Medieval Maharashtra Saint - Saint Chokhamela

 A great Marathi Saint who took the wicked to task and entreated before God for the sake of the distressed. Chokhamela wrote many abhangas, some of which are autobiographical in nature. He was one of the first Depressed class poets in India. His wife, Soyarabai was also a saint-poetess, belonging to Mahar caste. She had written numerous verses out of which only sixty two are known presently. Lord Vithoba protected Chokha in the same way in which He protected Saint Janabai, the maid servant of Saint Namdev in similar circumstances.

saint chokhamela

He was born in 13th century. Chokhamela was a saint in Maharashtra in the 13th to 14th century. He belonged to the Mahar caste considered untouchable in India during those days. He was born at Mehunaraja, a village in Buldhana district. He lived in a place called Mangelvedha near Pandharpur, Maharashtra. The details about his life are not available historically. The available details are collected from the writings of Saint Mahipati who took lot of strain in collecting the details from the legends about Chokhamela and his abhangas (devotional hymns) and those of his close relatives in addition to the abhangas of other comtemporary saints. Chokhamela wrote many abhangas, some of which are autobiographical in nature . He was one of the untouchable poets in India.

Statue of Sant Chokhamela at his Samadhi in Pandharpur

Chokhamela lived with his wife Soyarabai 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 was the task that was traditionally performed by Mahars in Maharashtra). As a lower-caste person, Chokhamela was forced to live outside the town in a separate settlement meant for members of the untouchable community. But his saving grace was the Lord himself and his close association with saints. His family members also followed varkari cult and his wife and son followed the varkari tradition. His sister, Nirmala and her husband, Banka (who was the brother of his wife, Soyarabai) also were the members of the varakari cult.

Chokha with his wife Soyarabai used to go to Pandharpur on the day of 'Ekadashi' to attend the Puja and celebrations. But because of his birth in the lower caste he was not allowed to enter the temples or attend any celebrations, so he used to stand at a distance and watch. On one such occasion at Pandharpur, Chokhoba and Soyarabai saw a person in white clothes with a Vina(a musical instrument) in his hand and doing kirtan (singing the songs about Lord) and lot of people were standing around him. He was none other than the great Saint Namdev. After the kirtan was over, all the people started touching the feet of Saint Namdev to show gratitude. But Chokha and Soyarabai stayed at a distance as they were aware that, due to their lower caste, people would not allow them to touch the feet of Saint Namdev.  Saint Namdev observed this and asked them to come closer. He told Chokha that "God never distinguishes his children due to high caste or low caste, rich or poor, educated or uneducated. It is pure love and devotion that distinguishes a 'Bhakta' (devotee) from an ordinary man". The couple was very happy on hearing this, they bowed before Saint Namdev. Saint Namdev kept his hand on the Chokha's head and chanted the name of Lord Pandurang for 3 times. He told Chokha to continuously chant the name of Lord Panduranga. By doing so he would be able to meet the Lord and manage all sorrows and happiness in the Samsara (worldly life).  Chokhamela migrated to Pandharpur. He was moved by Namdev’s teachings and became a disciple of the great saint-poet.  After this kirtan, Chokhoba’s life was completely changed. Devotion to Lord Vithoba became the goal in his life. Even though he was uneducated, he started composing abhangas on Lord Vithoba and also about his experiences in his own life.

Later he came and settled in Pandharpur. Being untouchable, he was not allowed by the upper caste people to enter in the temple; he was not allowed to come even to the main door of the temple. He therefore built a hut on the other side of the river, Chandrabhaga beyond Pandharpur.

When he was staying at Pandharpur, Chokha’s brother-in-law Banka became a disciple of Chokha. The whole family including Chokha, Banka, his son Karmamela, wife Soyara and sister Nirmala were devotees of Vitthal.  

Saint Tukaram paid tribute to Chokamela in one of his abhangas which says: “you are a tome of ideologies, Innumerable are the wicked that you have taken to task.” Chokhamela was a Saint from Saint Jnaneshwar’s clan with Saint Namdev as his Guru.

There is even a popular folk lore that when his wife was pregnant, it was the Lord Vitthal himself who came to her in the guise of her sister-in-law and looked after her and became her midwife during her delivery. His son Karmamela also became a Saint. There are some beautiful abhangas composed by Soyrabai, Karmamela, brother-in-law, Banka and sister, Nirmala. Chokhamela was a saint of the highest order. He would consider God present in everyone and in everything. He considered himself as a servant of Lord Vitthal, just like a Mahar was the servant of the Village Chief.

