Dnyaneshwar

Dnyaneshwar Biography

Dnyaneshwar, also known by the names Jnaneshvar, Jnandev, Jnanesvar and Jnanadeva was a Hindu saint who lived during 13^th century in Maharashtra. He was a poet, philosopher and yogi of the Nath tradition. His commentary on Bhagavad Gita – Dnyaneshwari and Amrutanubhav are regarded as the milestone works in Marathi literature. Dnyaneshwar laid the foundation of bhakti movement in Maharashtra and Sant Tukaram carried forward his movement. Now also, there are thousands of followers of Dnyaneshwar. Noted personalities who gave significant contributions to Indian culture, Nivruttinath, Sopandev and Muktabai were his siblings.

Dnyaneshwar was born in 13th-century Maharashtra, before the Muslim invasions started. He was the second of the four children of Vitthal Govind Kulkarni and Rukmini born in the year 1275 though still contradictory opinions exist about his date of birth. It was a time when arts and sciences prospered under the rule of Yadava kings. But unfortunately this era also witnessed superstitions, religious degeneration and animal sacrifices for worship. Dnyaneshwar was one among the first original philosophers to write in Marathi language in this era. He lost his parents at a younger age. He became the student of Nivruttinath along with his younger siblings Sopan and Mukta at the age of 8. Nivruttinath, the elder brother of Dnyaneshwar was a philosopher of Nath sect.  

Dnyaneshwar studied Vedas and puranas at a younger age and had spent a lot of time for pilgrimage. He started writing Bhavarthadeepika in the year 1287 at the age of 12 and completed in 1290. This book is regarded as a revolutionary writing of Marathi and he completed it when he was only 15. He started writing Amrutanubhav during his teens. After completing Amrutanubhava, he set for a pilgrimage and it was widely propagated that entered into a permanent state of Sanjeevan Samadhi at the age of just 21.

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Updated: January 30, 2014