Editing Dnyaneshwar (section)

==Biography==
Dnyaneshwar was born in 1275 (on the auspicious day of Krishna Janmashtami) in a [[Marathi language|Marathi]]-speaking [[Deshastha Brahmin]] family in Apegaon village on the banks of [[Godavari]] river near [[Paithan]] in Maharashtra during the reign of the [[Seuna (Yadava) dynasty|Yadava]] king [[Ramachandra of Devagiri|Ramadevarava]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dqC_pGtqPBkC&pg=PA39 |title=Living Through the Blitz |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1976 |isbn=9780002160094 |page=39}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Karhadkar |first1=K.S. |year=1976 |title=Dnyaneshwar and Marathi Literature |journal=Indian Literature |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=90–96 |jstor=24157251}}</ref>{{sfn|Bahirat|2006|p=1}} The kingdom with its capital [[Daulatabad Fort|Devagiri]] enjoyed relative peace and stability, and the king was a patron of literature and arts.{{sfn|Bahirat|2006|p=2}}{{sfn|Pradhan|Lambert|1987|pp=xiv-xvi}}

Biographical details of Sant Dnyaneshwar's life are preserved in the writings of his disciples, Satyamalanath and Sachchidanand.{{sfn|Bahirat|2006|p=8}} The various traditions give conflicting accounts of details of Dnyaneshwar's life. The date of composition of his work ''Dnyaneshwari'' (1290 CE), however is undisputed.{{sfn|Ranade|1933|p=31}}{{sfn|Bahirat|2006|p=1}} According to the more accepted tradition on Dnyaneshwar's life, he was born in 1275 CE and he attained samadhi in 1296 CE.{{sfn|Ranade|1933|p=31–2}} Other sources state he was born in 1271 CE.{{sfn|Pradhan|Lambert|1987|p=xv}}{{sfn|Ranade|1933|pp=31-32}}

===Life===
The biographical details of Dnyaneshwar's short life of about 21 years are well established. The available accounts are filled with hagiographic legends and miracles he performed, such as his ability to make a buffalo sing the Vedas and humble a yogi by riding a moving wall.{{sfn|Pradhan|Lambert|1987|p=xv}}{{sfn|Dallmayr|2007|p=46}}

According to the accounts that have survived, Dnyaneshwar's father Vitthal pant was the [[kulkarni]] (hereditary accountant, usually [[Brahmin]], who maintained land and tax records in villages){{sfn|Attwood|1992|p=333}} of a village called Ape gaon on the banks of the [[Godavari River]] in Maharashtra, a profession he had inherited from his ancestors.{{sfn|Ranade|1933|p=30}} He married Rakhna Bai, the daughter of the Kulkarni of [[Alandi]]. Even as a householder, Vitthal pant longed for spiritual learning.{{sfn|Bahirat|2006|p=9}} His disillusionment with life grew as a result of the death of his father and because he had no children from his marriage. Eventually, with his wife's consent, he renounced worldly life and left for [[Varanasi|Kashi]] to become a [[sannyasa|sannyasin]] (renunciate).{{sfn|Ranade|1933|p=30}} According to another version of these events Dnyaneshwar's father Vitthalapant came from a long line of teachers of the [[Nath]] yogi sect and being deeply religious, he went on a pilgrimage to Varanasi. There he met a ''[[guru]]'' (spiritual teacher), decided to renounce without his wife's consent.{{sfn|Pradhan|Lambert|1987|p=xvi}}

Vitthalapant was initiated by his spiritual teacher, Ramashrama (according to abhanga of Saint Namdeva), in Kashi. When Ramashrama Swami visited Alan-di and met Rukminibai by chance, he blessed her saying, ''“May you lead a happy married life.”'' With tears in her eyes, Rukmini said that it was not possible since her husband had gone away to Kashi and become a sanyasin. On finding out that her husband was none other than his disciple Vitthalapant, Swami, on returning to Kashi, reprimanded Vitthalapant and sent him back to Alandi. At Alandi, he rejoined his wife and again became a householder.<ref>{{Cite book |last=M |first=Sri |url=https://archive.org/details/the-journey-continues-a-sequel-to-apprentice-to-a-himalayan-master_202011/Apprenticed%20to%20a%20Himalayan%20Master_Sri%20M.%20%20%2831-M.B%29/page/n209/mode/1up |title=The Journey Continues A Sequel To Apprentice To A Himalayan Master |publisher=Magenta Press |year=2010 |isbn=9789382585862 |edition=4 |location=Karnataka |pages=210 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dubey |first=Shivnath |url=https://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/bhagavana-nama-mahima-aur-prathana-anka-special-issue-of-hindi-magazine-kalyan-on-glory-of-divine-name-and-prayer-nza127/ |title=Bhagvan Naam Mahima Aur Prarthana Ank |publisher=Gita Press Gorakhpur |year=2020 |edition=7th |pages=310 |language=Hindi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ashoka |first=Surya |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.AMRIT_VANI/page/n34/mode/1up |title=Amrit Vani |publisher=Shenoy Prakashan |year=2008 |edition=1st |location=Kochi |pages=34 |language=Marathi}}</ref> After Vitthalapant returned to his wife and settled down in Alandi, Rakhumabai gave birth to four children—[[Nivruttinath]] (1273 CE), Dnyaneshwar (1275 CE), [[Sopan]] (1277 CE) and [[Muktabai]] (1279 CE).{{sfn|Sundararajan|Mukerji|2003|p=33}}

