Chokhamela
Encyclopedia
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in the 14th century. He belonged to the Mahar
Mahar
Mahar is an important social group within the Indian state of Maharashtra and surrounding states. A grouping of related endogamous castes, the Mahar are the largest scheduled caste group in Maharashtra, in which they comprise ten percent of the population .On...
caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
considered "untouchable
Dalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
" in India in that era. He was born at Mehuna raja, a village in Deulgaon Raja Taluka of Buldhana district
Buldhana district
-Buldhana district is a district in the Amravati division of Maharashtra state in western India. It is situated at the westernmost border of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra and is 500 km from the state capital, Mumbai...
. He lived at Mangalvedhe
Mangalvedhe
Mangalwedha is a city and a municipal council in Solapur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the birthplace of Shri Jayatirtha also called as Teekacharya, one of the greatest saints of the Dvaita school of Vedanta....
in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
. He wrote many Abhangas. He was one of the first Dalit poets in India.
Chokhamela lived with his wife Soyara and son Karmamela in Mangalvedha. Chokhamela's hereditary task was to remove dead animals from people's homes and farms and to dispose of them beyond the town limits (this is task that has traditionally been performed by Mahars in Maharashtra). As a lower-caste person, Chokha was forced to live outside the town in a separate settlement for members of the untouchable caste.
He was initiated into bhakti spirituality by the poet-saint Namdev
Namdev
Sant Namdeo or Bhagat Namdeo was born on October 29, 1270 in the state of Maharashtra village of Narasi-Bamani, in Hingoli district . His father, a calico printer/tailor, was named Damshet and his mother's name was Gonabai...
(1270?-1350?). Once when he visited Pandharpur, he listened to Sant Namdev's kirtan. Already a devotee of Vitthal alias Vithoba
Vithoba
Vithoba , also known as Vitthala and Panduranga , is a Hindu god, worshipped predominantly in the Indian states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa and Andhra Pradesh. He is generally considered a manifestation of the Hindu god Vishnu or his Avatar Krishna...
, Chokha was moved by Namdev's teachings.
Later, he moved to Pandharpur
Pandharpur
Pandharpur is an important pilgrimage city on the Bhimā river in Solāpur district, Maharashtra, India. The Vithoba temple attracts about half a million Hindu pilgrims during the major yātrā in the month of Ashadh ....
. The traditional story is that the upper castes here did not allow him to enter the temple, nor did they allow him to stand in the door of the temple. So he built a hut on the other side of the river Chandrabhaga
Chandrabhaga
Chandrabhaga may refer to:* Chenab River in Punjab* Bhima River near Pandharpur, Maharashtra...
.
While working on construction of a wall, the wall fell down, crushing some workers. Chokha was one of them. Chokha's samadhi 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 Dr. Ambedkar, while attempting to visit the temple, was stopped at the burial site of Chokhamela and denied entry beyond that point for being a Mahar.
Books
On the Threshold Songs of Chokhamela/translated from the Marathi by Rohini Mokashi-PunekarDr. B. R. Ambedkar
B. R. Ambedkar
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , popularly also known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist, political leader, philosopher, thinker, anthropologist, historian, orator, prolific writer, economist, scholar, editor, a revolutionary and one of the founding fathers of independent India. He was also the Chairman...
has inscribed his book The Untouchables who are they and why they became untouchables? to the memory of Chokhamela, Nandanar
Nandanar
Nandanar was a Nayanar saint born in South India who became a great devotee of Lord Shiva.Nandanar was born in a village called Adhanurin a poor family. He was born at the cruel time where untouchability was being practised, as he belonged to Paraiyar community, which was considered as an...
and Ravidas