Ravidas

Ravidas
Ravidas
	Ravidas at work as a shoemaker. Folio from a series featuring Bhakti saints. Master of the first generation after Manaku and Nainsukh of Guler, Pahari region, ca.1800–1810
Personal
Born	Banaras, Delhi Sultanate (present-day Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India)
Died	Banaras, Delhi Sultanate (present-day Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India)
Spouse	Lona Devi
Children	1
Known for	Venerated as a Guru and having hymns included in the Guru Granth Sahib, central figure of the Ravidassia, his 41 verses in Guru Granth Sahib
Other names	Raidas, Rohidas, Ruhi Dass, Robidas, Bhagat Ravidas, Guru Ravidas
Occupation	Poet, leather craftsman, satguru (spiritual teacher)
Senior posting
	Influenced by Ramananda, Advaita Vedanta, Ramanandi Sampradaya, Vaishnavism, Sufism;
	Influenced Meera Bai, Rani Jhala, Raja Pipa, Raja Sikandar Lodhi, Guru Nanak, Raja Bahadur Shah, Rani Ratan Kunwar, Raja Naagar Mall, Pandit Shardha Ram, Raja Chandar Partap, Bibi Bhanmati, Pandit Ganga Ram, Ram Lal, Raja Bain Singh, Rana Sanga, Raja Chandrahans, Guru Kabir, Guru Tarlochan, Guru Sadhna Sehan;

Ravidas or Raidas (1267–1335^[1]) was an Indian mystic poet-saint of the Bhakti movement during the 15th to 16th century CE.^[2]^[3] Venerated as a guru (spiritual teacher) in the modern regions of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana, he was a poet, social reformer and spiritual figure.

The life details of Ravidas are uncertain and contested. Some scholars believe he was born in 1433 CE. He taught removal of social divisions of caste and gender, and promoted unity in the pursuit of personal spiritual freedom.

Ravidas's devotional verses were included in the Sikh scriptures known as Guru Granth Sahib.^[3]^[4] The Panch Vani text of the Dadu Panthi tradition within Hinduism also includes numerous poems of Ravidas.^[2] He is also the central figure within the Ravidassia religious movement.

^ Datta, Amaresh (1987). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo, Volume 1. Sahitya Akademi. p. 79. ISBN 9788126018031.
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference jameslraidas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference encyclopediabritraidas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Callewaert and Friedlander, The Life and Works of Ravidass Ji, Manohar, Delhi, 1992, quoted in Gavin Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge 1996.

[:6-1] Datta, Amaresh (1987). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo, Volume 1. Sahitya Akademi. p. 79. ISBN 9788126018031.

[jameslraidas-2] Cite error: The named reference jameslraidas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[encyclopediabritraidas-3] Cite error: The named reference encyclopediabritraidas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[4] Callewaert and Friedlander, The Life and Works of Ravidass Ji, Manohar, Delhi, 1992, quoted in Gavin Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge 1996.

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