Eknāth in context: the literary, social, and political milieus of an early modern saint-poet1

Abstract

This article attempts to envision the sixteenth-century brahman saint-poet, Eknāth of Paiṭhaṇ, in his historical context by plotting what is known about him over against recent scholarship on early modern India. Conventional scholarship classifies Eknāth as a bhakti poet. This label actually conceals more than it reveals, because the definition of bhakti is deceptively familiar, uncritically understood, and historiographically overburdened. Avoiding the term forces us to conceptualize Eknāth’s activities and significance in new ways. Exploration of his literary milieu shows how his Marathi compositions position themselves over against Sanskrit and reveals the disputed status of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa as a religious authority. Within his social milieu, stories of Eknāth’s caste boundary transgression are considered alongside recent scholarship on dharmasabhās and brahman migration patterns from the Deccan to Banaras. The political milieu section envisions Eknāth and his vernacular commitment in relation to the employment of Marathi-speaking brahmans by Deccan sultanate courts, which indirectly supported the development of Marathi vernacular culture. By considering Eknāth in his historical context, this article contributes to our understanding of vernacular religion, non-elite society, and the social location of brahmans in the Deccan sultanate, thereby offering a richer background and the means to a more critical examination of early modern devotional traditions.