Jñānēśvarī

The ''Dnyaneshwari'' () (IAST: Jñānēśvarī), also referred to as ''Jnanesvari'', ''Jnaneshwari'' or ''Bhavartha Deepika'', is a commentary on the ''Bhagavad Gita'' written by the Marathi saint and poet Sant Dnyaneshwar in 1290 CE. Dnyaneshwar (born 1275) lived a short life of 22 years, and this commentary is notable to have been composed in his teens. The text is the oldest surviving literary work in the Marathi language, one that inspired major Bhakti movement saint-poets such as Eknath and Tukaram of the Varkari (Vithoba) tradition. The ''Dnyaneshwari'' interprets the ''Bhagavad Gita'' in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism. The philosophical depth of the text has been praised for its aesthetic as well as scholarly value.

According to Pradhan and Lambert, the reliable dating of ''Dnyaneshwari'' to 1290 CE is based on textual and corroborative reference to the Yadava king Ramadeva as well as the name of the scribe and the ''samvat'' of its completion. It is also confirmed by the works of Namdev, another contemporary Bhakti movement saint-poet, who mentions Dnyaneshwari and who the Hindu tradition believes accompanied Dnyaneshwari on various pilgrimages. The authenticity of the ''Dnyaneshwari'' has been contested in light of Eknath comments in late 16th-century, where he stated he had restored the text to the original version, and asked "neither change nor addition should be permitted". Scholars generally accept that this version is most faithful one, and this edition was identified in 1909 by V. K. Rajvade and published in 1959.

The narrative of the ''Dnyaneshwari'' closely follows the ''Bhagavad Gita'', yet the commentary – called ''tika'' in the local tradition – is written in the form of a "song-sermon" that expands the explanation to include a discussion of the major Hindu philosophies and beliefs in the 13th-century. While the ''Gita'' has 700 verses, the ''Dnyaneshwari'' has about 9,000 verses. It includes references to the Vedas, the Upanishads and other major Hindu texts. The ''Dnyaneshwari'' is a rhythmic prose, that can be recited alone or chanted as a group. Each of its 9,000 verses consists of four lines (quarters) called an ''ovi'' (a form of Marathi meter). Unlike the ''Gita'' which has fixed number of syllables in its verses and which do not rhyme, the ''Dnyaneshwari'' commentary on the ''Gita'' has a variable number of syllables per line, of which first three of four do rhyme. Each line in the ''Dnyaneshwari'' typically has between three and thirteen syllables.

The text reverentially includes the names of numerous Hindu gods and goddesses from Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism traditions, as well as Vedic ones such as Saraswati (Sharada). The last line of many of its verses include the characteristic "Jnanadeva says" or "Says Jnanesvara". This format was adopted by other later era Bhakti movement poets, as well as in the Guru Granth of Sikhism.

References

Further reading

* "Swadhyay Dyaneshwari" - Marathi Self Study book by Chhapkhane Keshav Ramachandra (Born-1875, Sangli, Maharashtra, India)

See also

* ज्ञानेश्वरी (Dnyaneshwari) text in Marathi Wikisource
Dnyaneshwari
* Dnyaneshwar

External links

Jnaneshwari (Bhavartha Dipika)
English translation by R. K. Bhagwat, 1954 (includes glossary)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dnyaneshwari
Bhagavad Gita
Hindu texts
Marathi-language literature
Warkari
Indian non-fiction books
13th-century Indian books
Cultural history of India