ओवी
OVI — Marathi Devotional Verse Form
Sacred poetry of the Warkari saint-poets of Maharashtra — sung while grinding grain, sung on pilgrimage, sung as prayers.
456 Collections · 7 Saint Poets · 4 Languages · 623 Renditions
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The Warkari poets who composed ovis as acts of bhakti and social reform.
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The Ovi Form Explained
The Ovi (ओवी) is a Marathi verse form of four lines: three full lines of approximately 16 syllables and one short closing line of about 6 syllables. Originally sung by women while grinding grain (ovī = "song of the grinding stone"), it was transformed by the Warkari saints into the primary vehicle of philosophical and devotional expression.
Example Ovi (4-line structure)
ज्ञानियांचा राजा गुरु ओवाळीन राजा ।
jñāniyānchā rājā guru ovāḷīna rājā
भक्तिपंथ चालवी तोचि जाणा माझा ।
bhaktipantha chālavī tochi jāṇā mājhā
तुका म्हणे जैसा असे तैसा ओळखावा ।
Tukā mhaṇe jaisā ase taisā oḷakhāvā
अर्थ कळो येई ।
artha kaḷo yeī
Line 4 is visually distinct — the short closing line
Historical Origin
Women sang ovis while grinding grain on the stone grinder (jāte). The rhythmic DUM-ta-ta of grinding inspired the metre. Dnyaneshwar's Jnaneshwari is composed entirely in ovis.
Warkari Pilgrimage
During the annual Wari to Pandharpur, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims chant ovis as they walk — a living oral tradition spanning 800 years.
Daily Ovi
Today's Ovi · Wednesday, 13 May
ज्ञानियांचा राजा गुरु ओवाळीन राजा ।
भक्तिपंथ चालवी तोचि जाणा माझा ।
तुका म्हणे जैसा असे तैसा ओळखावा ।
अर्थ कळो येई ।
"The Guru is the king of the wise — honour him. He who walks the path of devotion is truly my own. Tuka says: know him as he truly is. May the meaning become clear."
— Sant Tukaram
Warkari Pilgrimage Connection
The Wari pilgrimage to Pandharpur is one of the world's great walking pilgrimages. Every year on Ashadhi Ekadashi and Kartiki Ekadashi, tens of thousands of Warkaris walk hundreds of kilometres, chanting ovis as they go.