Dadu Dayal (Devanagari: दादू दयाल, , 1544–1603) was a Sant Mat religious reformer who spoke against formalism and priestcraft, and was active throughout Rajasthan.
Etymology
"Dadu" means brother, and "Dayal" means "the compassionate one".
Life
There are three main hagiographies on Dādū Dayāl. The
Dādūjanmalīlā was written soon after Dādū Dayāl's death by his disciple Jangopāl, and
Bhaktmāl was written by Rāghavdās in 1660. There exists a text entitled
Sant gun sāgar purportedly written by Mādhavdās during Dādū Dayāl's life, however this is inauthentic and the text in reality likely dates to the early 19th century.
Dādū Dayāl was born into the Pinjara/Dhuniyā caste, but later sources attempted to portray him as a Brahmin. According to Jangopāl, he was born in Ahmedabad. However, other sources do not attest to this, nor did Dādū Dayāl have any impact on the city during his lifetime. Dādū Dayāl claimed to have received visions from his mystical guru, Bābā Būḍhāu, at the ages of 11 and 18.
In 1573, his son, Garībdās, was born in the town of Sambhar, Rajasthan. His later children include Maskīndās, Havā, and Bāī. According to Jangopāl, his children were born without sexual intercourse with his wife. However, according to Rāghavdās, they were merely his first four disciples.
In Sambhar, Dādū Dayāl claimed to hold debates with orthodox religious figures, and preached a "middle path" between various sects. By 1579, Dādū Dayāl and his four children/disciples moved to Amber. According to the Dādu panthī tradition, Dādū Dayāl visited the court of Akbar on the invitation of Bhagwant Das, Kachvāhā ruler of Amber. He then became increasingly nomadic. He moved to Karaṛālā, Naraina where he received land.
In 1603, Dādū Dayāl died. His body was left in the wilderness, instead of being cremated or buried as per Hindus or Muslims tradition.
Dadupanth
Dadu Dayal later moved to Naraina, near
Jaipur,
Rajasthan, where he gained a group of followers, forming a sect that became known as the
Dadupanth.
Dadupanthis are one of the 7 martial akhara of Vaishnavism sampradaya of Hindus. Vaishnavism has following four major sects:
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Sri, founded by Ramananda. Dadupanthis are one of those 7 martial akharas of Vaishnavite in the sect of Ramanada.
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Brahma. founded by Madhava.
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Ridra, founded by Vishnusuvamin
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Sanakadi, founded by Nimbarka.
Followers of Vaishnavism are also called
Bairagi Caste or Vairagi. Among the Bairagi, those who became part of the military
akharas were organised in the 7
akharas, of which the founding dates are unclear. Each of the
akharas accepted members from all 4 sects of Vaishnavism. Bairagi military
akharas generally did not follow the prohibition against eating meat or taking narcotics.
[David N. Lorenzen, 2006, Who Invented Hinduism: Essays on Religion in History , Yoda Press, p.51-65.]
Dadu Anubhav Vani
Dadu's compositions in
Braj Bhasha were recorded by his disciple Rajjab and are known as the
Dadu Anubhav Vani, a compilation of 5,000 verses. Another disciple,
Janagopal, wrote the earliest biography of Dadu. Dadu alludes to spontaneous (
sahaja) bless in his songs. Much of the imagery used is similar to that used by
Kabir, and to that used by earlier
Sahajiya and
Nath . Dadu believed that devotion to God should transcend religious or sectarian affiliation, and that devotees should become non-sectarian or
"Nipakh".
[ Dadu on Realisation at sahajayoga.org ] He said the following about that:
Dadupanthi Thambas
Dadu had 100 disciples that attained
samadhi. He instructed additional 52 disciples to set up ashrams, 'Thambas' around the region to spread the Lord's word.
Dadu spent the latter years of his life in Naraiana, a small distance away from the town of Dudu, near the city of Jaipur.
Five thambas are considered sacred by the followers: Naraiana, Bhairanaji, Sambhar, Amer, and Karadala (Kalyanpura). Followers at these thambas later set up other places of worship.
Dadupanthi Martial Akharas
Armed martial akharas were first likely formed by the Dadupanthi Guru
Jait Sahib (1693–1734 CE) when he recruited armed Naga sadhus. In 1733, Dadupanthis were tax paying farmers in
Jaipur State, and martial Naga Sadhus were employed to enforce the payment of taxes. In 1793, Dadupanthis and Jaipur State had an agreement under which Dadhupanthis provided 5000 armed soldier sadhus to defend the Jaipur State. During the 1857 rebellion, Dadupanthis acted as mercenaries who helped the
British Raj.
Prominent Dadupanthis
Present status
Dadupanth has continued in Rajasthan to the present-day and has been a major source of early manuscripts containing songs by Dadu and other
saints.
See also
Sources
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Sant Dadu Dayal: Encyclopaedia of Saints Series (Volume 25). Eds. Bakshi, S. R.; Mittra, Sangh (2002). New Delhi: Criterion Publications.
External links
