Behind every immortal epic stands an immortal hand. The Gajanan Vijay Granth — 21 chapters, 3,669 ovis, the book that carried Shri Gajanan Maharaj's story into lakhs of Maharashtrian homes — was composed by a saint in his own right: Sant Dasganu Maharaj, the kirtankar-saint whose name devotees speak with the same reverence as the Granth itself. This is his story: who he was, what he wrought, and why the saint of Shegaon and the poet of the Granth belong together in every telling.
Who was Dasganu Maharaj?
Dasganu Maharaj (traditionally 1868–1963) was one of modern Maharashtra's most beloved saint-poets — a kirtankar whose devotional performances drew crowds across the state, a writer of abhangas and granths, and a spiritual figure of genuine standing in his own era. His name joins "Das" (servant) with "Ganu" — the servant of Ganu, his beloved Ganapati; his lifelong identity as Ganesh's devotee makes his later connection to Gajanan Maharaj — "Gajanan," the elephant-faced — feel, to devotees, like destiny rather than chance.
His life as a wandering kirtankar gave him three gifts that shaped the Granth: a command of Marathi verse that made devotion sing; an ear for the stories people carried in their hearts; and a network of saints, devotees, and pilgrims that reached every kshetra in the state — including, in the 1890s, a small town called Shegaon.
The meeting that made the Granth
Devotees treasure the account of how Dasganu came to Shegaon: the celebrated kirtankar, already famous, meeting the ash-smeared ascetic the town was slowly recognising as extraordinary. The Granth's own tradition records the encounter's effect — the poet who had performed devotion for thousands met a being who was devotion, wanting nothing, owned by no one, lost in ceaseless invocation. The life story of Shri Gajanan Maharaj carries the full arc; what matters here is what the meeting produced.
After the saint's samadhi in 1908 — an event Dasganu records with the grief and grandeur it deserved — the poet took up the work his life had prepared him for: gathering the accounts of eyewitnesses and devotees, and composing the Gajanan Vijay Granth. Not a biography in the modern sense, but a devotional epic in the Maharashtrian tradition of the Bhaktivijay lineage — granths that tell saints' lives so that every generation can walk with them.
What Dasganu's Granth achieved
It is difficult to overstate what the Gajanan Vijay Granth did for Shegaon:
- It preserved the saint — without the Granth, the memory of a deliberately obscure ascetic might have faded with his generation. Instead, every leela, every teaching, every detail of the 1908 farewell was fixed in verse.
- It spread the saint — households that would never travel to Vidarbha read the Granth in their courtyards; parayan became a home discipline (the saptah practice); Shegaon entered Maharashtra's devotional geography permanently.
- It set the devotional tone — the Granth's opening salutation, Gan Gan Ganat Bote, became the invocation on every devotee's lips (its meaning).
A poet's immortality is to be remembered through what he sang; Dasganu's is greater — to be remembered through what an entire kshetra became. The 21-adhyay overview shows the epic's architecture he raised.
Dasganu beyond the Granth
The Granth is his towering work, but devotees know Dasganu wider: a prolific composer of abhangas; a kirtankar whose style — learned, musical, direct — shaped generations after him; and a spiritual figure who, in the tradition's telling, lived long enough (into the 1960s) to see the kshetra he had sung about receive lakhs of pilgrims a year. His own samadhi is honoured outside Shegaon; the Granth's homeland, though, will always be here.
Walking with both saints at Shegaon
Devotees who love the Granth feel Dasganu's presence along the pilgrimage's whole route: at the samadhi mandir his verses are sung; at the book-sellers his pothi is sold; in the parayan gatherings his ovis are read aloud. A beautiful practice for your visit: carry a copy (available through the contact page or at Shegaon), read a few ovis at the samadhi mandir, and spare a grateful thought for the servant-poet who made the meeting possible. Bhakta Niwas places you minutes from all of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote the Gajanan Vijay Granth? Sant Dasganu Maharaj — the saint-poet and kirtankar of Maharashtra, composing from the accounts of Shri Gajanan Maharaj's devotees after the 1908 samadhi.
When did Dasganu Maharaj live? Traditionally 1868–1963 — he lived to see the Granth carry Shegaon into one of Maharashtra's great kshetras.
Did Dasganu Maharaj meet Gajanan Maharaj? Yes — the tradition records the celebrated poet's encounters with the saint of Shegaon, the meeting that ultimately produced the Granth.
What else did Dasganu write? A large body of abhangas, kirtans, and devotional works beyond the Granth; he is among modern Maharashtra's most influential saint-poets.
Where is Dasganu Maharaj's samadhi? Outside Shegaon, at his own place of honour in the state's devotional geography; his literary samadhi, though, is the Granth at Shegaon.
Can we read the Granth Dasganu wrote? Yes — through Sansthan channels and at Shegaon; the reader's guide and the 21-adhyay overview on this site begin the journey.