Marathi literature (Marathi: मराठी साहित्य) is the body of literature of Marathi, a Sanskrit-derived language spoken mainly in the Indian state of Maharashtra and written in the Devanagari script.

The early Marathi literature written during the Yadava (850-1312 CE) was mostly religious and philosophical in nature. The earliest known Marathi inscription found at the foot of the statue at Shravanabelgola in Karnataka is dated c. 983. However, the Marathi literature started with the religious writings by the saint-poets belonging to Mahanubhava and Warkari sects.

Bhaskarbhatta Borikar of the Mahanubhava sect is the first known poet to have composed hymns in Marathi.Mukundraj's Vivek Sindhu, with its 18 chapters and 1671 verses, is considered as the first major book in the Marathi language. He also wrote Param Amrit, which contains 14 chapters and 303 verses. Both the works deal with the Advaita philosophy.

Dnyaneshwar (1275–1296) was the first Marathi literary figure who had wide readership and profound influence. His major works are Amrutanubhav and Bhavarth Deepika (popularly known as Dnyaneshwari). Bhavarth Deepika is a 9000-couplets long commentary on the Bhagavad Gita) and Namdev.

Govind Vināyak Karandikar (Marathi: गोविंद विनायक करंदीकर) (August 23, 1918 – March 14, 2010), better known as Vindā Karandikar (Marathi: विंदा करंदीकर), was a well-known Marathi poet and writer. He was also an essayist, literary critic, and a translator.

He was conferred with 39th Jnanpith Award in 2003, which is the highest literary award in India. He also received some other awards for his literary work including Keshavasut Prize, Soviet Land Nehru Literary Award, Kabir Samman, and the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 1996

Karandikar was born on August 23, 1918, at Dhalval village in the present-day Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra.

Karandikar's poetic works include Svedgangā (River of Sweat) (1949), Mrudgandha (1954), Dhrupad (1959), Jātak (1968), and Virupika (1980). Two anthologies of his selected poems, Sanhita (1975) and Adimaya (1990) were also published. His poetic works for children include Rānichā Bāg (1961), Sashyāche Kān (1963), and Pari Ga Pari (1965).

Experimentation has been a feature of Karandikar's Marathi poems. He also translated his own poems in English, which were published as "Vinda Poems" (1975). He also modernized old Marathi literature like Dnyaneshwari and Amrutānubhawa.

Vijay Tendulkar (Marathi:विजय तेंडुलकर) (7 January 1928 - 19 May 2008) was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi. He is best known for his plays, Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe (1967), Ghāshirām Kotwāl (1972), and Sakhārām Binder (1972).Many of Tendulkar's plays derived inspiration from real-life incidents or social upheavals, which provides clear light on harsh realities. He provided his guidance to students studying “Playwright writing” in US universities. For over five decades, Tendulkar had been a highly influential dramatist and theater personality in Mahārāshtra.

Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar was born on 7 January 1928 in a Bhalavalikar Saraswat Brahmin family in Kolhapur, Maharashtra^{[citation needed]}, where his father held a clerical job and ran a small publishing business. The literary environment at home prompted young Vijay to take up writing. He wrote his first story at age six.

He grew up watching western plays, and felt inspired to write plays himself. At age eleven, he wrote, directed, and acted in his first play.

Kiran Nagarkar (born 1942) is an Indian novelist, playwright, film and drama critic and screenwriter both in Marathi and English, and is one of the most significant writers of postcolonial India.

Amongst his most known works are Saat Sakkam Trechalis (Seven Sixes Are Forty Three) (1974, Ravan and Eddie (1994), and the epic novel, Cuckold (book) (1997) for which he was awarded the 2001 Sahitya Akademi Award in English by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters. Nagarkar's latest Novel, The Extras, released in late Jan 2012, is a sequel to Ravan and Eddie and traces the adult lives of Ravan and Eddie as extras in Bollywood.

Nagarkar is notable among Indian writers for having written acclaimed novels in more than one language. His first novel, Saat Sakkam Trechalis (later published in English as Seven Sixes Are Forty Three) is considered one of the landmark works of Marathi literature. His novel Ravan and Eddie, begun in Marathi but completed in English, was not published until 1994.

Professor Jogendra Laxmanrao Kawade (born 1 April 1943, Nagpur)is the founder and President of Peoples Republican Party. He was a former MP from Chimur (Lok Sabha constituency) of Maharashtra in 12th Lok Sabha during 1998-99.

He founded the social organisation named Dalit Mukti Sena (Dalit Liberation Army) which was aimed at to unite scattered dalit people who were frustrated by frequent split-up of Republican Party of India due to personal benefits of the then leaders. His DLA was readily popularized amongst the Dalits especially the youth were looking towards DLA as aspiration. People readily recognized DLA and whole heartedly supported SIR(as they call Prof. Jogendra Kawade)as he was politically unpolarized and people were fond of his oratory and thought provoking fearless speeches. He was really a fearless one and he influenced many to live without fear. He was termed as a LION by youths. But as it was a pattern, he was forced to merge the party into a unified Republican Party of India.