- published: 12 May 2016
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Ramananda (IAST: Rāmānanda) was a 14th-century Vaishnava devotional poet sant, in the Ganges river region of Northern India. The Hindu tradition recognizes him as the founder of the Ramanandi Sampradaya, the largest monastic Hindu renunciant community in modern times. Ramananda is also known as Jagadguru Ramanandacharya, and revered by his followers to be an incarnation of Hindu god Rama.
Born in a Brahmin family, Ramananda for the most part of his life lived in the holy city of Varanasi. His year of birth or death are uncertain, but historical evidence suggests he was one of the earliest sants and a pioneering figure of the Bhakti movement as it rapidly grew in north India, sometime between the 14th and mid 15th century during its Islamic rule period. Tradition asserts that Ramananda developed his philosophy and devotional themes inspired by the south Indian Vedanta philosopher Ramanuja, however evidence also suggests that Ramananda was influenced by Nathpanthi ascetics of the Yoga school of Hindu philosophy.