Chokhamela was a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

from

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in the 13th–14th century. He belonged to the

Mahar Mahar is one of the Indian caste found largely in the state of Maharashtra and neighbouring areas. Most of the Mahar community followed B. R. Ambedkar in converting to Buddhism in the middle of the 20th century. As of 2017 the Mahar caste w ...

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

, which was considered that time one of the low castes in India. He was born at Mehuna Raja, a village in Deulgaon Raja Taluka of Buldhana district. He lived at

Mangalvedha Mangalwedha is a town in the Solapur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the birthplace of Shri Jayatirtha, also called Teekacharya, one of the prominent saints of the Dvaita school of Vedanta. Geography The city of Mangalwed ...

. He wrote many Abhangas. One of his known Abhangas is 'Abir Gulal Udhlit Rang". Social activist Arvind Prabhakar Kayande Started Celebrating "Chokhamela Festival" in Deulgaon Raja. He was one of the first low-caste poets in India.

Life and Family

Chokhamela lived with his wife Soyarabai and son Karmamela in Mangalvedha. Chokhamela's task was to guard and work in farms of upper-caste people. His family also followed

varkari Warkari ( ; Marathi: ; Pronunciation: ; Meaning: 'The one who performs the ''Wari) is a sampradaya (religious movement) within the bhakti spiritual tradition of Hinduism, geographically associated with the Indian state of Maharashtra. Wark ...

sect. * Soyarabai - Wife * Nirmala - Sister and her husband Banka (who is brother of Soyarabai) * Karmamela - Son Chokhamela was initiated into

bhakti ''Bhakti'' (; Pali: ''bhatti'') is a term common in Indian religions which means attachment, fondness for, devotion to, trust, homage, worship, piety, faith, or love.See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. In Indian religions, it ...

(spirituality) by the poet-saint Namdev (1270-1350 CE). Once when he visited Pandharpur, he listened to Sant Namdev's kirtan. Already a devotee of Vitthal (

Vithoba Vithoba (IAST: ''Viṭhobā''), also known as Vitthala (IAST: ''Viṭṭhala''), and Panduranga (IAST: ''Pāṇḍuraṅga''), is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is a form of the Hindu ...

), Chokha was moved by Namdev's teachings. Later, he moved to

Pandharpur Pandharpur City (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, əɳɖʱəɾpuːɾ is a popular pilgrimage town, on the banks of Chandrabhaga River, Chandrabhagā River, near Solapur, Solapur city in Solapur district, Solapur District, Maharashtra, Ind ...

. The traditional story is that the upper castes here did not allow him to enter the temple, nor did they allow him to stand in the door of the temple, so he instead built a hut on the other side of the river Chandrabhaga. While working on construction of a wall in Mangalvedha, near Pandharpur, the wall fell down, crushing some workers. Chokha was one of them. His tomb is in front of the Vitthal temple, Pandharpur, where it can be seen to this day. According to a legend the bones of the dead Chokhamela were still chanting ''Vitthal , Vitthal'', yearning to visit the Vitthal temple. The bones were buried at the footsteps of the Vitthal temple. In early 20th century, the

Dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

leader B. R. Ambedkar attempted to visit the temple, but was stopped at the burial site of Chokhamela and denied entry beyond that point for being a

Books

*''On the Threshold: Songs of Chokhamela'', translated from the Marathi by Rohini Mokashi-Punekar. * B. R. Ambedkar dedicated his book ''The Untouchables: Who are They and Why They Became Untouchables'' to the memory of Chokhamela, Nandanar and Ravidas. *''One Hundred Poems of Chokha Mela'', translated from Marathi by Chandrakant Kaluram Mhatre. *''The Courtesan, the Mahatma and the Italian Brahmin: Tales from Indian History'' by Manu S. Pillai

References

External links

Chokhamela (PDF) by Punekar

Chokhamela and Eknath: Two Bhakti Modes of Legitimacy for Modern Change - Zelliot

Chokhamela: The Pioneer of Untouchable movement in Maharashtra - Prof. Nimavat

Sant Chokhamela
information in Marathi {{authority control Medieval Hindu religious leaders Warkari Dalit saints Dalit Hindu saints 14th-century Indian scholars Scholars from Maharashtra Vaishnava saints Marathi Hindu saints