Sajan Kasai was a Muslim by birth. He was butcher by
profession. ‘Kasai’ means butcher. He was drawn into the Bhakti movement that
spread across Maharashtra during the middle ages.
It is believed that he hailed from the Solapur District of
Maharashtra. Very little is known about his personal life. What we get to hear
about his life is from folk material.
His mother tongue was Hindi and he sang in Hindi about
Krishna and danced in ecstasy. He used to visit the Vithal Mandir in
Pandharpur. He thus became famous among the Warkaris.
It is said that Aurangazeb ordered his imprisonment on the
charge of blasphemy. But he was soon set free as the Mughal Emperor realized
that he was a genuine devotee of Lord Vithal.