Muktabai or Mukta was a saint in the

Varkari Warkari (Marathi: वारकरी; Pronunciation: �aːɾkəɾiː Meaning: 'The one who performs the ''Wari) is a sampradaya (religious movement) within the bhakti spiritual tradition of Hinduism, geographically associated with the Ind ...

Movement. She was born in a

Deshastha Brahmin Deshastha Brahmin is a Hindu Brahmin subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra and northern area of the state of Karnataka. Other than these states, according to authors K. S. Singh, Gregory Naik and Pran Nath Chopra, Deshastha B ...

family and was the younger sister of

Dnyaneshwar Sant Dnyaneshwar (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ɲaːn̪eʃʋəɾ, also referred to as Jnaneshwar, Jnanadeva, Dnyandev or Mauli or Dnyaneshwar Vitthal Kulkarni (1275–1296), was a 13th-century Indian Marathi saint, poet, philosopher and yogi o ...

, the first

saint. She wrote forty-one

abhang Abhanga () is a form of devotional poetry sung in praise of the Hindu god Vitthal, also known as Vithoba. The word "abhang" comes from ''a'' for "non-" and ''bhang'' for "ending" or "interrupting", in other words, a flawless, continuous process, ...

s throughout her life.

Early life

Muktabai's father's name was Vitthalpant Kulkarni, and her mother was Rukminibai Kulkarni. She had 3 elder brothers named Sopan, Nyaneshvar (also known as Dhyaneshvar), Nivrutti. Folk stories says that these children are studied Vedas. Nivruttinath, Jnandev, and Sopandev * Brothers of Saint Muktai- Dnyaneshwar humbles Changdev

# Nivruttinath: The eldest brother of Muktabai, Nivrutti was an authority on the philosophy of the

Nath Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

. Dnyaneshwar accepted his elder brother as his own guru. After the early samadhi of Dnyaneshwar, Nivrutti travelled with his sister Muktai on a pilgrimage along the

Tapti River The Tapti River (or Tapi) is a river in central India located to the south of the Narmada River, Narmada river that flows westwards before draining into the Arabian Sea. The river has a length of around and flows through the states of Maharas ...

, where they were caught in a thunderstorm and Muktai was swept away. Nivrutti obtained samadhi at Tryambakeshwar. Around 375 abhangs are attributed to him but the authorship of many of them is disputed due to difference in writing style and philosophy. #

(1275–1296): The second of the siblings was a 13th-century

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

'' sant'', poet, philosopher and

yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 ...

of the

Nath Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.Dnyaneshwari The ''Dnyaneshwari'' ( mr, ज्ञानेश्वरी) ( IAST: Jñānēśvarī), also referred to as ''Jnanesvari'', ''Jnaneshwari'' or ''Bhavartha Deepika'' is a commentary on the '' Bhagavad Gita'' written by the Marathi saint and poet ...

'' (a commentary on the '' Bhagavad Gita'') and '' Amrutanubhav'' are considered to be milestones in

Marathi literature Marathi literature is the body of literature of Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the Indian state of Maharashtra and written in the Devanagari and Modi script. History Ancient Era Maharashtri Prakrit was the southern Prakrit t ...

. #

Sopan Sant Sopandeo was a sant of the Varkari and also the younger brother of Dnyaneshwar. Sopan(19 November 1277 A.D- 29 December 1296 A.D), attained samadhi at Saswad near Pune. He wrote a book, the ''Sopandevi'' based on the Marathi translation o ...

: Her younger brother, attained

samadhi ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...

at Saswad near

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

. He wrote a book, the ''Sopandevi'' based on the Marathi translation of the ''Bhagavad Gita'' along with 50 or so

Traditional history

According to

Nath Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.Kulkarni Kulkarni is a family name native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. The name "Kulkarni" is a combination of two words (''kula'' and ''karni''). ''Kula'' means "family", and ''Karanika'' means "archivist". Historically, Kulkarni was the title giv ...

and Rukmini, a pious couple from Apegaon near

Paithan Paithan pəɪ.ʈʰaɳ(), historically Pratiṣṭhāna ɾə'tɪʂʈʰana is a town with municipal council in Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, India. Paithan is located south of present-day Aurangabad on the Godavari River. It was the cap ...

on the banks of the river

Godavari The Godavari (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Godāvarī'' Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganges river, Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in Indi ...

. Vitthal had studied the

Veda upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...

s and set out on pilgrimages at a young age. In

Alandi Alandi (Marathi pronunciation: ːɭən̪d̪iː is a town and a municipal council in the Pune district in the state of Maharashtra, India. The town is popular as a place of pilgrimage and the resting place of the 8th century Marathi saint ...

