The precise dates of his life are uncertain but it is traditionally held that Eknath lived during the last three-quarters of the sixteenth-century CE. Legend also says that he was born to a Marathi Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin family that worshiped Ekvira as their family deity at Paithan, that his parents died while he was young and that he was then raised by his grandfather, Bhanudas, a sant also revered by the Varkari sect. Some sources say that Bhanudas was his great-grandfather. It is possible, but not certain, that Eknath's guru, Janardan, was a Sufi.

Once, Eknath, was invited by a Mahar to eat at his house. Eknath accepted, quoting a verse from the Bhagavata Purana - "A dog-eating outcaste, who has made an offering to God of his mind, his words, his actions, his property and his very life, is to be considered far superior to a Brahman, who, although gifted with the twelve characteristics of a Brahman, has turned away from the feet of God. The former purifies his whole family, not so the latter puffed up with pride". The Brahmins were enraged when the heard him quoting this. Eknath submitted himself to the penance imposed by them. However, he accepted the invitation again. This time, he was (according to a legend) saved by the God Vitthal from being ostracized. According to this legend, Vitthal took the form of Eknath and went to the Mahar's house instead of him.^[5]

He wrote a variation of the Bhagavata Purana which is known as the Eknathi Bhagavata,^[6] and a variation of the Ramayana which is known as the Bhavarth Ramayan. Eknath wrote Rukmini Swayamwar Hastamalak, which was comprised 764 owees and based on a 14-shlok Sanskrit hymn with the same name by Shankaracharya.

His other works were the Shukashtak (447 owees), the Swatma-Sukha (510 owees), the Ananda-Lahari (154 owees), the Chiranjeewa-Pad (42 owees), the Geeta-Sar, and the Prahlad-Wijaya. He introduced a new form of Marathi religious song called Bharood, writing 300 of them.^[6]

• Vasudeva
• Bhagavatism