Statue of Sant Chokhamela at his Samadhi in Pandharpur
Personal
Born
पौष शु.२ १२७३ Mehuna Raja, Deulgaon Raja Taluka, Buldhana district.
Died
वैशाख कृ.५ १३३८
Religion
Hinduism
Honors
Sant (संत) in Marathi, meaning "Saint"
The chief gate of Vithoba temple, Pandharpur. The small blue temple in front of the gate is saint Chokhamela's memorial (samadhi).
Chokhamela (Marathi :चोखामेळा) was a Hindu saint in Maharashtra, India in the 14th century. He belonged to the Mahar caste,[need quotation to verify], which was considered that time one of the low castes in India.[1][2] He was born at Mehuna Raja, a village in Deulgaon Raja Taluka of Buldhana district. He lived at Mangalvedha in Maharashtra. He wrote many Abhangas. One of his famous Abhangas is 'Abir Gulal Udhlit Rang". Social activist Arvind Prabhakar Kayande Started Celebrating "Chokhamela Festival" in Deulgaon Raja.[3] He was one of the first low-cast poets in India.
Chokhamela lived with his wife Soyarabai and son Karmamela in Mangalvedha. Chokhamela's task was to guard and work in farms of upper-caste people. His family also followed varkari sect.[4]
Soyarabai - Wife[5]
Nirmala - Sister and her husband Banka (who is brother of Soyarabai)[4]: 84 [5]
Karmamela - Son[5]
Chokhamela was initiated into bhakti (spirituality) by the poet-saint Namdev (1270-1350 CE). Once when he visited Pandharpur, he listened to Sant Namdev's kirtan. Already a devotee of Vitthal (Vithoba), Chokha was moved by Namdev's teachings.
Later, he moved to Pandharpur. The traditional story is that the upper castes here did not allow him to enter the temple,[6] nor did they allow him to stand in the door of the temple, so he instead built a hut on the other side of the river Chandrabhaga.
While working on construction of a wall in Mangalvedha, near Pandharpur, the wall fell down, crushing some workers. Chokha was one of them. His tomb is in front of the Vitthal temple, Pandharpur, where it can be seen to this day. According to a legend the bones of the dead Chokhamela were still chanting Vitthal , Vitthal, apparently yearning to visit the Vitthal temple. The bones were buried at the footsteps of the Vitthal temple. In early 20th century, the Dalit leader B. R. Ambedkar attempted to visit the temple, but was stopped at the burial site of Chokhamela and denied entry beyond that point for being a Mahar.[7]
^"In Chokhamela's Bhakti, Past Transforms into Radical Present". NewsClick. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
^"A Dalit at the temple door". Mintlounge. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
^"Abeer Gulaal - Abhang by Sant Chokhamela | Amritha Varshini".
^ abZelliot, Eleanor (2008). "Chokhamela, His Family and the Marathi Tradition". In Aktor, Mikael; Deliège, Robert (eds.). From Stigma to Assertion: Untouchability, Identity and Politics in Early and Modern India. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press. pp. 76–85. ISBN 978-8763507752.
^ abc
Harrisson, Tom (1976). "A Historical Introduction to the Warakari Movement". Living Through the Blitz. Cambridge University Press. p. 40. ISBN 9780002160094.
^Prasad, Amar Nath (2007). Dalit Literature. Sarup & Sons. pp. 10–12. ISBN 978-81-7625-817-3.
^Zelliot, Eleanor (1981). "Chokhamela and Eknath: Two Bhakti Modes of Legitimacy for Modern Change". In Lele, Jayant (ed.). Tradition and Modernity in Bhakti movements. Leiden: Brill. pp. 136–142. ISBN 9004063706.
Chokhamela (Marathi :चोखामेळा) was a Hindu saint in Maharashtra, India in the 14th century. He belonged to the Mahar caste,[need quotation to verify],...
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of education for dalit boys and girls. Therefore, he established one Chokhamela girls' school at Nagpur. He was also aware of importance of the press...
was a fourteenth-century poet saint from Maharashtra. He was a son of Chokhamela and Soyarabai who belonged Mahar caste. In his Abhangs he accused God...
Tukārām, Sant Nāmdev, Sant Eknāth, Sant Nivruttināth, Sant Muktābai, Sant Chokhāmel̥ā, Sant Savatā Māli, Sant Narhari Sonār, Sant Gorā Kumbhār, Sant Meerā...
Gopikas. It is a great experience. Rukmini Rahi (goddess) Avatars of Vishnu Chokhamela Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vithoba temple, Pandharpur. "The...
saint of Chera dynasty. Nandanar (Nalai Povar), one of the Nayanars. Chokhamela, one of the first Dalit poets in India and wrote many Abhangas. Ghasidas...
sects such as Dnyaneshwar, Savata Mali, Tukaram, Namdev, Janabai, and Chokhamela. Many religious figures from 19th and 20th century are revered. They include...
Marathi saints of Varakari religious movement, such as Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Chokhamela, Eknath and Tukaram which forms the one of bases of the culture of Maharashtra...
Notable saints and gurus of the Warkaris include Jñāneśvar, Namdev, Chokhamela, Eknath, and Tukaram, all of whom are accorded the title of Sant. Though...
was a poet in 14th-century Maharashtra, India. As the younger sister of Chokhamela, she was deemed equally holy with her brother and thus is also deemed...
songs and stories for the welfare of untouchables. For them, he started Chokhamela Hostel at Chikhali in Buldana district in 1921. In 1951, he was elected...
century Maharashtra, India. He was husband to Nirmala and brother-in-law to Chokhamela. Born in Mehenpuri, Banka was a member of the Mahar caste. In most of...
goldsmith, Savata the gardener, Gora the potter, Kanhopatra the dancing girl, Chokhamela the "untouchable" Mahar, and even the Muslim Sheikh Muhammad (1560–1650)...
Bahmani Sultanate, and the Mughals. In 14th century, Mahar Bhakti saint Chokhamela, and many of his family members such as Karmamela, Banka, Nirmala, and...
sects such as Dnyaneshwar, Savata Mali, Tukaram, Namdev, Janabaii and Chokhamela. Many religious figures from 19th and 20th century are revered.They include...
known as Banka Sant Banka, Maharashtran saint, and brother in law of Chokhamela Banca (disambiguation) Bangka (disambiguation) Banga (disambiguation)...
of Saints" as Saint Jayatirtha, Saint Damaji, Saint Kanhopatra, Saint Chokhamela , saint Gopabai are said to have come from Mangalwedha during the 14th...
included Kanhopatra (a dancing girl), Sena (a barber), Savata (a gardener), Chokhamela (an untouchable), Janabai (a maid), Gora (a potter), Narahari (a goldsmith)...
movement Namdev Nivruttinath Dnyaneshwar Tukaram Eknath Sopan Muktabai Chokhamela Sant Soyarabai Gadge Maharaj Sant Mat Pandharpur Wari – the largest annual...
2023. "Bigg Boss Marathi 3 fame Utkarsh Shinde is all set to play Saint 'Chokhamela' in Dnyaneshwar Mauli - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved...
Kanhopatra, Mangalwedhe is also the birthplace of the Varkari saints Chokhamela and Damaji. Shama was uncertain about the identity of Kanhopatra's father...
Bhakti movement Namdev Nivruttinath Dnyaneshwar Tukaram Eknath Sopan Chokhamela Sant Soyarabai Janabai Sant Mat Pandharpur Wari – the largest annual pilgrimage...
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