimed the following:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chandra |first=Satish |title=History of Medieval India |year=2018 |isbn=978-93-5287-457-6}}</ref> <blockquote>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.</blockquote>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.<ref name="Columbia University press3"/>

==See also==

*[[Vasudeva]]
*[[Bhagavatism]]

==References==
'''Citations'''
{{Reflist}}
'''Bibliography'''
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation |title=Religion and Public Memory: A Cultural History of Saint Namdev in India |first=Christian Lee |last=Novetzke |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2013 |isbn=9780231512565 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SqUdRVOv9TUC}}
*{{citation |title=The Sants: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India |last1=Schomer |first1=Karine |first2=W. H. |last2=McLeo |year=1987 |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |isbn=9788120802773 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OkKhOivXrhgC}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [https://marathischool.in/sant-eknath-information/ Sant Eknath Maharaj Information in Marathi]
{{Commons category|Eknath}}
*[https://archive.org/details/Ekanath.Bhaktalilamrita Eknath - A Translation from Bhaktalilamrita by Justin E. Abbott (1927)] at archive.org
*[https://archive.org/details/Shri.Eknathi.Bhagwat.Marathi Shri Eknathi Bhagwat (Marathi)] at archive.org
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eknath}}
[[Category:Marathi-language poets]]
[[Category:Warkari]]
[[Category:16th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians]]
[[Category:Bhakti movement]]
[[Category:16th-century Indian philosophers]]
[[Category:Sant Mat]]
[[Category:Date of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Date of death unknown]]
[[Category:People from Marathwada]]
[[Category:Marathi Hindu saints]]
[[Category:Scholars from Maharashtra]]
[[Category:1533 births]]
[[Category:Brahmins who fought against discrimination]]
[[Category:Anti-caste activists]]

Eknath - Revision history

TawannaIbarra at 20:01, 9 March 2026