, about 30 km from

, Sidhopant, a local Yajurveda Brahmin, was very much impressed with him and Vitthal married his daughter Rukmini. After some time, getting permission from Rukmini, Vitthal went to

Kashi Kashi or Kaashi may refer to: Places * Varanasi (historically known as "Kashi"), a holy city in India ** Kingdom of Kashi, an ancient kingdom in the same place, one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas ** Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi * Kashgar, a ci ...

(

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

), where he met Ramananda Swami and requested to be initiated into ''sannyas'', lying about his marriage. But Ramananda Swami later went to Alandi and, convinced that his student Vitthal was the husband of Rukmini, he returned to Kashi and ordered Vitthal to return home to his family. The couple was excommunicated from the Brahmin

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural ...

as Vitthal had broken with sannyas, the last of the four ''

ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Prayag which is the confluence of three rivers, the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

Yamuna The Yamuna (Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ba ...

, and the now extinct

Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a ...

, hoping that their children would be accepted into the society after their death. Earlier the couple set out on a pilgrimage with their children to Tryambakeshwar, near

Nashik Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nash ...

, where their elder son Nivrutti (at the age of 10) was initiated into the

Nath Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.Dnyaneshwar Sant Dnyaneshwar (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ɲaːn̪eʃʋəɾ, also referred to as Jnaneshwar, Jnanadeva, Dnyandev or Mauli or Dnyaneshwar Vitthal Kulkarni (1275–1296), was a 13th-century Indian Marathi saint, poet, philosopher and yogi o ...

had been initiated into the Nath cult by Goraksha Nath (Gorakh Nath). The

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

ed children grew up on alms. They approached the Brahmin community of

to accept them but the Brahmins refused. According to the disputed "Shuddhi Patra" the children were purified by the Brahmins on condition of observing celibacy. Their argument with the Brahmins earned the children fame and respect due to their righteousness, virtue, intelligence, knowledge and politeness. Dnyaneshwar became the student of Nivruttinath along with his younger siblings Sopan and Mukta at the age of 8. He learnt and mastered the philosophy and various techniques of

Kundalini yoga Kundalini yoga () derives from ''kundalini'', defined in tantra as energy that lies within the body, frequently at the navel or the base of the spine. In normative tantric systems kundalini is considered to be dormant until it is activated (a ...

Writings

* "Tatiche Abhang" (The Song of the Door) - She says: "An ascetic is pure in mind and forgives the offences of people. If the world is hot as fire owing to exasperation, a sage should with pleasure be cool as water. If people hurt them with weapons of words, saints should treat those remarks as pieces of advice. This universe is a single piece of cloth woven with the one thread of Brahman, so please open the door, O Jnaneshwar." * Preachings to Changdev - She says: "Though he has no form my eyes saw him, his glory is fire in my mind that knows his secret inner form invented by the soul. What is beyond the mind has no boundary. In it our senses end. Mukta says: Words cannot hold him yet in him all words are." "Where darkness is gone I live, where I am happy. I am not troubled by coming and going, I am beyond all vision, above all spheres. His spirit lives in my soul. Mukta says: He is my heart's only home."Muktabai of Maharashtra
/ref>

Legacy

* In many places in Maharashtra, devotees worship Muktabai. In north Maharashtra people worship Muktai and do varis (devotional visits) to Muktai's temple. Varkari consider saint Muktai 'Adishakti', Goddess. Varkaris sing abhangas written by Muktai. They call saint Muktabai - Muktai means mother Muktabai. * A town's name is changed from Edlabad to

Muktainagar Muktainagar is a town in the eastern part of Jalgaon district in northern Maharashtra and is the administrative seat of Muktainagar taluka. History During British rule, Muktainagar taluka was known as Edlabad petha and was part of East K ...

to honor saint Muktabai. This town is administrative center of Muktainagar taluka so the taluka also became Muktainagar taluka. *Saint Muktai's abhangas are included in Marathi text books of

Balbharati Balbharati (The Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research) is located in Pune, Maharashtra, India. The Institute The institute was established by the Government of Maharashtra on 27 January 1967. This was as per ...

in Maharashtra. *Bhagwat Katha readers mention saint Muktai with great respect.

References

{{reflist Marathi-language writers Warkari 1279 births 1297 deaths Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown People from Maharashtra Hindu female religious leaders People from Marathwada Marathi Hindu saints Women mystics