Sant Tukaram Maharaj was one of the greatest saint poets born in Maharashtra. He wrote many Abhangas (devotional poems) that are still popular in India and abroad. He was the contemporary of Shivaji Maharaj and Ramdas Swami. Many Marathi people credit him as the spiritual teacher of Shivaji Maharaj. He was a steadfast devotee of Vithoba.

Birth and Childhood:

Sant Tukaram Maharaj was born in the 17th century in Dehu near Pune, Maharashtra. His birth year was either 1598 or 1608. His full name was Tukaram Bolhoba Ambile (More). Kanakai and Bolhoba were his mother and father. His father was in a money-lending business. His family was also involved in agriculture and trade. Sant Tukaram’s parents were devotees of Panduranga. It is possible that because of them, he was attracted to the devotion of Vithoba. His parents died when he was a teenager. Tukoba had two brothers named Savji and Kanhoba.

What was the Caste of Sant Tukaram Maharaj?

Most probably, he belonged to the Kunbi caste, but per some scholars, he belonged to Vani (grocer) caste.

Married Life:

Sant Tukaram had two wives named Rakhma Bai and Avalai Jija Bai. He had a son from his first wife named Santu. His first wife and son died in a famine of 1630-32. This could have been the turning point in his life. The death of his loved ones had a deep impact on him. He became an introvert and started meditating on the hills. It is possible that during the contemplation, he might have discovered the true meaning of life: devotion to God. It seems he recovered from the mental shock and was involved in day-to-day activities afterward, but he was completely transformed. He married for the second time to Avalai. He had three sons named Mahadev, Vitthal, and Narayan and a daughter named Bhagirathi.

Social Work of Sant Tukaram:

Sant Tukaram Maharaj was not only a saint poet but also a revolutionist. At his time, people were very superstitious. The evil of the caste system was at its peak. Common people were deprived of true knowledge of the Vedas. Sant Tukaram revolted against these evil things in society through his poetry.

Commenting about superstitions, he wrote:

नवसे पुत्र होती, तरि का करावा लागे पती।।

Meaning: If one can get children by means of vows, then why does one need a husband?

He also said that the knowledge in the Vedas was for everybody and not only for Brahmins. 

सकळ शास्त्रांचे सार। हें वेदांचे गव्हर।

पाहतां विचार। हाचि करिती पुराणें।।

ब्राह्मण क्षत्रिय वैश्य शूद्र। चांडाळांही अधिकार।

बाळें नारीनर। आदिकरोनि वेश्याही।।

Enemies:

Because of his criticizing ‘fake’ Brahmins, he had lots of enemies. Some of his biggest enemies were Rameshwar Bhat, Mambaji, and Sadho Madho.

Literary Work:

Sant Tukaram Maharaj is mainly popular for his Abhanga. Although he did not invent this form of poetry, but he popularized it greatly. Tukaram Gatha is the collection of his Abhangas. It is believed that he wrote around 4500 Abhangas. Most of his literary work was composed between 1632 and 1650. Some of his popular Abhangas are:

1. वृक्षवल्ली आम्हां सोयरीं वनचरें

पक्षीही सुस्वरें आळविती||

वृक्षवल्ली आम्हां सोयरीं वनचरें

वृक्षवल्ली आम्हां सोयरीं वनचरें||

2. मऊ मेणाहूनी आम्ही विष्णुदास

कठीण वज्रास भेदू ऐसे ||

भले तरी देऊ कासेची लंगोटी

नाठाळाचे माथी हाणू काठी ||

3. आम्ही जातो आपुल्या गावा । आमचा राम राम घ्यावा ।।

तुमची आमची हे चि भेटी । येथुनियां जन्मतुटी ।।

4. सुंदर ते ध्यान उभे विटेवरी | कर कटावरी ठेवोनिया ||

Stories from Sant Tukaram’s Life:

Shivaji Maharaj and Sant Tukaram:

Sant Tukaram Maharaj was a great poet and his devotional songs were tremendously popular at that time. His fame and the stories about his miracles reached the ears of Shivaji Maharaj. He wanted to meet him, but he decided to test him first. So, he sent lots of ornaments, pricey clothes, and many valuable things to Sant Tukaram, but he rejected them saying that all these things are worthless to him. Only the name of Pandurang matters to him.

Shivaji Maharaj was very impressed by his selflessness and met him. He expressed his desire to spend the rest of his life in devotion, but Sant Tukaram convinced him that his duty was to protect the people as he was a Kshatriya.

According to a legend, when Shivaji Maharaj was in a temple, someone leaked information about his whereabouts to his enemies, and they sieged the temple. When Sant Tukaram came to know about it, he was very worried and requested Lord Panudranga to save the king. When the enemies arrived in the temple, they tried to capture Shivaji Maharaj, but miraculously, everybody present in the temple appeared to be Shivaji Maharaj to them. Taking the advantage of the chaos, Shivaji Maharaj escaped safely from there.

