The preface in Chapter 0 contrasts the "recent" Shri Sai Satcharita with another major work from Maharashtra suitable for Parayans. This other text is the biography of Shri Narsimha Saraswati Maharaj, written by Shri Saraswati Gangadhar, which is famous as the Brihat or Thorale Guru Charitra. Chapter 0 explicitly refers to the Guru Charitra as one of the "very few ancient, detailed, poetic, comprehensive, and famous works." This use of the word "ancient" clearly indicates that the Guru Charitra was composed much earlier, positioning the Shri Sai Satcharita as a modern addition to this small category of detailed Guru biographies.
The preface mentions that the Shri Sai Satcharita is a 'recent' work. When was the other major poetic Guru biography from Maharashtra, mentioned in the text, composed in comparison?
π Chapter 0