born 0441; 1400
died 0441; 1470
Indian spiritual leader.
He lived as an ascetic before settling in Varanasi (Benares) to study Vedic texts and the philosophy of Ramanuja . He was fifth in succession in the lineage of Ramanuja, but his determination to ignore caste distinctions led to a break with the philosopher's other followers. With 12 disciples he founded his own sect, the Ramanandis, who practiced devotion to Rama . His teachings were similar to Ramanuja's, but he dropped the ban on intercaste dining and the strict rule that all teaching and all texts must be in Sanskrit, himself teaching in the vernacular Hindi in order to reach the masses who did not know Sanskrit.