Janardan Swami

Janardan Swami (or Janardana) was an Indian scholar, a Deshpande or Deshastha Brahmin, born in 1504 at Chalisgaon. Janardan Swami was a devotee of Dattatreya. He moved to Devagiri, renamed as Daulatabad by the Muslim rulers of the time. The Muslim king appointed Janardan as chief in charge of the fort. There in a cave, he held a conversation with Dattatreya in human form. He made disciples from among all castes including Muslims and Arabs. On one of his tours to Ankalakopa, while resting in a temple, he had the vision of Lord Dattatreya who came to him in the form of Narasimha Saraswati, a great saint lived in Narsobawadi near Gangapur. Narasimha Saraswati initiated him in the spiritual life, under an audumbar tree. Janardan Swami composed beautiful Abhangas. His very presence used to bring peace of mind to those who came to him. Of his three main disciples, Saint Eknath was the best known; the others were Ramajanardana and Janijanardana.
Janardan Swami asked Eknath to go on a pilgrimage. He himself accompanied Eknath up to Nasik-Tryambakeshwar. He took Mahasamadhi in 1575.