As part of his mission to redeem spirituality among the masses and unite the distressed Hindu populations, Ramdas initiated the Samarth sect. He established several "matha" (monasteries) across the Indian subcontinent. He is claimed to have established somewhere between 700 and 1100 "matha" during his travels. Around 1648, he had an idol of Rama installed at a newly built temple in Chaphal, a village near Satara. He initially had eleven Hanuman temples constructed in various regions of southern Maharashtra. These are now commonly referred to as the 11-Maruti (see list below). He also had Hanuman temples built in other parts of Maharashtra and across the Indian subcontinent. Temples established by him have been found across India in regions including Jaipur, Varanasi (also Kashi), Thanjavur (formerly Tanjore) and Ujjain. He also had a temple of the Hindu goddess Durga constructed at Pratapgad, a fort near Satara.