Nivruttinath

Nivruttinath (c. 11 February 1273 – 24 June 1297) was a 13th-century Marathi Bhakti saint, poet, philosopher and yogi of the Vaishnava Nath tradition. He was the elder brother and the mentor (guru) of Dnyaneshwar, the first Varkari saint. Nivruttinath was born in Apegaon village on the bank of Godavari river near Paithan in Maharashtra into a Deshastha Brahmin family during the reign of the Yadava King Ramadevarava. Nivruttinath was one of the four children, and the eldest son, of Vitthalapant, a kulkarni (hereditary accountant), and Rakhumabai. Vitthalpant did atonement for the acceptance of his children in society. Vitthal Panth and his wife were suggested to give up their life to get rid of the ex-communication as Vitthal Panth was believed to be a sannyasin but after the birth of his children, Orthodox Brahmins of the day saw a renunciate returning to his life as a householder as heresy and Nivruttinath and his siblings were denied the right to have in society. Vitthalapant and his wife gave up their lives, within a year of each other by jumping into the Indrayani River, leaving two sons, Dnyaneshwar and Sopan, and a daughter, Muktabai, to be taken care of by Nivruttinath. At around the age of 10, Nivruttinath's family moved to Nashik. During a pilgrimage trip, Vitthalapant along with his family was confronted by a tiger. The family escaped while Nivruttinath got separated from the family. He hid in a cave on the Anjani mountain where he met Gahaninath, who initiated Nivruttinath into the wisdom of the Nath tradition. The Natha Tradition is an initiatory Guru–shishya tradition. After the death of their parents, Nivruttinath initiated Dnyaneshwar into the Nath tradition and become his teacher (Guru). Nivruttinath advised Dnyaneshwar to write an independent philosophical work. This work later came to be known as Amrutanubhav. After the Samadhi of Dnyaneshwar, Nivruttinath left Alandi with his sister, Muktabai for a pilgrimage. During a thunderstorm, Muktabai was lost. Nivruttinath then attained Samadhi.