Vaman Pandit (1608–1695), a contemporary of Shivaji and his successor (17th Century CE), was a passionate devotee of Bhagvan Sri Krishna and a faithful follower of his teachings. He studied Srimad Bhagavatam diligently and rendered it into Marathi Verse. He also composed a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. This commentary, called Yatharth Deepika, is in ovi meter and shows his deep scholarship. He was also known as Vaman Tanaji Sesha.
Much of Yatharth Deepika is in prose. Vaman Pandit follows the bhashya of Adi Shankaracharya.
He followed the classical tradition in literature. All his works are classical in style and spirit. He wrote a number of works propagating devotional system.
The spiritual master of Vaman Pandit was Sachidananda Yati, who initiated him and revealed the secrets of Bhargava Arunavidya, which is said to have been found in Upanishads.
Vaman Pandit originally hailed from Bijapur (Karnataka). Early in his life, he went to Varanasi for further studies. Here he studied Shastras, Hindu philosophical systems and Persian.
After completing his studies in Varanasi, he settled down at Koregaon in Satara District, Maharashtra. He also traveled widely and met Samartha Ramdas and Tukaram, two well known saints of Maharashtra Bhakti movement. These two great souls had a deep and abiding influence on Vaman Pandit.