Namdev, also transliterated as Nam Dayv, Namdeo, Namadeva, was a Marathi Vaishnava saint from Narsi, Hingoli, Maharashtra, Medieval India within the Varkari tradition of Hinduism. He was as a devotee of the deity Vithoba of Pandharpur.
Shri Sant Namdev Maharaj
Namdev (second from right) with other bhagats of Hinduism: Ravidas, Kabir and Pipa.
Detail of Bhagat Namdev from a Sikh fresco, circa mid-19th century
Oil painting work of Trilok Singh Chitarkar from 1933 depicting bhagat Namdev in his hut
The Marathi people or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a Marathi-speaking state of India on May 1, 1960, as part of a nationwide linguistic reorganisation of the Indian states. The term "Maratha" is generally used by historians to refer to all Marathi-speaking peoples, irrespective of their caste; However, it may refer to a Maharashtrian caste known as the Maratha.
Territory under Maratha control in 1760 (yellow), with its vassals
A watercolor painting of Pune from the late Peshwa era as seen from the confluence of the Mula and Mutha rivers, by British artist Henry Salt. The picture clearly shows the permanent features of the place and cremations. River confluences have been popular in Hinduism for cremations and also for ceremonial disposal of ashes
B. R. Ambedkar, a polymath and Social reformer
Sayajirao Gaekwad III, the Maratha Maharaja of Baroda
