Muktabai

May 30, 2003

A commemorative postage stamp on Saint Mukta, younger sister of Dnyaneshwar, first Varkari saint :

Issued by India

Issued on May 30, 2003

Issued for : The Department of Posts is happy to issue a postage stamp on Muktabai.

Credits :
Stamp & FDC : Kamleshwar Singh
Cancellation : Alka Sharma

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Four Colour

Denomination : 500 Paise

Overall size : 2.40 x 3.98 cms.

Printing size : 2.40 x 3.98 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Imported unwatermarked stamp paper

Stamps Printed : 0.4 million

Number per issue sheet : 50

Printing Process : Photo Offset

Printer : Eagle Press Private Ltd.

Name : Muktai

Born on 1279 at Alandi, Maharashtra, India

Died on 1299 at Alandi, Maharashtra, India

About :

Muktabai (1279-1299) was one among the poet saints of Maharashtra who freed religion from the elitist monopoly of professional priests and took it to the masses. Her message was one of universal love and compassion.
Muktabai was the sister of Sant Dnyaneshwar, the first major poet of Marathi language and the founder of the cult of Vithoba. It is believed that she exerted a positive influence on Dnyaneshwar in his literary and spiritual pursuits. Like the other poet saints of Maharashtra, the abhang was the favourite metre for Muktabai. She utilized the fluid symmetry of abhangs to convey spiritual and mystical ideas in the native language of Marathi. Through them she stirred the common village folk, including women and people of the lower strata of society, from their hapless existence and guided them to self-realization. In her hand, poetry became a form of shared religion that helped to create a spirit of universal fellowship. She is also believed to have inspired Lord Changdeva to write Tatvasaar, dealing with the spirituality of the Vedas. Though devotional in nature, Muktabai‘s compositions had a deep personal touch. She was one among the few women to have excelled in poetry in the middle ages.
Muktabai is believed to have met with an untimely death while in her teens. Many devotees worship her today as a goddess.
Prominent works of Muktabai are Tatiche Abhanga and Advice to Changdeva which have secured her a permanent place in Marathi literature.
Text : Based on material furnished by the sponsors.