Vaman Pandit (born Vaman Tanaji Sesha) (1608–1695) was a

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

scholar and poet of

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 ...

. Vaman Pandit from the house of Sesha was a great poet whose poetry made quite an impact on the whole

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 ...

. Vaman Pandit's narrative poem have been very popular with masses and the Kirtankars. His main contribution lies in the fact that he has given a sound metaphysical foundation to the concept of Bhakti.

Early life

Vaman Pandit was born into Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin (DRB) family of Madhva Sampradaya in

Dharwad Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the northwestern part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merged ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

in a prominent Sesha family of poets and scholars. The family who hailed from

Nanded Nanded is a city in Maharashtra state, India. It is the List of cities in Maharashtra, tenth largest city in the state and the List of cities in India by population, seventy-ninth most populated city in India. It is the second largest city in ...

had moved to

but still maintain roots in Nanded. Vaman Pandit was a follower of

Madhvacharya Madhvacharya (; ; 1199–1278 CE or 1238–1317 CE), also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the ''Dvaita'' (dualism) school of Vedanta. Madhva called his philosophy ...

a prominent

Vaishnava Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, '' Mahavishnu''. It is one of the major Hindu denominations along wit ...

philosopher. He migrated to Kashi for a significant period of his life. Vaman Pandit regards the

Saguna brahman ''Saguna brahman'' ( 'The Absolute with qualities'; from Sanskrit ' 'with qualities', ''guṇa'' 'quality', and ''Brahman'' 'the Absolute') is a concept of ultimate reality in Hinduism, close to the concept of immanence, the manifested divine ...

( Personal God) as superior to the Nirguna Brahman (Impersonal God). He considers

Lord Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit: 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 wi ...

Saguna Brahman ''Saguna brahman'' ( 'The Absolute with qualities'; from Sanskrit ' 'with qualities', ''guṇa'' 'quality', and ''Brahman'' 'the Absolute') is a concept of ultimate reality in Hinduism, close to the concept of immanence, the manifested divine ...

incarnate.

Literary works

His most significant work, the ''Yatharthadipika'' is a commentary on the

Bhagavadgita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

. His book ''Nigamasara'' (1673) describes in detail the ''Vargavi Varuni Vidya'' (

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') traditions of Hindu philosophy and textual exegesis. The word ''Vedanta'' means 'conclusion of the Vedas', and encompa ...

). His other work includes ''Samashloki Gita'', ''Karmatatva'', ''Bhaminivilasa'', ''Radhavilasa'', ''Rasakrida'', ''Ahalyoddhara'', ''Vanasudha'', ''Venusudha'', ''Gajendramoksha'' and ''Sita Svayamvara''. The captivating style and religious instruction of his work have made them popular with all sections of readers. In 1695 after death, a

Samadhi Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...

site is built on the banks of Warana River in Koregaon village of Sangali district. He has employed metres, figures of speech and other techniques of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

poetry in his works.Majumdar, R.C. (ed.)(2007). ''The Mughul Empire'', Mumbai:Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, , p.583 He was noted for his mastery of 'shlok' form: 'सुश्लोक वामनाचा'. And also for his mastery over long rhymes: 'यमक्या वामन'.

References

Bibliography

* * *Kusumawati Deshpande and M.V.Rajadhyaksha, ''A history of Marathi literature'' (New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 1988), pp31–33 *S.G.Kanhere, ‘Waman Pandit - scholar and Marathi poet’ ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London'' v4, 1926, pp305–314 {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaman Pandit 1608 births 1695 deaths Marathi-language poets Writers from Maharashtra People from Satara (city)