Saint Dnyaneshwar who wrote Dnyaneshwari Geetha in Marathi, became the main cause of spirituality reaching the masses in the thirteenth century. Saint Chokhamela sang in one of his abhangas that the blemished should come and return cleansed—which the village messenger could proclaim. So proclaiming, he carried the spiritual devotion found in the Varkari sect to his neglected brethren. All the Saints including Saint Dnyaneshwar earnestly felt that every person in the society, including people from the lowest class, should get an opportunity for developing their soul spiritually. Saint Chokhamela showed to the masses the path towards spirituality using the Bhaktimarga (devotional path) through his abhangas. Saint Chokhamela was always concerned about the progress of his neglected and downtrodden brethren. He attempted social reform through the medium of devotional path through his compositions and asserted the need to grant equal rights to all in the society, reduce the disparity among the people and eliminate the struggle between different classes. While analyzing Saint Chokhamela’s devotion, one experiences a mute wail concealed in his abhangas. His compositions are replete with culture, endurance, deep devotion to the Lord and loyalty to oneself and exhibit a sense of his internal anguish. He posed a question to the Lord as to why the society called him a lesser mortal and that with that position how could it be possible to serve the Lord. He was assailed by questions like: Why should he bear this type of torture; he also appealed to the Lord saying that in the eyes of the Lord all the people were his children and that being the position, why then this discrimination. His abhanga compositions are extremely poignant along with his unswerving devotion. His compositions reveal the misery, neglect and mental torture that he had suffered. In some abhangas, he had mentioned that he had come for taking the “leftovers”. He also said that some people were tainted at birth, by taking birth in a lower caste. He raised the question whether such a person should continue to be tainted throughout his life and he also asked who was exactly impure.

Along with the depth of emotions, his compositions also reveal his literary talent. Chokha used to constantly chant the name of Vithoba and clean the temple premises daily. However, he was not allowed to enter the temple due to his birth in the Mahar caste. His habitual place was at the outer doors of the temple before the threshold. Many of his poems humbly refer to his standing there, seeking God’s Compassion. There are very little historical records about Chokhamela’s life. But there are several legends and references about him in his own writings and in those of the compositions of other saint-poets of his times.

                                        

One day Chokha was said to be standing at the door of the temple from morning till late in the evening. At nightfall, the priests locked up the doors and went away. As Chokha stood there, fully immersed in devotion, Vithoba himself came out, exclaimed in distress to see Chokha patiently waiting, embraced him, and led him by the hand to the innermost sanctum where he lovingly embraced him. The night was spent by him in the company of the Lord, after which Vithoba playfully removed his tulsi garland which the Varkaris used to wear as a mark of their identity and put it around Chokha’s neck. Next day early in the morning, Vithoba led Chokha out of the temple, still with the garland on. Chokha, in a state of extreme ecstasy lay down on the sands of the river in a trance position. In the temple the priests observed that Vithoba’s gold necklace was missing and remembering that Chokha had been at the temple doors last night, they were enraged by the fact that the temple was not only polluted but the necklace also was stolen by Chokha. But the priests found Chokha still dazed, with a gold necklace around his neck. He was punished for the crime. Chokha was tied to bullocks and was about to be dragged to death but the animals which stood firm and did not move an inch despite the whip-lashing on them. The legend came to an end with Vithoba revealing Himself to the entire public, holding the bullocks by the horns. The Lord protected Chokha in the same way in which He protected Saint Janabai, the maid servant of Saint Namdev in similar circumstances.

One day someone questioned the futility of Chokha’s devotion to Vithoba. Humiliated and deeply hurt Chokha stopped taking food and wept continuously till Vithoba appeared before him, embraced him, took him inside the temple and talked to him. The temple priests were outraged as they felt that the temple was again desecrated by Chokha. The priests became angry and ordered him to stay the other side of the river Chandrabhaga. However it is said that Vithoba started visiting Chokha daily and both of them used to eat food together. One day the priest was passing by Chokha's hut when Chokha was eating food with God and Soyara was serving them. The priest, his mind being impure, could not see God. Soyara spilled the curd on Vithoba's clothes by mistake. Chokha exclaimed, "Oh! Soyara you have soiled Vithoba's clothes". The priest felt it was a deliberate attempt by Chokha to show his devotion and slapped on the face of Chokha.  Later, having touched a Mahar, he bathed in the river. On coming back to the temple, the priest was stunned to see Lord Vitthal's swollen cheek. He realized the intensity of Chokha's devotion towards the Lord. He went to Chokha, asked for his forgiveness and requested him to pacify the Lord. Chokha's prayers and request pacified Vithoba.

