The saint of Nimbargi (1712* sake – 1807 sake) was born in Solapur (Maharashtra) but spent all his life in Devar Nimbargi a village in Bijapur district (Karnataka). He belonged to Neelawani sub-caste of Lingayat caste. His surname was Misalkar. Narayana or Nagappa was his horoscopic name. His disciples used to address him as Narayanrao or Bhausaheb. He was also known as Qurulinga Jangam Maharaj which was in fact the nsune of his Guru (the spiritual preceptor). But he used this as his ensign, in the songs composed by him. One of the ancestors of the saint of Nimbargi was the head of Kupenur – a village in Dharwad district (Karnataka). Later, his descendant Sri Siddappa went from Kupenur to Gadag[1]Betgeri and then to Mangalwede near Pandharpur. Laxmanappa, the great-grand-father of the saint of Nimbargi came to Devar nimbargi and settled there permanently. Laxmanappa had three sons – Dongrayappa, Nagappa, and Dhondappa. Bheemanna, the son of Nagappa, was the father of the saint of Nimbargi. Sow. Ambabai was the mother of the saint of Nimbargi who expired when the saint of Nimbargi was five years old, Bhimanna – the father, and aunt Devakibai (Bhimanna’s sister) brought up the child. Bhimanna and Ambabai had in all two sons – the saint of Nimbargi, Kadappa, and one daughter-Subhadra. The saint of Nimbargi went to school only for a few days. The recent originator of Nimbargi Sampradaya is, of course, the saint of Nimbargi. But the history of Nimbargi Sampradaya has been traced back to Revanasiddha or Revan-nath by some scholars. Sri K. D. Sangoram analyses the divergent viewpoints expressed by various scholars on this subject in the following manner in his foreword to ‘Jeevan Gange’ (Kannada) – written by Sri M. S. Deshpande.

The saint of Nimbargi had his initiation from a saint called Muppinmuni, who lived about the year 1810 in Siddhagiri, and who was in the Kadasiddha line. Later he shifted to Sirasangi on account of the conflict between Kolhapur and Kagal. Manuscripts and documents relating to his are found even at Sirasangi. Muppinmuni is a historical figure because the saint of Nimbargi in one of his songs has directly referred to him: Muppina muniya pididu vachana kappugorala kadasiddhaniddedege hogi Sastanganago ni, obey the word of Muppinmuni, go to the place where the blue – throated Kadasiddha stays and prostrate yourself before him. Hence it is quite definite that the spiritual teacher of the saint of Nimbargi, namely Muppinmuni, lived in Siddhagiri. Siddhagiri was also the place of Kadasiddha. There is also a hill nearby, which is named after Revanasiddha. In any case, it is interesting to see that this name Revanasiddha is paralleled by another name Revananath in the Natha Sampradaya It is not difficult for Revananath to have come to this side of the country and become known as Revanasiddha. The following Sanskrit verse contains the names of the nine Nathas or siddhas of which Revana is one. Gorakasa jalanidhara carapatasca Adbhanga Kanipha machindaradayah, Cauranga revana ca bhartrsanjnah Bhumyam babhuvuh navanathasiddhah. “Nine Nathas or Siddhas, whose names are Gorakasa, Jalandhara, Carpata, Adbhanga, Kanipha, Machindara, Cauranga, Revana, Bhartr, have flourished in this world”.