Orthodox Brahmins of the day saw a renunciate returning to his life as a householder as heresy.{{sfn|Bahirat|2006|p=12}} Dnyaneshwar and his brothers were denied the right to have the [[Upanayana|sacred thread ceremony]] for the full admission to the Brahmin caste.{{sfn|Pawar|1997|p=352}}{{sfn|Pradhan|Lambert|1987|pp=xvi-xvii}} According to Pawar, this meant excommunication from the Brahmin caste.{{sfn|Pawar|1997|p=352}}

Vitthalapant eventually left the town for [[Nashik]] with his family. One day while performing his daily rituals, Vitthalapant came face to face with a tiger. Vitthalapant and three of his four children escaped, but Nivruttinath became separated from the family and hid in a cave. While hiding in the cave he met Gahaninath, who initiated Nivruttinath into the wisdom of the [[Nath]] yogis.{{sfn|Bahirat|2006|p=13}}{{sfn|Ranade|1933|p=33}} Later, Vitthalapant returned to Alandi and asked the [[Brahmin]]s to suggest a means of atonement for his sins; they suggested giving up his life as penance. Vitthalapant and his wife gave up their lives, within a year of each other by jumping into the [[Indrayani river]] in the hope their children might be able to lead lives free of persecution.{{sfn|Bahirat|2006|p=13}} Other sources and local folk tradition claim that the parents committed suicide by jumping in the [[Indrayani River]].{{sfn|Glushkova|2014|p=110-120}} Another version of the legend states that Vitthalapant, the father threw himself into [[Ganges River]] to expiate his sin.{{sfn|Pradhan|Lambert|1987|pp=xvi-xvii}}

Dnyaneshwar and his siblings were accepted by and initiated into the Nath Hindu live tradition to which their parents already belonged, where the three brothers and the sister Muktabai all became celebrated yogis and Bhakti poets.{{sfn|Pradhan|Lambert|1987|pp=xvi-xvii}}

===Travel and demise===
After Dnyaneshwar had written Amrutanubhav, the siblings visited [[Pandharpur]] where they met Namdev, who became a close friend of Dnyaneshwar. Dnyaneshwar and Namadev embarked on a pilgrimage to various holy centers across India where they initiated many people into the Varkari sect;{{sfn|Ranade|1933|p=34}} Dnyaneshwar's devotional compositions called [[Abhang]]as are believed to have been formulated during this period.{{sfn|Bobde|1987|p=xxii}} On their return to Pandharpur, Dnyaneshwar and Namadev were honored with a feast in which, according to Bahirat, many contemporary saints such as "Goroba the potter, Sanvata the gardener, Chokhoba the untouchable and Parisa Bhagwat the Brahmin" participated.{{sfn|Dallmayr|2007|pp=46–7}} Some scholars accept the traditional view that Namdev and Dnyaneshwar were contemporaries; however, others such as W. B. Patwardhan, R. G. Bhandarkar and R. Bharadvaj disagree with this view and date Namdev to the late 14th century instead.{{sfn|Schomer|McLeod|1987|p=218}}

