The Mahaanubhaav sect was started by Chakradhar swaami who propagated a religious movement in which all were accepted irrespective of their castes and the traditional ritualistic religion was rejected. His biography "leeLaa_charitra", written by his disciples, is one of the first known books or documents in Marathi. Incidentally, the Marathi word "maan_bhaavi" derived from "mahaanubhaavi" is one of the cultural residues that record the existence of the sect.