Manik Prabhu Maharaj pronunciation^ⓘwas an Indian Hindu saint, freedom fighter, philosopher, poet and guru. He is also regarded as an incarnation of Dattatreya by the people of Datta Sampraday. Prabhu's philosophy, the Sakala mata Siddhanta rests on the principles of Advaita Vedanta as propagated by Adi Sankara. Shri Prabhu strongly advocated the essential oneness of all religions. Prabhu's Muslim devotees revered him as an incarnation of Mehboob Subhani whereas his Lingayat devotees saw him as a form of Basavanna. Shri Prabhu composed numerous bhajans and padas in various languages such as Marathi, Kannada, Hindi, Urdu and Sanskrit. Shri Prabhu was also associated with the First War of Indian Independence in 1857. Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi, Shri Swami Samarth of Akkalkot, Shri Bramhachaitanya of Gondavale and many other contemporary saints are believed to have visited Maniknagar to interact with Prabhu on matters of deep spiritual wisdom. Biographers refer to Shri Prabhu as a saint of great spirituality and mysticism. Shri Prabhu's teachings emphasize the path of Bhakti. He also moralized on the vedantic truths concerning the spiritual unity of beings. Manik Nagar, Humnabad, Bidar District is the place where he took sanjeevani samadhi. Shri Prabhu's samadhi at Maniknagar is the nucleus of Manik Nagar and acts as the spiritual center of the activities of Shri Manik Prabhu Samsthan.

Manika Prabhu was born into Deshastha Rigvedi Bramhin family of Srivatsa gotra on 22 December 1817 (Margashirsha Pournima - Datta Jayanti, Shaka 1739 Eashwara naama Samvatsara) in his grandmother's native Ladwanti near Basavakalyana (now in the Bidar district of Karnataka). His father was named Manohara Naik and his mother Baya Devi. It is said that his parents, who celebrated Rama Navmi every year, had a divine vision of Lord Dattatreya on the Ram Navami of 1817 before Prabhu's birth. It is believed that Dattatreya assured Manohar and Baya that he himself would take birth as their child on Datta Jayanti. Prabhu had an elder brother called Dadasaheb, a younger brother called Tatya Saheb and a sister called Chimanabai. Prabhu lost his father at an early age and thus grew up under the guardianship of his maternal uncle Shri Balwantrao Apparao Kulkarni, who was employed with the Nawab of Basavakalyana.

While at Basavakalyana, he started collecting a group of his friends and roaming the hills and dales in the vicinity of the town. Young Manik behaved in such a carefree manner that the members of his family were concerned. He used to roam in the forests for days at a stretch and not return home, which led to the people of Basavakalyana calling him veda bhau (mad child). He never went to school and did not receive any formal education despite attempts by his family members. His childhood friends claimed that he performed many miracles in the jungles while they were playing together. On one occasion, his friend Govinda did not turn up for play. When he reached Govinda's house, he saw that Govinda had died due to snake bite and all his family members were mourning. Prabhu is believed to have miraculously brought Govinda back to life by his devotees. On another occasion, he is said to have given Darshan to Kalambhatta in the divine form of Lord Shiva. From early in his childhood, Prabhu's fame as an Avatari Purusha quickly spread in the erstwhile Hyderabad state and beyond. His devotees have documented many such stories in which Prabhu solved the problems of his devotees, fulfilled people's wishes and helped common people in distress. He stayed with Bhalachandra Dikshit of Hallikhed (a Vedic Pundit) for a few months to learn some Vedic rites and rituals.

As he grew older, his uncle tried to formally educate him, thinking that education would make him a breadwinner for the family, but in vain. On a hot summer afternoon, when Prabhu was taking a royal siesta on his uncle's bed, he got a strong reprimand from his uncle. This was reason enough for Prabhu to renounce all worldly ties and leave his hometown for his chosen mission. He composed his first pada or bhajan 'प्रभूविण कोण कुणाचा वाली' after leaving home.

After leaving home, Prabhu stayed and performed penance at Amrutkund - a holy place in the jungles near Manthal for six months. Devotees believe that Bhagawan Dattatreya, disguised as a Bairagi once visited Prabhu at Amritkund and gave him Danda, Deeksha and Jholi, mandating his future journey as a wandering yogi and an itinerant messenger of truth. From here, he started travelling and visiting places of religious importance in the region. According to a legend, he once arrived at Chalakapur, a small village near Bidar during his wanderings. The sun had already set and he had no place to stay at night. On the outskirts of the village, he saw a temple dedicated to Hanuman. The people of this village did not visit this temple after nightfall due to the fear of dacoits, thieves and wild animals. Prabhu arrived at this temple and planned to stay there for the night. He packed his clothes and other belongings in a cloth and safely deposited them on Shri Hanuman's Moorthi before sleeping in a corner of the temple. Next morning, the poojari (priest) arrived and was enraged to see that a young person had kept his belongings on the holy idol's shoulders. He woke Shri Prabhu up and asked him why he had done so. Prabhu said "He who takes care of the whole world can easily take care of my belongings in this desolate place, therefore I kept it with the lord". The poojari's anger knew no bounds and he started beating Shri Prabhu with a stick. It is believed that blood started oozing out of the Hanuman idol when the poojari beat Prabhu. Seeing wounds appearing on Hanuman's idol, the poojari thought that Prabhu must be none other than Hanuman in human form and begged for his forgiveness. Prabhu forgave him and asked him never to be harsh with devotees. He stayed at Chalakapur for a few months and people started flocking to him for his darshan. He arrived at Mailar near Bidar after leaving Chalakapur. It his here that he met Devi Venkamma or Madhumati Shyamala, his disciple (a yogini revered as a devi by Shri Manik Prabhu's devotees), for the first time. Prabhu stayed at Mailar for a few months and like Chalakapur, thousands of people started gathering to catch a glimpse of Shri Prabhu. After leaving Mailar, Prabhu proceeded to Bhalki. Prabhu is said to have performed penance in the jungles near Bhalki. Some accounts suggest that Prabhu taught Devi Venkamma samadhi and yoga in the jungles there. He then visited Chitguppa where he is said to have given darshan to his devotees in the divine form of Lord Basaveshwara.