After the feast, Dnyaneshwar desired to go into ''[[samadhi|sanjeevan samadhi]]'',{{sfn|Dallmayr|2007|pp=46–7}} a practice to voluntarily leave one's mortal body after entering into a deep meditative state, as practiced in Ashtanga Yoga of ancient India.{{sfn|Sharma|1979|p=13}} Preparations for the Sanjeevan Samadhi were made by Namdev's sons.{{sfn|Dallmayr|2007|pp=46–7}} Regarding Sanjeevan Samadhi, Dnyaneshwar himself had emphatically talked about the relationship between higher awareness and light or pure energy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yogapoint.com/info/samadhi.htm|title=Samadhi - State of self realization, enlightenment|website=Yogapoint.com|access-date=12 August 2017}}</ref> On the 13th day of the dark half of the [[Kartik (month)|Kartik]] month of the [[Hindu Calendar]], in Alandi, Dnyaneshwar, who was then twenty-one years old, entered into ''Sanjeevan samadhi''.{{sfn|Ranade|1933|p=34}} His ''[[Samadhi (shrine)|samadhi]]'' lies in the Siddhesvara Temple complex in Alandi.{{sfn|Ranade|1933|p=35}} Namdev and other bystanders grieved his death. According to tradition, Dnyaneshwar was brought back to life to meet Namdev when the latter prayed to [[Vithoba]] for his return. Dallmayr writes that this testifies to "the immortality of genuine friendship and companionship of noble and loving hearts".{{sfn|Dallmayr|2007|pp=46–7}} Many Varkari devotees believe that Dnyaneshwar is still alive.{{sfn|Novetzke|2009|p=218}}{{sfn|Glushkova|2014|p=116}}

===Miracles===
[[File:Dnyaneshwar humbles Changdev.jpg|thumb|The siblings Muktabai, Sopan, Dnyaneshwar and Nivruttinath seated on the flying wall greet Changdev seated on a tiger. In the centre, Changdev bows to Dnyaneshwar.]]
There are a few stories about miracles came to be associated with Dnyaneshwar's life,{{sfn|Harrisson|1976|p=39}} one of which was the revival of his disciple Sachchidanand's corpse.{{sfn|Sundararajan|Mukerji|2003|p=34}} Fred Dallmyr summarizes one of these legends as follows from the [[hagiography]] by Mahipati:{{sfn|Dallmayr|2007|p=44}}  At age 12, Dnyaneshwar with his impoverished and outcaste siblings, went to Paithan to plead mercy from Paithan priests. There, they were insulted and ridiculed. As the children were suffering the bullying, on a nearby road was a man who was violently lashing an old buffalo, and the injured animal collapsed in tears. Dnyaneshwar asked the buffalo owner to stop out of concern for the animal. The priests ridiculed him for being more concerned about a beast and unconcerned about the teachings of the Vedas. Dnyaneshwar retorted that the Vedas themselves held all life to be sacred and a manifestation of the ''[[Brahman]]''.{{efn|According to Jeaneane D. Fowler, former Head of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the [[University of Wales]], ''brahman'' is the "ultimate Reality, the Source from which all emanates, the unchanging absolute".{{sfn|Fowler|2002|p=49}}}} The outraged priests pointed out that his logic implied that beasts should be able to learn the Vedas as well. An undeterred Dnyaneshwar then placed his hand on the buffalo's forehead and it started reciting a Vedic verse in a deep voice.{{sfn|Dallmayr|2007|p=44}} According to [[Fred Dallmayr]], one may not be concerned whether this story accurately reflects Dnyaneshwar's biography, the story does have symbolic significance in the same manner as the story about Jesus in Jerusalem in Matthew 3:9.{{sfn|Dallmayr|2007|p=44}}

In another miracle, Dnyaneshwar was challenged by [[Changdev]], an accomplished yogi who rode on a tiger with his magical powers, to replicate this feat. Dnyaneshwar humbled Changdev by riding on a moving wall.{{sfn|Mokashi-Punekar|2005|p=72}}{{sfn|Grover|1990|p=220}}{{efn|The story of the holy man riding a tiger /lion and the other encountering him on a moving wall has been found in many other religions including Buddhism, Sikhism, and the Abrahamic religions as well.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Callewaert|editor-first1= Winand M.|last=Digby|first=Simon|title=According to tradition : hagiographical writing in India, Chapter To ride a tiger or a wall|date=1994|publisher=Harrassowitz|location=Wiesbaden|isbn=9783447035248|pages=100–110|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GrMwdEqHLzEC&q=%22moving+wall%22+tiger&pg=PA99|access-date=18 July 2017}}</ref>}} Dnyaneshwar's advice to Changdev was given in 65 verses called the ''Changdev Pasasthi''.{{sfn|Bahirat|2006|p=15}} Changdev became a disciple of Dnyaneshwar's sister Muktabai.{{sfn|O'Connell|1999|pp=260–1}}