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Muktabai's father's name was Vitthalpant Kulkarni, and her mother was Rukminibai Kulkarni.[4] 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-
The siblings Muktabai, Sopan, Dnyaneshwar and Nivrutinath seated on the flying wall greet Changdev seated on a tiger. In the centre, Changdev bows to Dnyaneshwar.
Nivruttinath: The eldest brother of Muktabai, Nivrutti was an authority on the philosophy of the Nath. Gahininath, one of the nine Nath gurus, accepted Nivrutti as his disciple and initiated him into the Nath sect, instructing him to propagate devotion to Shri Krishna. 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, 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.
Sopan: Her younger brother, attained samadhi at Saswad near Pune. He wrote a book, the Sopandevi based on the Marathi translation of the Bhagavad Gita along with 50 or so abhangs.
According to Nath tradition Muktabai was the last of the four children of Vitthal Govind Kulkarni and Rukmini, a pious couple from Apegaon near Paithan on the banks of the river Godavari. Vitthal had studied the Vedas and set out on pilgrimages at a young age. In Alandi, about 30 km from Pune, 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 (Varanasi), 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 as Vitthal had broken with sannyas, the last of the four ashrams. Four children were born to them; Nivrutti in 1273, Jñāneśvar in 1275, Sopan in 1277 and daughter Muktai in 1279. According to some scholars their birth years are 1268, 1271, 1274, 1277 respectively. It is believed that later Vitthal and Rukmini ended their lives by jumping into the waters at Prayag which is the confluence of three rivers, the Ganges, Yamuna, and the now extinct Saraswati, 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, where their elder son Nivrutti (at the age of 10) was initiated into the Nath tradition by Gahininath. The paternal great grandfather of Dnyaneshwar had been initiated into the Nath cult by Goraksha Nath (Gorakh Nath). The orphaned children grew up on alms. They approached the Brahmin community of Paithan 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.
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."[6]
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 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 in Maharashtra.
Bhagwat Katha readers mention saint Muktai with great respect.
Pandharpur Wari – the largest annual pilgrimage in Maharashtra that includes a ceremonial Palkhi of Tukaram and Jñāneśvar.
References
^Mandakranta Bose (2000). Faces of the feminine in ancient, medieval, and modern India. Oxford University Press US. p. 192. ISBN0-19-512229-1.
^Swami Ghanananda; John Stewart-Wallace (1979). Women Saints of East and West. Vedanta Press. p. 60. ISBN0-87481-036-1.
^Arvind Sharma (2000). Women saints in world religions. SUNY Press. p. 169. ISBN0-7914-4619-0.
^Chitre, Dilip. "Muktabai." In The Oxford Encyclopedia Women in World History : Oxford University Press, 2008. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195148909.001.0001/acref-9780195148909-e-732.
^ abMokashi 1987, p. 39. sfn error: no target: CITEREFMokashi1987 (help)
muktabai, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, august, 2008, lea. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Muktabai news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message Muktabai or Mukta was a saint in the Varkari Movement She was born in a Deshastha Brahmin family and was the younger sister of Dnyaneshwar the first Varkari saint 1 2 3 She wrote forty one abhangs throughout her life Muktai Vitthalpant Kulkarni2003 Indian Stamp depicting MuktabaiPersonalBorn1279Alandi Maharashtra IndiaDied1297Muktainagar citation needed ReligionHinduismOrderVarkari traditionPhilosophy a VaishnavismReligious careerGuruDnyaneshwar citation needed Disciples Changdev citation needed Literary worksAbhanga poetry Tati ughada dnaneshwaraHonorsSant in Marathi meaning Saint Contents 1 Early life 2 Traditional history 2 1 Writings 3 Legacy 4 See also 5 ReferencesEarly life EditThis section needs expansion You can help by adding to it February 2020 Muktabai s father s name was Vitthalpant Kulkarni and her mother was Rukminibai Kulkarni 4 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 The siblings Muktabai Sopan Dnyaneshwar and Nivrutinath seated on the flying wall greet Changdev seated on a tiger In the centre Changdev bows to Dnyaneshwar Nivruttinath The eldest brother of Muktabai Nivrutti was an authority on the philosophy of the Nath Gahininath one of the nine Nath gurus accepted Nivrutti as his disciple and initiated him into the Nath sect instructing him to propagate devotion to Shri Krishna 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 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 Dnyaneshwar 1275 1296 5 The second of the siblings was a 13th century Marathi sant poet philosopher and yogi of the Nath tradition whose Dnyaneshwari a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita and Amrutanubhav are considered to be milestones in Marathi literature 5 Sopan Her younger brother attained samadhi at Saswad near Pune He wrote a book the Sopandevi based on the Marathi translation of the Bhagavad Gita along with 50 or so abhangs Traditional history EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed April 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message According to Nath tradition Muktabai was the last of the four children of Vitthal Govind Kulkarni and Rukmini a pious couple from Apegaon near Paithan on the banks of the river Godavari Vitthal had studied the Vedas and set out on pilgrimages at a young age In Alandi about 30 km from Pune 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 Varanasi 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 as Vitthal had broken with sannyas the last of the four ashrams Four children were born to them Nivrutti in 1273 Jnanesvar in 1275 Sopan in 1277 and daughter Muktai in 1279 According to some scholars their birth years are 1268 1271 1274 1277 respectively It is believed that later Vitthal and Rukmini ended their lives by jumping into the waters at Prayag which is the confluence of three rivers the Ganges Yamuna and the now extinct Saraswati 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 where their elder son Nivrutti at the age of 10 was initiated into the Nath tradition by Gahininath The paternal great grandfather of Dnyaneshwar had been initiated into the Nath cult by Goraksha Nath Gorakh Nath The orphaned children grew up on alms They approached the Brahmin community of Paithan 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 Writings Edit 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 6 Legacy EditIn 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 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 in Maharashtra Bhagwat Katha readers mention saint Muktai with great respect See also EditBhakti movement Namdev Nivruttinath Dnyaneshwar Tukaram Eknath Sopan Chokhamela Sant Soyarabai Janabai Sant Mat Pandharpur Wari the largest annual pilgrimage in Maharashtra that includes a ceremonial Palkhi of Tukaram and Jnanesvar References Edit Mandakranta Bose 2000 Faces of the feminine in ancient medieval and modern India Oxford University Press US p 192 ISBN 0 19 512229 1 Swami Ghanananda John Stewart Wallace 1979 Women Saints of East and West Vedanta Press p 60 ISBN 0 87481 036 1 Arvind Sharma 2000 Women saints in world religions SUNY Press p 169 ISBN 0 7914 4619 0 Chitre Dilip Muktabai In The Oxford Encyclopedia Women in World History Oxford University Press 2008 https www oxfordreference com view 10 1093 acref 9780195148909 001 0001 acref 9780195148909 e 732 a b Mokashi 1987 p 39 sfn error no target CITEREFMokashi1987 help Muktabai of Maharashtra Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Muktabai amp oldid 1120942160, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
