Bhakti Movements in Other Regions of India

 Bhakti Movement in Maharashtra

Like other Vaishnava bhakti movements, the Maharashtra bhakti tradition drew basic inspiration from the Bhagavad Purana.

• In Maharashtra, the Bhakti movement is centred on the temple of Vithoba or Vitthal, the dwelling deity of Pandharpur.
• In addition, however, it was also influenced by the Shaiva Nath Panthis, who were quite popular in the lower classes of the Maharashtrian society during the  11th and 12th centuries and composed their verses in Marathi.
• The Bhakti Movement in Maharashtra is broadly divided into two sects:
  • Varakaris: The mild devotees of God Vitthala of Pandharpur are more emotional, theoretical, and abstract in their viewpoint.
  • Dharakaris: The heroic followers of the cult of Ramadasa, the devotee of God Rama, who are more rational, practical, and concrete in their thoughts.

Jnaneshwar (1275-1296)

• He was the pioneer bhakti saint of Maharashtra. 
• He wrote an extensive commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, popularly called Jnaneshvari. 
  • This was one of the earliest works of Marathi literature and served as the foundation of bhakti ideology in Maharashtra.
• He was the author of many hymns called Abhangas. 
• He taught that the only way to attain God was bhakti, and there was no place for caste distinctions in bhakti.

Namdeva (1270-1350)

• He was a poet-saint from Maharashtra belonging to the 14th century who belonged to the Varkari sect.
• He is considered to be the link between the Maharashtrian bhakti movement and North Indian monotheistic movement.
• He is one of the five revered gurus in Hinduism's Dadupanth lineage, the other four being Dadu, Kabir, Ravidas, and Hardas. 
• He lived in Pandharpur but travelled to North India, including Punjab.
• His bhakti songs have also been included in the Adi Granth. 
• In Maharashtra. Namdev is considered to be a part of the Varkari tradition (Vaishnava devotional tradition), but in the North Indian monotheistic tradition, he is remembered as a Nirguna saint.
• Other prominent bhakti saints of Maharashtra were Eknath and Tukaram.

Eknath (1544-1599)

• He was a poet-saint and mystic of Vaishnavism.
• Eknath is best known for translating various Sanskrit texts into Marathi.
• He restored the corrupted version of Jnaneshvari.
• His scholarship aimed to bring the means of salvation through bhakti within the reach and understanding of ordinary people, including outcastes and women.
• He rejected caste differences.
• Eknath was the only saint from Maharashtra to be a father and a family householder.
• He was renowned for resolving the conflicts between household duties and the demands of religious devotion through an unswerving faith in Krishna, a popular avatar of Vishnu.

  Vaishnava Bhakti Movement in Bengal

• Vaishnava, bhakti in Bengal, differed from its North Indian and the older South Indian bhakti. 
• The sources which influenced it can be traced to two different traditions – the Vaishnava bhakti tradition of the Bhagavad Purana, with its glorification of Krishna Lila on the one hand, and non-Vaishnava Sahajiya Buddhist and Nathpanthi traditions on the other.

Jayadeva

• The Vaishnava influence was transmitted by various bhakti poets, beginning with Jayadeva in the 12th century. Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda was composed in Sanskrit. 
• He also wrote songs in the Maithili dialect, later absorbed into the Bengali Vaishnava bhakti tradition.

Chandidas and Vidyapati

• Both Vaishnava bhakti poets came under the influence of the non-Vaishnava cults of Sahajiya Buddhist and Nathpanthi traditions. However, the Bhagavata tradition was always the primary source of influence. 
• The songs of Chandidas, the first Bengali bhakti poet and those of Vidyapati, who wrote in Maithili, highlighted the Krishna-Radha relationship.
• These songs became part of the growing Vaishnava movement in Bengal. 

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534)

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was Bengal's most prominent Vaishnava saint.

• He popularised Krishna-bhakti in many parts of Eastern India.
• The advent of Chaitanya marks the shifting of the focus of the Bengal Vaishnava bhakti from devotional literary compositions to a full-fledged reform movement with a broad social base.
• Chaitanya disregarded all distinctions of caste, creed and sex to give a popular base to Krishna-bhakti. 
• His followers belonged to all castes and communities. One of his favourite disciples was Haridas, who was a Muslim. 
• He popularised the sankirtan (group devotional songs accompanied by ecstatic dancing).
• Chaitanya’s exposition of Rasalila is one of his most profound contributions to Indian philosophy. 
• He did not question the authority of the Brahmans and the scriptures.
• His disregard for caste distinctions in the sphere of devotional singing promoted a sense of equality in Bengali life.
• For him, God was Krishna or Hari, who would be pleased only by the intense love and devotion of the devotee. Such adoration is known as Madliura bhava.