Tukaram: 17th century Marathi and Saint

Tukaram was born in the family of a farmer at Dehu, a town near the city of Pune . He inheritred some landed property and cattle, but lost them all in a great famine. He also lost his parents, one of his two wives, and a son in the famine. Left with nothing to fend for, he lost interest in life. Added to this, constant nagging of his other wife, who was a shrew, troubled Tukaram very much. Fed up with the turn of events, Tukaram took to the study of the works of Jnaneswar, Ekanatha and Namdeva he retreated to the hills of Bhamhanatha and Bhandara and practised mediation.

Tukaram is credited to have written several abhangas, which are highly popular in Maharshtra. These abhangas embody his teachings. Some of these abhangas were translated into Bengali by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. A contemporary of great Maratha ruler Shivaji, Tukaram declined to accept the offer of rich presents made by him.

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