Sant Tukaram, also known as Tukoba or Tukobaraya was a 17th century Hindu sage who was also a famous Marathi poet. Best known for his Marathi devotional poem – Abhanga (meaning ‘uninterrupted’), Tukaram was born in 1608 in a village near Pune, in the current day state of Maharashtra, India. He was a devotee to Vitthala or Vithoba, who is considered to be a form of Vishnu or his avatar, Krishna. Tukaram is a prominent figure in the Varkari sect of the Vaishnavite Hinduism, whose chief mode of worship is Bhakti or loving devotion towards Vishnu or any of his avatars (mainly Krishna or Rama).
Tukaram’s parents were scholars and were also into money-lending business as well as agriculture and trade. They too were devotees of Vithoba. Unfortunately, they died when Tukaram was a teenager. He married Rakhama Bai and had a son named Santu but they too died between 1630-1632 owing to a famine in that region. The death of his parents, wife, and son had a deep impact on Tukaram and he decided to leave his home to meditate on the hills of Sahyadri in the Western Ghats. When he came back he had a newfound clarity and balance within him and he decided to marry again. He spent the rest of his life composing poetry, worshipping Vithoba, and organizing Kirtans (community-based singing of devotional songs and prayers). Many scholars believe that Chatrapati Shivaji, a powerful Marathi warrior-king who fought against the Mughal Empire, used to consult Tukaram on various matters and his (Tukaram’s) words always had an impact on Shivaji’s decisions. It is believed that Tukaram disappeared (and not died) in 1650, never to be found again.