Dnyaneshwar (1275-1296) (ज्ञानेश्वर in Marathi) (also known as Jnanadeva - ज्ञानदेव or Jnaneshvar - ज्ञानेश्वर) was a Hindu saint and poet who lived in Alandi Maharashtra, India at the end of the thirteenth century. Besides writing nearly a thousand Marathi abhangas, his major works are the Bhagvat Deepika/dnyanadevi, (popularly known as the Dnyaneshwari), a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita written in Marathi and the Anubhavamrita / Amritanubhava, is the work in which he has stated his own philosophy, sometimes called as Chitvilaasavaada.

His writing is a combination of scholarly Intelligence and poetic beauty. He is called the founder of Bhakti tradition, that is, devotional worship, in Maharashtra known as Bhagavata Dharma. His Dnyaneshwari is one of the three sacred books or Prasthanatrayi of Bhagavata Dharma.

Family background

Dnyaneshwar, was the second of the four children of Vitthalpant and Rukminibai Kulkarni, a pious couple from

His father, Vitthalpant, was a very pious man and took sanyasa shortly after marriage. He left his wife and went to live the life of a hermit. But when his guru found that his mind still lingered in family life, he ordered Vitthalpant to return to his wife and take care of his household. He came back to his wife and then the four children were born.

The children studied the Vedas under Vitthalpant and it was evident that all four of them were brilliant.

==The outcast== The contemporary Brahmins considered it inappropriate for a to have children. The family was excommunicated and the children were denied education. Vitthalpant and Rakhumabai decided to end their lives so that their children would not be punished for their "sins". They took 'Jal Samadhi'(Renouncing the body by immersing it into holy water)in the holy river , at . This however made the life of the orphan children even worse. Dnyneshwar and

Great works at young age

The eldest, Nivrutti, joined the nath sect and became Nivruttinath. He also become the guru of Dnyaneshwar. He, at the age of fourteen, instructed Dnyaneshwar, who was twelve, to write a commentry on the Bhagavad Gita. Thus was born the Bhagawad Deepika which is better know as the Dnyaneshwari. Shortly after the completion of Bhavarthadeepika, Dnyaneshwar started the Bhakti movement in Maharashtra ( locally called Varkari movement ) along with saint Namdev. Later he toured the whole of Maharashtra along with Namdev.

At the age of 21, he decided that his work on this earth was done and with the leave of his elder brother and guru, Nivruttinath he took sadeha samadhi, that is, voluntarily forfeited his body, by burying in a cave. The samadhi is located at a temple in Alandi which is about 24 km from the city of Pune, and is thronged by devotees which are called Varkaris. With a year and a half, all of his sibblings also left this world. Sopan took samadhi at Saswad near Pune. Nivruttinath travelled with his sister on a pilgrimage along Tapi river where both were caught one day in a thunderstorm and Muktabai vanished without a trace. Soon after, Nivruttinath took samadhi at Triambakeshwar. All four of them, Nivruttinath, Dnyaneshwar, Sopan, and Muktabai, were saints before they died.

Influences

The works of Dnyaneshwar and his siblings have influenced the Marathi culture to this day. The poetry of Dnyaneshwar and Muktabai is still very popular in Maharashtra even after 700 years.

Now days people doing the yatrras from Alandi To Pandharpoor which was started by Dyneneshwar.