Namdev, also known as Nam Dayv, Namdeo, and Namadeva, was a Marathi Hindu poet and saint from Narsi, Hingoli, Maharashtra, India, who practiced Hinduism in the Varkari school. He lived as a devotee of Pandharpur’s Lord Vitthal (Krishna).
Namdev (1270-1350)
- Namdev was born in the village of Naras-Vamani, which is now part of Maharashtra’s Satara district, to a lower-caste tailor named Damashetti and his wife, Gonabi (Gunabai). Namdeo Relekar was his full name.
- Namdev was influenced by Vaishnavism and rose to prominence in India for his devotional hymns set to music (bhajan-kirtans).
- His philosophy combines nirguna and saguna Brahman aspects, as well as monistic ideas.
- Namdev’s legacy, like that of other gurus, is remembered in current times in the Varkari tradition, with large crowds traveling together in biannual pilgrimages to Pandharpur in the south Maharashtra.
- He is also revered in the Dadu Panthis, Kabir Panthis, and Sikh traditions of North India.
- A Maharashtrian saint who lived in the first half of the fourteenth century. Before becoming a saint, Namadeva was a tailor who is reported to have turned to banditry.
- His poetry, written in Marathi, exudes a tone of deep love and devotion to God.
- He is one of the five revered gurus in Hinduism’s Dadupanth lineage, the other four being Dadu, Kabir, Haridas, and Ravidas.
- Namadeva is supposed to have traveled far and wide and met with Sufi saints in Delhi.
- Along with the works of saints such as Jnanesvar and Tukaram, Namdev’s writings form the foundation of Hinduism’s Varkari sect.
- During community-led bhajan singing sessions, Namdev drew people from all walks of life and castes.
- Kanhopatra (a dancing girl),
- Sena (a barber),
- Savata (a gardener),
- Chokhamela (an untouchable),
- Janabai (a maid),
- Gora (a potter),
- Narahari (a jeweler),
- Jnanesvar (also known as Dnyandev, a Brahmin).
- Namdev is credited with a variety of theosophical beliefs in Indian mythology.
- Namdev is regarded as a nirguna bhakta in northern India, but a saguna bhakta in Marathi culture.
- In 1350 C.E at the age of twenty-six, he attained Samadhi at Pandharpur.