A prominent bhakti saint of Maharashtra was Tukaram. Tukaram's parents died early, and he had to shoulder the burden of maintaining a huge family. He tried to carry out his hereditary profession of petty trader cum money lender but he suffered heavy losses due to his over generous nature. His wife and son died due to starvation. He led a married life with two wives. One of them known as Rakuma bai died due to famine for lack of food. His son Santu also died. Tukaram went to Bhambanatha and other places and gave himself to spiritual readings. His second wife was more practical and kept nagging him for his ways. All this made him turn to God in order to seek internal peace. Tukaram’s abhangs tell us about his spiritual journey, the difficulties in the path of Bhakti, his heart rending experiences in his path to Bhakti and as he realized God the gleam of light began to shine on him. In fact there is a kind of Hegelian dialecticism in Tukarams soul. He first withdraws himself from the world with a determination to win spiritual knowledge. Then comes the stage of negation, the dark side of Tukaram's soul where he is warring with his own self. Finally there is a stage of affirmation, namely the transforming the original determination and following negation to the final vision of the God head a stage which supersedes them both.

Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan , popularly known as simply Rahim, was a poet who lived in India during the rule of Mughal emperor Akbar. He was a Mansabdar in the court of Akbar. Abdul Rahim was the son of Bairam Khan, Akbar's trusted guardian and mentor. He was one of the nine important ministers (dewan) in his court, also known as the Navaratnas. Abdur Rahim Khan was a brave warrior in his own right. He became very much involved in Krishna Bhakti. His work includes, Barawe Nayika Bhed. He was a friend of Tulsidas and it is believed that Ramcharitra manas is also influenced by him. The other works of Rahim include Rahim Dohavalli, Sringar Soratha, Madnashtak and Raspanchadyayi. Rahim was comfortable in both Awadhi and Vraj and his poems in both the languages are beautiful and a tribute to the composite culture heritage of India. Rahim Khan’s tomb was opened to the public after six years of restoration work, perhaps the largest conservation project ever undertaken for any monument of national importance in India.

Sundar das is said to be a follower of Dadu Dayal. He was born in 1596 in Dhausa near Jaipur. From the age of ten till thirty he studied the holy scriptures by staying in Kasi. He returned to Rajasthan and died in 1689 in Sangamer. Sant Sunderdas composed about 48 books, which included philosophy, bhajans, and poems in several vernacular languages spoken during his time. His works continue to inspire spiritual seekers even today. He is revered as the "Sankaracharya" of Hindi literature, and is popularly known as Sant Kavi Sundar das. In literature his most famous work is Sundar Vilas. He has composed many small poems on nirgunBhakti, social relationships and character. A 2 Rupee stamp was issued in his name by the Indian Postal department on 8th November 1997.

Ras Khan was an Indian Sufi Muslim poet who became a devotee of the Hindu deity Krishna. He was either born in Pihani (Hardoi) or Amroha, in modern-day Uttar Pradesh, India. His original name was Saiyad Ibrahim and Raskhan was his takhallus (pen name) in Hindi. In his early years, he became a follower of Krishna, learned the bhakti marga. Ras Khan was a disciple of Gosai Vithal Das and it was under his influence that he became a devotee of Krishna and composed beautiful songs for his friend Krishna and began living in Vrindavan, where he spent the rest of his life. He accepted Krishna as the supreme god (Svayam Bhagavan) and became a Vaishnava. Raskhan was the son of a jagirdar (rich landowner)and lived in luxury in his youth. His family was prosperous, for this reason, Raskhan's childhood was spent in happiness and affection. There was no shortage in the house.

Tulsidas was born in 1532 A.D in the village of Rajapur in Banda District near Prayag, Allahabad. His father, Atma Ram Dubey was a well-known Saryupari Brahmin and his mother's name was Hulsi. When Tulsidas was born he did not cry and there were teeth in his mouth. Considering this a bad omen his mother sent him to her in laws place to be brought up and she died the next day.This child was lovingly brought up by a servant named Chunia but after she died when the child was five and a half years old he became an orphan and would just roam here and there. Shri Narhaya Nandji a saint found him and gave him protection and took him to Ayodhya with him. The young boy soon impressed every one with his sharp intellect. Then for fifteen years Tulsidas remained in Kashi and studied the Vedas. After this he returned to his native place and married a beautiful girl named Ratnavali. Legend has it that he was so engrossed in his wife that he would not leave her alone and once when she went to visit her parents he crossed the river Ganges which was flooded with the help of a dead body and reached her. His wife was very angry with him and she remarked that he was so much in love with her body which is made of mere skin and bones and which will soon be destroyed and had he had this kind of love for Shri Ram his life would be free of worldly things. This struck a cord and Tulsidas immediately returned back and became a sanyasi leaving the married life. He came back to Allahabad and then traveled to Chitrakoot and sitting on the banks of ganges he became enlightened. He started composing the Ramcharitra Manas in 1574 A.D. and all the seven sections were over after two years ,seven months and twenty six days.

In Bengal the Vaishnava Bhakti tradition achieved popularity due to the efforts of Sri Chaitanya. Chaitanya was born in the town of Navadvipa in West Bengal, India. His father, Jagannath Mishra , was a Brahmin, belonging to the highest caste, or social class, in India. His mother was Sachi Devi. The couple had had eight daughters, all of whom died soon after they were born. The couple's ninth child, a son named Viswarup, survived. Chaitanya was their tenth child. Chaitanya's name at birth was Viswambar Mishra, but in his youth he acquired two nicknames. One was Nimai, taken from the name of the Neem tree under which he was supposed to have been born. The other was Gaura, meaning "the fair," or "the golden one," referring to his fair skin.

The time of Surdas's birth and death are uncertain and suggest that he lived over a hundred years, which make the facts even murkier. Some say he was born blind in in Siri village near Delhi. Many others believe, Surdas was born in Braj, a holy place in the northern Indian district of Mathura, associated with the exploits of Lord Krishna. His family was too poor to take good care of him, which led the blind boy to leave home at the tender age of 6 to join a wandering group of religious musicians. According to one legend, one night he dreamt of Krishna, who asked him to go to Vrindavan, and dedicate his life to the praise of the Lord.

Malik Muhammad Jayasi was an Indian Sufi poet and pir and also a bhakta. He wrote in the Awadhi language, and in the Persian Nastaʿlīq script. Much of the information about Jayasi comes from legends, and his date and place of birth are a matter of debate. As the nisba "Jayasi" suggests, he was associated with Jayas, an important Sufi centre of medieval India, in present-day Uttar Pradesh. However, there is debate about whether he was born in Jayas, or migrated there for religious education. Born in the Gangetic plains of Jāyas, currently a city in the Rae Bareli district in Uttar Pradesh state, Jāyasī was the son of Shaikh Mamrej, also called Mālik Raje Ashraf. The title ‘mālik’ implies that he belonged to a family of landlords of Iranian origin who migrated to India in the thirteenth century.