Prabhu sent all his followers and shishyas to Kalyan and then set out for his spiritual journey across the country. Prabhu travelled on foot as a wandering yogi across the length and breadth of the country covering places of religious importance such as Varanasi, Haridwar, Mathura, Badri, Puri, Dwarka, Girnar, Tirupati and Rameshwaram. Some of his Muslim devotees believe that he visited the shrine of Mehboob Subhani in Baghdad (Iraq) during his travels in North India. Prabhu also visited Pandharpur, Tuljapur, Ganagapur, Kolhapur and other major temples of the Deccan region. According to Ganesh Raghunath Kulkarni (Prabhu's official biographer), the river Chandrabhaga was flooded when he visited Pandharpur. Prabhu's devotees believe that Panduranga himself came in the form of a boatman and took Prabhu to the other side of the river and then disappeared. When he visited the Vitthala Temple, he had worn dirty and torn clothes. The pundits thought that he was a beggar and denied him entry to the temple. When he tried to forcefully enter the temple, the pundits beat him. It is believed that a floral garland came from Panduranga's idol and fell on Shri Prabhu. The pundits realised that Prabhu was a divine being and begged him for forgiveness. Prabhu took Lord Vitthala's darshan and stayed at Pandharpur for many days. While describing his Pandharpur visit, Prabhu himself says in an abhanga (poem), 'कडकडोनि माणिकदास विट्ठलासी भेटले'. During his countrywide travel, he composed numerous bhajans in praise of various deities in Marathi, Kannada, Hindi, Urdu and Sanskrit. These bhajans and abhangas are compiled in a book called Padyamala. Prabhu also visited the Gottamgotti forest, Ketaki Sangam and Nyalkal among other places when he came back to his native land. The devotees of Bidar invited Prabhu to visit Bidar. On the way there, it is said that a yogi came in the form of a snake and led Prabhu to Jharani Narasimha cave. Prabhu's ancestors had performed penance at Jharani Narasimha. People of the Bidar region started to flock to Jharni for Prabhu's darshan. Devotees of Bidar invited Prabhu to visit their homes. Prabhu assured everyone that he would visit their house at 12 noon the following day. According to Ganesh Raghunath Kulkarni, Prabhu is believed to have visited every devotee's home at the same time in a miraculous example of multilocation. According to the same account, when Muslim residents of Bidar tried to test him by giving him meat and wine for lunch, Prabhu is believed to have converted them into fruits and milk. Prabhu's devotees ascribe many such miracles to him.

After completing his spiritual journey across the country, Prabhu finally decided to settle on the banks of the rivulets Viraja and Guruganga in the year 1845 which later came to be known as Maniknagar (a place near Humnabad in Bidar District of Karnataka). He was on his way back to Kalyan when his palkhi or palanquin got stuck in the jungle near Humnabad. Prabhu liked the area and decided to make it his permanent abode and also a center for the propagation of his philosophy of sakalamata siddhanta. Prabhu stayed in a simple hut and ate only the madhukari bhiksha (alms) which his disciples would bring from the nearby villages. Usually, he dressed in very simple clothes and occasionally he even dressed in royal attire. Manik Prabhu established the gaadi (spiritual seat) of Lord Dattatreya in the very hut where he used to reside. This gaadi is a symbol of Nirguna Bramha. He did not place any idol or spiritual icon on the gaadi and instead kept it empty. The idea behind it was that his devotees could visualise the parabrahma (supreme reality) in whatever form they liked and worship him accordingly. Initially When Prabhu made Maniknagar his abode, only his disciples and some bramhacharis stayed in small huts. Later on, Prabhu allowed people from all walks of life to stay at Maniknagar and the population started increasing steadily. Prabhu's mother Baya Devi and his brothers Tatya Saheb and Dada Saheb also came and settled in Maniknagar with their family.

The name and fame of Manik Prabhu spread quickly and people of all religions, sects and communities started flocking to Maniknagar. Prabhu used to hold a gathering everyday called darbar where thousands of people visited him and sought his blessings. Prabhu guided his devotees in spiritual matters and helped them overcome their material difficulties. Prabhu gave khairaat or alms to the needy and the poor. Hundreds of Vedic scholars, Fakeers, jangams and other mendicants came to Maniknagar to receive blessings and khairaat from Prabhu. It is said that leading musicians and artists of the time came to Maniknagar to perform seva, selfless service, in Prabhu's darbar. He was equally revered by all communities; while his Muslim followers thought him to be an incarnation of Mehboob Subhani (the Sufi saint of Baghdad), his Lingayat devotees would worship him as Lord Basaveshwara and his Sikh followers saw him as in the form of Guru Nanak. It is said that the fifth Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Afzaluddaula sent his courtier Yashwantrao Arab to seek Shri Prabhu's blessings. Prabhu declined the jagir or lands offered by the king and said, "The whole earth belongs to my lord, Datta Prabhu". He sent Prasada to the Nizam Afzaluddaula. Some devotees believe that the Nizam's son Mehboob Ali (the sixth Nizam) was named by Shri Manik Prabhu. Prabhu conducted a mahayajna (Vedic sacrifice) called sarvatomukha at Maniknagar. Leading scholars of the time are said to have attended this yajna and sought Shri Prabhu's blessings. Prabhu celebrated Datta Jaynti Utsav every year at Maniknagar in a grand manner.