Traditional Ramdas or previously Narayan was born at Jamb, a village in present-day Jalna district, Maharashtra on the occasion of Rama Navami, probably in 1608 CE.

[citation needed] He was born into a Marathi Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin family to Suryajipant and Ranubai Thosar.

As per legend, Narayan fled his wedding ceremony in Asangao near Jamb, at age 12, upon hearing a pandit (Hindu priest) chant the word 'Saawadhaana!'

He is believed to have walked over 200 km along the banks of Godavari river to Panchavati, a Hindu pilgrimage town near Nashik.

It is said that he was able to give life back to the dead body of her husband and this act of miracle made him very famous in Nashik.

As part of his mission to redeem spirituality among the masses and unite the Hindu populations, Ramdas initiated the Samarth sect.

His literary works include Dasbodh, Karunashtakas, Sunderkand, Yuddhakand, Poorvarambh, Antarbhav, Aatmaaram, Chaturthman, Panchman, Manpanchak, Janaswabhawgosavi, Panchsamasi, Saptsamasi, Sagundhyan, Nirgundhyan, Junatpurush, Shadripunirupan, Panchikaranyog, Manache Shlok and Shreemad Dasbodh.

His writings include strong expressions encouraging militant means to counter the barbaric Islamic invaders.

It is believed that the bhajan (devotional song) "Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram" is based on a mantra composed by Ramdas.

The original copy of Dasbodh is currently placed at a matha in Domgaon, a village in present-day Osmanabad district, Maharashtra.

In Chapter 4 of his literary work Dasbodh, he describes Nice levels of devotion / communion - starting from listening / comprehending (श्रवण) to Surrender of oneself or being One with Self (आत्मनिवेदन) - the later being the core tenet of Advait Vedant - where the sense of separate "I" dissolves into non-duality.

(It is still controversial)[13]<[14][15][16] According to a manuscript in the Sikh tradition known as Panjāh Sakhīān, Ramdas Swami met Guru Hargobind (1595 - 1644) at Srinagar near the Garhwal hills.

This meeting also finds a mention in an 18th-century Marathi literary work known as Ramdas Swamichi Bakhar, composed by Hanumant Swami.

The meeting probably took place in the early 1630s during Ramdas' pilgrimage to northern India and Hargobind's journey to Nanakmatta, a town in present-day Uttarakhand.

Samartha Ramdas Swami served an inspiration for a number of Indian thinkers, historians and social reformers such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Keshav Hedgewar, Vishwanath Rajwade ,Ramchandra Ranade, and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

Tilak derived inspiration from Ramdas when devising aggressive strategies to counter the British colonial rule.

Dasbodh has been translated and published by the American followers of Ranjit Maharaj, a spiritual teacher of the Inchegeri Sampradaya.

Ramdas had a profound influence on Keshav Hedgewar, the founder of Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Maruti Stotra, his hymn in praise of Hanuman is commonly recited by school children as well as wrestlers at traditional gyms known as akhada in Maharashtra.

[25][26] Swatantravir Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, an Indian independence activist and writer is believed to have derived inspiration from Dasbodh.