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Sant Namdev Maharaj
Namdev of Maharashtra was a saint of medieval India.He was not a servant of Lord Krishna, but His companion. Namdev was an Aṅśa[1] of Lord Kṛiṣṇa.Namdev was a contemporary of Jnānadev, the famous saint of Maharashtra, being his senior in age by about five years. He was born in 1269 A.D. He came of a family of tailors who were sincere devotees of Viṭhala of Pandharpur. The family members were observing the Wari of Pandharpur, i.e., going on pilgrimage twice a year on the first eleventh day of the Ashadh[2] and Kartik[3] months. The family originated from a village called Narsibamani on the bank of the river Kṛṣṇa, near Karad, in district Satara. Being a great devotee of Viṭhala and wishing to improve his material prospects, Dama Setti, the father of Namdev, had moved to Pandharpur a year or two before his son's birth.
Namdev, from his very childhood; was like Prahlad. At the age of two, when he began to talk, the first correct word he uttered was 'Viṭhala', and since then, he continued with the repetition of that sacred name incessantly, without any help or instruction from others. He found great pleasure when every day his mother Guna Bai took him to the temple of Viṭhoba for offering worship to the Deity. His next step was, when at the age of about seven, he prepared a pair of cymbals and spent his time in dancing and singing, doing Bhajan, to the neglect of everything-food, studies in school, rest, sleep, etc. His devotion to Viṭhoba was so innocent and sincere that he used to treat Him sometimes as his dearest brother or as his playmate.
One day, as Namdev's mother was busy, she asked Namdev to take the plate of offerings to Viṭhoba. Namdev went to the temple, placed the plate of eatables before Viṭhoba and asked Him to accept the offering. However, when Namdev did not find any evidence of acceptance by Viṭhoba, he cried so bitterly that Viṭhoba actually assumed a human form and accepted the offerings gratefully. Namdev's mother was surprised when her son came back in great joy with an empty plate and explained to her that Viṭhoba had accepted the offerings by actually consuming the eatables presented in the plate. So, the next day, she herself accompanied Namdev, but without his knowledge, to see and verify for herself the correctness of Namdev's explanation. The same performance was repeated and the mother had the satisfaction of seeing the Lord actually accepting their offerings. Her joy and pride in Namdev was unbounded. She felt grateful to the Lord that she was the mother of such a great devotee.