Marathi Poetry - 16th, 17th and 18th Century Poetry

16th, 17th and 18th Century Poetry

Eknath (एकनाथ), who lived in the 16th century (1533 – 1599) was the next prominent poet in Marathi. The 17th century produced first-rate poets Tukaram (तुकाराम) (1598 – 1649), Mukteshwar (मुक्तेश्वर) (1609 - 1660), Ramdas (रामदास) (1608-1681), Vaman Pandit (वामनपंडित) (1608-1695), Raghunath Pandit (रघुनाथपंडित), and Shridhar Pandit (श्रीधरपंडित) (1658 - 1729). Moropant (मोरोपंत) (1729-1794) was the prime poet of the 18th century.

All above poets wrote either religious or semireligious compositions. Some details of the works of the poets whose names are highlighted above are available in their Wikipedia articles. (Very briefly, Ramdas wrote Dasabodh (दासबोध); Vaman Pandit wrote Yathartha Dipika (यथार्थदीपिका); Raghunath Pandit wrote Nala Damayanti Swayamvara (नलदमयंती स्वयंवर); and Shridhar Pandit wrote Harivijay (हरिविजय), Ramavijay (रामविजय), Pandavpratap (पांडवप्रताप), and Shivaleelamrut (शिवलीलामृत)).

Moropant's Aryabharata (आर्याभारत) was the first epic in Marathi.