Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language of western and central India.

It is used by 68 million people in India (Maharashtra and adjacent states).

It is spoken in the areas in the north of Bombay down to the western coast past Goa and eastward across the Deccan.

As from 1966 it is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. The standard form of speech is that of the city of Pune (Poona).

Marathi is at least one thousand years old, and derives its grammar and syntax from the older Sanskrit. Marathi can also be spelt as Maharashtri, Maharathi, Malhatee or Marthi.

Eastern Hindi is the Indo-Aryan language most closely related to Marathi.

Marathi has a long literary tradition.

The saint-poet Dnyaneshwar ranks as the most important and earliest literateur known in the Marathi language. Dnyaneshwar wrote Bhaavarth-Dipika which is also known as Dnyaneshwari. Other prominent saint-poets include Eknāth, Tukarām, and Nāmdev, who enriched Marathi from the grass-roots level. Marathi probably has the richest saint-literature of all Indian languages.