The tailor-poet who carried Vitthal's Name across India. BACKGROUND Born to a family of tailors (shimpi), devoted to Vitthal from childhood. He grew close to Dnyaneshwar and travelled with him on pilgrimages. A wandering bhakta, he took the devotion of Pandharpur far beyond Maharashtra. PLACE OF BIRTH Narsi Bamani, Hingoli district, Maharashtra. His family later moved to Pandharpur. KEY CONTRIBUTIONS Hundreds of Marathi abhangs of tender, intimate devotion Hindi padas that tr

The voice that made Pandharpur's door open to all. BACKGROUND A Mahar by birth, then considered untouchable, who laboured as a village servant and a wall-builder. He lived with his wife Soyarabai, son Karmamela, sister Nirmala and brother-in-law Banka, all of them poets-saints. Barred from entering the temple, he worshipped from the outside, and Vitthal's love reached him there. PLACE OF BIRTH Mehunaraja, near Deulgaon Raja (Buldhana district), Maharashtra. He later lived at

The shopkeeper-poet whose abhangs became Maharashtra's heartbeat. BACKGROUND Born in a Vani (trader) family, the Mores. He lost his parents and first wife in the famine of 1630-31, and his business collapsed. He turned wholly to Vitthal, composing abhangs on the hills near Dehu. He faced opposition from orthodox Brahmins yet his songs spread among the people. Contemporary of Shivaji Maharaj, who is said to have revered him. PLACE OF BIRTH Dehu, near Pune, on the Indrayani riv

The householder-saint who made scholarship common property. BACKGROUND Great-grandson of the saint Bhanudas, orphaned young and raised by his grandparents. His guru was Janardan Swami of Devgiri (Daulatabad). He lived as a married householder and showed that grihastha life and sainthood can coexist. He stood against caste discrimination, famously sharing meals and kindness with the so-called untouchables. PLACE OF BIRTH Paithan, on the Godavari, Maharashtra. KEY CONTRIBUTIONS

The child-saint who gave Marathi its Gita. BACKGROUND Son of Vitthalpant and Rukmini Bai, a Brahmin couple outcast by society because Vitthalpant had left and later returned from sannyasa. The four children, Nivruttinath, Dnyaneshwar, Sopan and Muktabai, grew up shunned, yet became luminaries of the Nath-Varkari lineage. Nivruttinath was his guru and elder brother. PLACE OF BIRTH Apegaon, on the Godavari near Paithan (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, Maharashtra). The fami