Explanation:

There was a sect known as ‘Mahanubhav panth’. Their literature was the first proof available in Marathi. But the fact is that the language does not reflect in literature directly, so before this sect the language must have been used for communication. Many scriptures have been found in Southern Maharashtra and Northern Karnataka where some words or sentences were noticed by the historians and archeologists. E.g. Statue of Bahubali in Sharvanabelagola in Karnataka has the first Marathi sentence written at the base.