[1] Janabai was born in Gangākhed 1258-1350, Mahārāshtra[2] to a couple with first names Damā and Karund.
Since her childhood, Janabai worked as a maid servant in the household of Dāmāsheti, who lived in Pandharpur and who was the father of the prominent Marathi religious Sant and poet Nāmdev.
Through the influence of the religious environment around her and her innate inclination, Janabai was always an ardent devotee of Lord Vitthal.
[4] Though she never had any formal schooling, she composed many high-quality religious verses of the abhang (अभंग) form.
[7][8] Along with Dnyāneshwar, Nāmdev, Eknāth, and Tukaram, Janabai has a revered place in the minds of Marathi-speaking Hindus who belong especially to the wārakari (वारकरी) sect in Maharashtra.