Ravidas

Born into a family of leatherworkers in Varanasi, a caste position that placed him outside conventional access to temple worship in his era, Ravidas taught that devotion required no intermediary of caste or ritual status, only sincerity of heart.

His verses were included in the Guru Granth Sahib, and Ravidas remains a central figure of reverence, particularly among Dalit communities, with Ravidas Jayanti drawing large annual gatherings at his birthplace shrine in Varanasi.