Sant Nāmdev
c. 13th–14th century · Pandharpur, Maharashtra · Vārkarī
Nāmdev, born into a family of tailors (śimpī), was a contemporary and companion of Jñāneśvar and a great devotee of Viṭṭhala of Pandharpur. His Marathi abhaṅgas, simple and full of love, helped make Vārkarī devotion a people’s movement.
He travelled widely and spent many years in Punjab, where he sang in Hindi-Punjabi; sixty-one of his hymns are included in the Guru Granth Sahib, and he is remembered at Ghumān in Punjab. Around him gathered saints of many communities, including his maidservant Janābāī, the potter Gorā Kumbhār and Chokhāmeḷā.
Tradition says that as a small boy Nāmdev was sent to offer milk to Viṭṭhala. Believing the Lord would drink it, he wept and pleaded until Viṭṭhala appeared and drank — the beginning of a lifelong friendship.
Pandharpur · Abhaṅgas · 61 hymns in Guru Granth Sahib