The Poet Sant Eknath and His Works

A Short Note On Sant Eknath

Sant Eknath was born in 1530 AD into a prestigious Pratisthan Brahmin family (Paithan today). They became known to become the village’s Kulkarnis; their real identity would be Eknath Suryajipant Kulkarni. Sant Bhanudas, Eknath’s paternal grandpa, was the one who transported the precious picture of Lord Pandurang through Vijayanagar to Pandharpur. Suryanarayan and Rukmini, Eknath’s parents, disappeared soon following his birth, and Eknath was raised by his ancestors, Chakrapani and Saraswatibai. Eknath would have to endure the ridicule of other youngsters as an orphan. As a kid, he began to reject their interaction and sought shelter in devotion and other contemplative activities.

Early Years

Sant Eknath first heard of Janardan Swami when he was approximately twelve years old. This famous philosopher resided at Devgiri, which the Muslim overlords of the period termed Daulatabad. Eknath trekked all the distance to Devagiri, yearning toward becoming his student. Janardaswamy was awestruck by this exceptionally skilled young man and quickly welcomed him as a pupil. He preached Eknath Vedas, Nyaya, Meemansa, Pranayama, and Sant Dnyaneshwar’s writings, among other things. Eknath’s social viewpoint was based on compassion and charity toward all creatures since Janardan Swami had been an admirer of Dattatreya.

The Guru asked Eknath to embark on a vacation. He escorted Eknath to Nasik-Trimbakeshwar. Eknath travelled to Paithan after concluding his journey to numerous holy locations in the western part of the country, India. His relatives were overjoyed to see him back, and they encouraged him to marry. Eknath and his spouse Girija had all been meant to be together, and they set the bar high for ethical living. Godavari and Ganga, two girls, and Hari, a male, were born to the couple over time.

Dnyaneshwari’s Resurrection

Eknath became accountable for the recovery of Dnyaneshwar’s major masterpiece, the inscription Dnyaneshwari, which has now been lost, like several other Hindu epics, during the Muslim conquests. Dnyaneshwar had authored an essential interpretation in Marathi in poetry form on the great holy scripture throughout Sanskrit Bhagawad Geeta some 250 years ago before the advent of Sant Eknath. It was regarded as the Dnyaneshwari and had been recognized as the Bhawarth-Deepika.

Maharashtra, such as the rest of the region, has been decimated by Muslim invaders between Dnyaneshwar and Eknath. As a result, people were discouraged by failure after disappointment. Individuals couldn’t resort to their epics, songs, or poetry since they had just been lost in a couple of generations. Sant Eknath recognized that what was required at the time was a reemergence of Marathi literary works, particularly the great epics, and youth development in traditional values and that if the once prevalent Marathi-worded Dnyaneshwari were reintroduced to the people, they could have been normatively and spiritually exhilarated.

His Writings

Several of Eknath’s works were written in Marathi verses. Eknath Maharaj composed Eknathi Bhagawat, a comprehensive and straightforward discourse on the 11th Stanza of the Sanskrit religious scripture Bhagavata Purana. Eighteen thousand eight hundred owners participated in the discussion. The only first 25,000 weeks of the second serious maintenance, the Bhavartha-Ramayana, were written by him. To finish the mission, a disciple named Gavba poured 15,000 weeks. Rukmini Swayamwar, with 1,711 weeks, was reportedly written by Eknath and was centred on 144 lyrics from the Bhagavad Saga. Hastamalak, his opus, had 764 owners and was inspired by Shankaracharya’s 14-shlok Sanskrit hymns.

The Shukashtak (447 weeks), Chiranjeeva-Pad (42 weeks), Geeta-Sar,  Swatma-Sukha (510 weeks), Ananda-Lahari (154 weeks), and Prahlad-Wijaya were among his other compositions. He invented a new type of Marathi termed Bharood, a devotional song, and wrote 300 of them. In addition, he composed 300 devotional songs in the Abhang style. He was another preacher who presented several public sermons.

His Precepts

Operating in the medieval Era, Sant Eknath Maharaj would be one of the early untouchability preachers in Maharashtra. He openly paid civility to lower castes and attended them at a period when Brahmins even shunned the shadow and speech of an unworthy. He once rescued the existence of a Mahar infant roaming on the scorching sands of the Godavari, saving it from the blazing heat. His poetry encourages readers to treat each other with respect and empathy as if they were a brother or sisters. Birds, animals, and plants were all included in the plea. According to one of his most famous poems, every soul you encounter is your God.

Conclusion

Sant Eknath (1533–1599) would be a Marathi saint, philosopher, and religious poet who lived from 1533 until 1599. Sant Eknath is regarded as a link between the lofty precursors Dnyaneshwar and Naamdev and the similarly magnificent descendants Tukaram and Ramdas in the formation of Marathi literature. Eknath dedicated his life to resurrecting epic poetry. His initial mission was to find Dnyaneshwar’s samadhi to demonstrate to the community that Dnyaneshwar must have been a proper gentleman, one only their own.