Sant Eknath Maharaj Samadhi Temple
There is a Samadhi temple of Saint Eknath Maharaj on the bank of Godavari in Paithan. – The temple is constructed from teak wood. – The temple area has been beautified. There is also a grand Datta Mandir. – The Nathshashthi Yatra festival, which has a tradition of four and a half hundred years, is very important. – This festival is held in the month of March every year. – There are ancient temples of various gods and goddesses in the city area. – Sant Eknath Maharaj’s old mansion in the village has been converted into a temple. This temple is also old.
Sant Eknath, commonly known as Nath (Born : Paithan, 1533 A.D – 1599 A.D) was a saint of the Varkari sect of Maharashtra. He wa s born in Paithan in 1533 A.D. Saint Bhanudas was the great grandfather of Eknath. They worshiped the sun. Sri Sant Eknath’s father’s name was Suryanarayan. Mother’s name was Rukmini. He did not enjoy the company of his parents for a long time. Eknath was brought up by his grandfather. Chakrapani and Saraswati were his grandfather and grandmother.
Eknath’s guru Sadguru Janardhanaswamy was a courtier at Devgad (Devagiri). These natives of Chalisgaon; His surname was Deshpande. He was a devotee. Saint Eknath had admired him as a Guru. Nath diligently served the Guru and Dattatreya gave him darshan in real life; It is said that Dattatreya used to stand at the gate of Nath as a gatekeeper. Nath also performed many pilgrimages.
Nath married a girl from Vaijapur near Paithan. Eknath and Girijabai had two daughters Godavari and Ganga and a son Hari. His son became Haripandit. He became the disciple of Nath. After Eknath’s demise, Haripanditas started taking Nath’s padukas to Pandharpura every year for Ashadivari.
Eknath was born about 250 years after Saint Dnyaneshwar. Nath created public awareness with the help of Abhangrachana, Bharud, Jogwa, Gavalni, Gandal by saying ‘Baye Dar Bhot’. Eknath was Santkavi, Pantkavi and Tantakvi. He entertained and enlightened the public through his literature. He refers to himself as ‘Eka Janardhan’, Eka Janardani being his motto.
‘Eknathi Bhagwat’ is his popular book. This is a commentary on the eleventh Skanda. Basically there are total 1367 verses. But 18,810 Ovas have been written by Saint Eknath as a commentary on it. The original Bhagavata composed by Vyasa is of 12 Skandas. Bhavartha Ramayana written by Nath has about 40 thousand Ovas. He also wrote this poem on Rukmini. The Aarti of Datta (the triune trinity of Datta) is also one of his aarti of the cow before Ganesha. Most importantly, Eknath refined the copy of Dnyaneshwari. Nath was a Mahavaishnava. There were devotees of Datta, there were also devotees of Devi. He tried throughout his life to eliminate caste discrimination.
Sant Eknath passed away on Falgun Vadya Shashti, Shaka 1521 (26 February 1599 AD). Phalgun Vadya (Eknath Shashti Ha) day is known as Eknath Shashti. Nathshashti Yatra – Shashti, Saptami and Ashtami are three days of Yatra. – The Nath Samadhi Temple is opened early in the morning. – This is followed by Kakad Aarti at 5:30 AM, Aarti at 6:45 PM, Naivedya at 12:00 PM. – In the evening, after Goda Pujan, Aarti is performed and the temple closes at 9:30 PM.
