Dnyaneshwar is also known as Jnaneshwar, Jnanadeva, Dnyaneshwar Vitthal Kulkarni or Mauli, was an Indian Marathi saint, poet, philosopher, who lived in the 13th century. He was Maharashtra's first Bhakti saint and wrote the 'Dnyaneshwari' commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. At the age of 15, he wrote the Dnyaneshwari, a beautiful Marathi commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. Dnyaneshwar also wrote Amritanuhhava and Bhavartha Dipika in Marathi, in addition to his well-known work. Because he did not believe in the caste system, his followers came from all castes.

He condemned religious rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices. His followers are referred to as Varkaris. This article will explain Dnyaneshwar which will be helpful in Indian Art and Culture preparation for the UPSC Civil service exam.

Dnyaneshwar (1275-1296)

• Dnyaneshwar was born in a Marathi-speaking Deshastha Brahmin family in Apegaon hamlet on the banks of the Godavari river near Paithan in Maharashtra in 1275 during the reign of Yadava ruler Ramadevarava.
• A 13th-century Maharashtra mystical poet-saint who penned Jnaneswari, a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita that served as the core of Maharashtra's Bhakti ideology.
• He was a staunch opponent of caste divisions and believed that Bhakti was the only path to God.
• He is credited with starting kirtan in Maharashtra and writing a full Marathi commentary on the Bhagavad Gita.
• He was a devotee of Vithoba (Vitthala), who is considered a Vishnu incarnation.
• He belonged to the Nath Yogi tradition. He was also influenced by the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.
• Sant Dnyaneshwar's biographical information is preserved in the writings of his disciples, Satyamalanath and Sachchidanand. Various traditions provide contradictory descriptions of Dnyaneshwar's life.
• Dnyaneshwar Maharaj attained Samadhi on the 13th day of the second half of Kartik in 1296. Near the age of 21, Dnyaneshwar entered Sanjeevan Samadhi, a yogic road to salvation, at Alandi on the banks of the River Indrayani.
• During Dnyaneshwar's lifetime, two important movements inspired his works: the Mahanubhava sect and the Nath Yogi tradition.

Dnyaneshwar

Mahanubhav sect

• Mahanubhava (also known as Jai Krishni Pantha) is a Krishnas Hindu sect in India created by Sarvadnya Shri Chakradhar Swami (or Chakradhara), an ascetic and philosopher who was regarded by his disciples as a reincarnation of Krishna.
• The Mahanubhava theory dates back to the 12th century. Chakradhara was the first preceptor to form Mahanubhava as a separate denomination based on its doctrine.
• After Chakradhara, Naga devacharya systematized the disciples' legacy in Mahanubhav Panth.
• To strengthen the sampradaya, he initiated several disciples. Many followers joined the Sampradaya during Nagadeva's reign.
• Dnyaneshwar's religious precepts diverged greatly from Mahanubhava.
• Dnyaneshwar's inclusive Varkari sect was centered on the philosophy of later Vedic writings such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, and devotion to Vitthala was the cornerstone of his worldview.

Varkari sect / Varkari sampradaya

• Varkari is a sampradaya (religious movement) under Hinduism's bhakti spiritual tradition, geographically linked to the Indian state of Maharashtra.
• Vitthal (also known as Vithoba), the presiding god of Pandharpur and a form of Krishna, is worshipped by varkaris.
• Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Chokhamela, Eknath, and Tukaram are bhakti saints and gurus linked with the varkaris.
• Alcohol and tobacco are strictly forbidden in the religion. Vari is their annual pilgrimage and is full of exciting activities.
• The Varkari movement's culture would be shaped by elements of Dnyaneshwar's life and works, such as his criticism of the priestly elite's parochialism, a celebration of family life, and spiritual egalitarianism.
• In the Hindu Shaka month of Ashadh, devotees of the Varkari sect participate in the Vari, an annual pilgrimage in which symbolic Sandals (called Paduka on Marathi) of Dynaneshwar are carried in a palkhi from Dnyaneshwar's shrine in Alandi to the Vitthala temple in Pandharpur.

Nath Yogi tradition

• In India and Nepal, the Nath, also known as Natha, is a Shaiva sub-tradition of Hinduism.
• It was a medieval movement that merged principles from India's Buddhism, Shaivism, and Yoga traditions.
• The Nath tradition has its own Shaivism-related theological literature, the majority of which dates from the 11th century or later. Its origins, however, can be traced back to Siddha tradition.
• Other Indian traditions, such as Advaita Vedanta monism, inspired the Nath tradition, which in turn affected movements within Vaishnavism, Shaktism, and the Bhakti movement through saints such as Kabir and Namdev.
• Dnyaneshwar inherited the Nath Yogi tradition's non-dualistic philosophy, use of vernacular language in his work, and stress on yoga and the oneness of Vishnu and Shiva.

Literary works

• Dnyaneshwar was the first known philosopher to write in Marathi.
• In the year 1290, he was about 16 years old when he wrote Dnyaneshwari or Bhagavat Dipika, a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita that later became a fundamental book of the Varkari sect.
• Amrutanubhav, also known as Amritanubhav, is a 13th-century composition. It is regarded as a watershed moment in Marathi literature.
• These are the oldest surviving literary works in Marathi, written under the patronage of the Yadava dynasty of Devagiri, and are regarded as landmarks in Marathi literature.
• Dnyaneshwar's devotional works, known as Abhangas, are thought to have been written during his trip to Pandharpur and other holy locations after being initiated into the Varkari tradition.
• He wrote "Pasaayadana," in which he prayed for everyone else and nothing for himself.

Conclusion

Sant Dnyaneshwar's teachings are based on the non-dualistic Advaita Vedanta philosophy, which emphasizes Yoga and devotion towards Lord Vishnu's avatar Vithoba. He is one of the founders of the Varkari (Vithoba-Krishna) Bhakti movement tradition of Hinduism in Maharashtra, and his legacy inspired saint-poets such as Eknath and Tukaram.