Grains Multiplied Many Folds:

Although Sant Tukaram Maharaj was married, he spent most of his time in devotion. This caused financial problems in his family life. Therefore, his wife requested him to do some work; otherwise, their children would die of hunger. Therefore, Sant Tukaram started working on a farm, overlooking the crop. But there also, he got lost in devotion and let birds eat the crop. The owner of the farm was very upset and scolded him. He asked him to repay the damage he incurred. Sant Tukaram told him that he would recoup any shortfall in the usual produce. The owner thought that there would be very less produce, but when the workers started harvesting the produce, it exceeded the usual produce by far.

The owner knew that it was because of the devotion of Tukaram Maharaj. So, he only kept his usual produce and gave the rest to Tukaram Maharaj. Sant Tukaram distributed most of it among poor people and kept only a small portion for his family.

Gatha Came out of the River:

Tukaram Maharaj directly/indirectly criticized the powerful people of society through his poetry. Therefore, he was asked to appear before the religious court. He was found guilty of behaving against the dharma and was asked to drown his literary work in the river. Per legend, after he drowned his literary work, he stopped eating for many days. After some days, his literary work miraculously came out of the river without any damage.

Disciples:

Sant Tukaram Maharaj had many disciples. He never considered caste or gender as a qualification for being his disciple. His disciples were from different castes. Some of them were Navji Mali, Gavnarshet Wani, Santaji Jagnade, Shivba Kasar, Bahinabai Pathak and Mahadajipant Kulkarni.

Bahinabai Pathak was one of his most famous disciples. She belonged to the Brahmin caste. Once, she had a vision in which she accepted Sant Tukaram as her Guru, but Mambaji, who was an enemy of Sant Tukaram, opposed this notion. He even threatened to outcast her if she decided to be the disciple of Tukaram Maharaj. Some Brahmins considered Sant Tukaram a Shudra.

In her autobiography, she has mentioned this incident.

तुम्हांसी वाळीस ब्राह्मणाचे पंक्तिं । तुम्ही गुरुभक्ती नका सांगूं ॥

बहिणी म्हणें ऐसें मंबाजी बोलिला । द्वेषही मांडिला तेच क्षणीं ॥

Friendship with Anagadshah Baba:

Angadshah Baba was a Sufi mystic who lived in Bhavani Peth, Pune, in the 17th century. Once, he visited Dehu. Since then, he and Sant Tukaram became very good friends. The palkhi of Sant Tukaram Maharaj first stops at Hajrat Sayyad Angadshah Baba Dargah, while going to Pandharpur.

Festivals:

Because of his devotion toward Panduranga, he attained great respect in the heart of people. Varkaris believe that he was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and worship him.

Tukaram Beej:

The day on which Sant Tukaram Maharaj went to Vaikuntha is known as Tukaram Beej. It is observed on the second day of Krishna Paksha of Phalguna month. Thousands of devotees visit Dehu, the birthplace of Tukoba, and offer prayers in the temple.

Pandharpur Wari:

It is an annual yatra to Pandharpur to honor Panduranga. Devotees from all over Maharashtra travel on foot singing “Gyanba Tukaram” to Pandharpur. Lacs of people participates in the march. Warkaris from Dehu carry the paduka of Sant Tukaram in a palkhi (palanquin) from Dehu to Pandharpur.

Death of Sant Tukaram Maharaj:

His death has been a controversial topic. Most of the followers of the Varakari sect believe that Lord Vishnu sent an airplane for him and took him to Vaikuntha. But some scholars believe that he was murdered because he used to criticize the powerful people at that time in harsh words.

According to Shridhar Maharaj, one of his descendants, Sant Tukaram was doing Kirtana on the bank of the Indrayani river. He told his 14 fellow Varkaris that he would be going to Vaikuntha and that they also should come with him. He hugged them and disappeared. The incident most probably happened on March 9, 1650.

He sang the following Abhanga before his disappearance:

आम्ही जातो आपुल्या गावा । आमचा राम राम घ्यावा ।।

तुमची आमची हे चि भेटी । येथुनियां जन्मतुटी ।।

आतां असों द्यावी दया । तुमच्या लागतसें पायां ।।

येतां निजधामीं कोणी । विठ्ठल विठ्ठल बोला वाणी ।।

रामकृष्ण मुखी बोला । तुका जातो वैकुंठाला ।

Sant Tukaram Maharaj Gatha Temple:

Narayan Baba, the youngest son of Sant Tukaram raised a temple in 1723 in his father’s memory on the banks of the Indrayani river in Dehu near Pune. The temple has many Abhangas inscribed on its wall. It is a very beautiful temple. Thousands of devotees visit the temple every year. There is a tree named Ashwattha Vriksha near the temple. It is believed that this tree shivers every year at noon on the day of Sant Tukaram’s departure to Vaikuntha.