At a glance
- Nirgun teaching: like Kabir, he spoke against ritual, caste, idol worship and blind custom.
- Dadu Panth sadhus are of five kinds: Khalsa (seat at Naraina), Virakt, Uttarado (Uttarade), Khaki and Naga.
- Other disciples: Garibdas and Miskindas (by tradition his sons), Bakhnaji and Madhodas.
Facts
| Born | Phalgun Shukla Ashtami, 1544 CE; traditionally at Ahmedabad (Gujarat), though scholars differ |
|---|---|
| Guru | Buddhan (Vriddhanand), who initiated him |
| Sect | Began at Sambhar as the Para-Brahma Sampraday; called the Dadu Panth after his death |
| Seat and death | Naraina, near Phulera, where he died on Jyeshtha Krishna Ashtami, 1603 CE |
| Resting place | Dadu Khol, a cave below Bhairana hill, where his body was placed |
| Works | Dadu ri Vani and Dadu ra Duha, in simple Sadhukkadi language |
Life
- From 1568 CE he lived at Sambhar, worked as a cotton carder (dhuniya) and began to teach.
- In 1575 CE he moved to Amer with 25 disciples and stayed there about 14 years.
- He is said to have gone to Fatehpur Sikri in 1585 CE to meet Akbar; no historical record confirms the meeting.
- He came to Naraina in 1602 CE.
Disciples
- Tradition counts 152 disciples; 52 of them spread his teaching by setting up centres (thambas).
- Rajjab: born at Sanganer; he arranged Dadu's verses and wrote the Rajjab Vani and the Sarvangi.
- Sundardas: born in 1596 CE at Dausa into a Khandelwal Vaishya family; he studied Vedanta at Kashi, wrote Sundar Vilas and Gyan Samudra, and died in 1689 CE at Sanganer.
Remember: often mixed up
- Dadu's placesSambhar, where he began to teach · Amer · Naraina, his seat and place of death · Bhairana hill, the Dadu Khol cave.
- SanganerRajjab's birthplace · Sundardas's place of death.
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