Dadu Dayal

Dadu Dayal (Devanagari: दादू दयाल, Saint Dādūdayāl, 1544–1603) was a poet-saint religious reformer who spoke against formalism and priestcraft, and was active throughout Rajasthan.

"Dadu" means brother, and "Dayal" means "the compassionate one".

There are three main hagiographies on Dādū Dayāl. The Dādūjanmalīlā was written soon after Dādū Dayāl's death by his disciple Jangopāl, and Bhaktmāl was written by Rāghavdās in 1660. There exists a text entitled Sant gun sāgar purportedly written by Mādhavdās during Dādū Dayāl's life, however this is inauthentic and the text in reality likely dates to the early 19th century.

Dādū Dayāl was born into the Piñjārā/Dhuniyā caste, but later sources attempted to portray him as a Brahmin. According to Jangopāl, he was born in Ahmedabad. However, other sources do not attest to this, nor did Dādū Dayāl have any impact on the city during his lifetime. Dādū Dayāl claimed to have received visions from his mystical guru, Bābā Būḍhāu, at the ages of 11 and 18.

In 1573, his son, Garībdās, was born in the town of Sambhar, Rajasthan. His later children include Maskīndās, Havā, and Bāī. According to Jangopāl, his children were born without sexual intercourse with his wife. However, according to Rāghavdās, they were merely his first four disciples.

In Sambhar, Dādū Dayāl claimed to hold debates with orthodox religious figures, and preached a "middle path" between various sects. By 1579, Dādū Dayāl and his four children/disciples moved to Amber. According to the Dādu panthī tradition, Dādū Dayāl visited the court of Akbar on the invitation of Bhagavantdās, Kachvāhā ruler of Amber. He then became increasingly nomadic. He moved to Karaṛālā, Naraina where he received land.

In 1603, Dādū Dayāl died. His body was left in the wilderness, instead of being cremated or buried as per Hindu or Muslim tradition.

Dadu Dayal later moved to Naraina, near Jaipur, Rajasthan, where he gained a group of followers, forming a sect that became known as the Dadupanth.