The chief gate of Vithoba temple, Pandharpur.The small blue temple in front of the gate is saint
Chokhamela's memorial (samadhi).

Chokha was forced to return to Mangalavedha as the people there wanted to construct a wall in order to separate people of the lower castes from others. While he was working there, he was killed when the wall collapsed and was crushed. Namdev deeply grieved the death of a great devotee, went to Mangalvedha to find his remains and picked up those bones that murmured Vitthal, Vitthal, Vitthal. The bones were buried at the bottom of the steps outside the gate of the main temple at Pandharpur where Chokha used to stand all day long. A Samadhi was built at that place in Chokha’s honour. The small blue temple in front of the main gate of Vithoba temple in Pandharpur, is saint Chokhamela's memorial (samadhi). All devotees can visit Chokha’s shrine before climbing up to have darshan of Lord Vithoba. It is said that, when the wall collapsed, Lord Pandurang appeared in front of Saint Namdev and asked him to bring the bones of Chokhoba and construct a Samadhi in front of his temple as Chokhoba had a strong desire that his body should be buried in front of the Panduranga temple.

In the living tradition of the Varkari community Chokha’s abhangas continue to be sung, not only by the lower castes but also by all communities of pilgrims. Saint Banka, his brother-in-law expressed his sentiments about Saint Chokha in his abhanga, saying that Chokha was completely pure without any dirt in him and that  he was kind and fully devoted to the Lord. Saint Namdev expressed that Chokha was great in his duty and had an utmost devotion  towards the Lord and was a great Saint.

While working on preparing a collection of Chokha’s compositions, some researchers found approximately 350 of his abhangas which are available now. Many of his abhangas are popular even now.

The poet Chokhamela was a  Mahar devotee of Vitthala and Mahars used to refer to their social superiors as “Johars”. In one abhanga, Chokhamela paid obeisance, in all humility, to Lord Vithoba, as his Johar-parent and offering himself as a servant of his servants and pleaded for giving to him any leftovers of food other devotees had consumed. An abhanga on Saint Kanhopatra was written in 14th century by Chokhamela. His abhanga was used in Marathi drama written on Saint Kanhopatra and the drama was performed in 1931 or about that period.

There is no documented information available about the year of birth of Chokhoba but there are many popular stories about Chokhamela’s birth, here is one of them. Patil from Koregaon got very good crop of mango one year, so he wanted to send a basketful of mangoes to Lord Vithoba’s temple in Pandharpur as a gesture of gratitude. He called a Mahar couple named Sudam and Savitri and, asked them to deliver the mangos with his letter to the priest in Pandharpur. On their way to Pandharpur, the couple saw a hungry old man, as they didn’t have anything other than the mangoes, they offered a mango to him. The old man tasted it and returned it to the couple saying that it was sour. Since this mango was tasted they kept it separately in the basket. After reaching Pandharpur, the couple gave the basket with mangoes and the letter to the priest. On counting the mangoes the priest found that one mango was less. Suddenly the couple remembered the mango which was tasted by the old man on their way to Pandharpur. So they checked the basket, but they found a baby boy in it instead of the mango. They thought that this was a blessing of Lord Vithoba and named the baby as ‘Chokhamela’. In Marathi ‘chokha’ means ‘tasted’.

Sant Soyarabai: His wife was also a saint-poetess, belonging to Mahar caste. She followed the path shown by her saint husband. She had written numerous verses out of which only sixty two are known presently. In her abhangas, she exhibited displeasure to God for ill treatment to the untouchable community and making their life miserable. She addressed herself as Chokha’s Mahari. The main themes in her poems are always the plight of untouchables and their devotion to God.

What an ugly and moving tale of the caste system in those days. Late Shri B.R. Ambedkar, leader of the ‘Untouchables’, belonged to the same Mahar community as Chokhamela and was instrumental in safeguarding the equality of all people in the Indian Constitution.