Tukaram

Tukaram was a 17th-century Marathi poet and Hindu saint whose abhang devotional songs to Vithoba became central to Maharashtra’s Varkari tradition.

Varkari: A Marathi devotional movement centered on pilgrimage to Pandharpur and devotion to Vithoba. Tukaram’s songs became a defining expression of this movement.
Kirtan: A form of devotional performance combining singing, music, and spoken narration. Kirtan performance carries Tukaram’s verses into communal worship.
Dehu: A town near Pune in Maharashtra associated with the life and shrine of Tukaram. Dehu is traditionally identified as Tukaram’s birthplace and principal home.
Bahinabai: A 17th-century Marathi poet-saint whose devotional compositions belong to the Varkari tradition. Bahinabai’s poetry preserves a later saint’s response to the tradition associated with Tukaram.
Caste in India: A system of hereditary social classifications that has shaped social life in South Asia. Tukaram’s devotional vision is often read alongside the Varkari challenge to caste barriers.
Vithoba: A Hindu deity worshipped especially in Maharashtra, closely identified with Krishna and honored at Pandharpur. Vithoba is the central divine figure addressed in Tukaram’s devotional poetry.
Bhakti: A Hindu path of religious devotion expressed through love and worship of a deity. Tukaram’s direct address to Vithoba belongs to the bhakti tradition.
Bhakti movement: A diverse set of South Asian devotional traditions emphasizing personal devotion to a deity. Tukaram’s work belongs to a much broader history of vernacular bhakti poetry.
Chokhamela: A 14th-century Marathi poet-saint remembered for devotion to Vithoba and songs confronting caste exclusion. His earlier devotional poetry offers a distinct social voice within the tradition Tukaram inherited.
Maharashtra: A state in western India with Marathi as its principal language. Tukaram’s poetry remains a major part of Maharashtra’s regional and religious identity.

Linked from 1 page