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Sant Janābāi was aMarāthi religious Sant and poet in theHindu tradition in India, who was born likely in the seventh or the eighth decade of the 13th century. She died in 1350.[1]
Janabai was born inGangākhed 1258-1350,Mahārāshtra[2] to a couple with first namesDamā andKarund. Under thecaste system the couple belonged to the matang. After her mother died, her father took her to Pandharpur. Since her childhood, Janabai worked as a maid servant in the household ofDāmāsheti, who lived inPandharpur and who was the father of the prominentMarathi religious Sant and poetNāmdev.[3] Janabai was likely a little older than Namdev, and attended to him for many years.
Pandharpur has high religious significance especially among Marathi-speaking Hindus. Janabai's employers, Damasheti and his wife,Gonāi, were very religious. Through the influence of the religious environment around her and her innate inclination, Janabai was always an ardent devotee ofLordVitthal. She was also a talented poet.[4] Though she never had any formal schooling, she composed many high-quality religious verses of theabhang (अभंग) form.[5][6] Some of her compositions were preserved along with those of Namdev. Authorship of about 300abhang is traditionally attributed to Janabai.[7][8]
Along withDnyāneshwar,Nāmdev,Eknāth, andTukaram, Janabai has a revered place in the minds of Marathi-speaking Hindus who belong especially to thewārakari (वारकरी) sect in Maharashtra.[9][10] In accord with a tradition in India of assigning the epithetsant (संत) to persons regarded as thoroughly saintly, all of the above religious figures including Janabai are commonly attributed that epithet in Maharashtra. Thus, Janabai is routinely referred to asSant Janabai(संत जनाबाई). She wrote many poems.