Book Review: Dnyanadeva Mahatmya

 Book Review 

ज्ञानदेवमाहात्म्य

Dnyanadeva Mahatmya 

I consider myself very fortunate to have come across this book. An old copy of this book was first shown to me by my father in law. This copy originally belonged to his mother who has passed away. The book is published in 1978 and I am not sure if it is still available for sale.  Still, I am inspired to write about it due to the importance of the topics and personalities mentioned inside and also due to the pleasure I felt after studying it.

The author and publisher of this books is Govind Ramachandra Moghe. The books is composed in Marathi poetic verse form commonly known as Ovi. The main text is divided into 8 chapters having total 1380 verses. The book has 52 pages.

As the title suggests, the book is about the life and works of one of the greatest saintly personalities in India i.e. Dnyaneshwar also known as Dnyanadeva. After the preface, the author takes us 3 generations back before the appearance of Dnyanadeva. Author has dedicated first five chapters of the book for the detailed descriptions of lives of Dnyanadeva's grandparents and parents who all were people dedicated to spiritual realization and devotional service to Lord Krishna. In the remaining chapters, the author describes the birth and early life of four children Nivrutti, Dnyanadeva, Sopan and Muktai, their extraordinary  qualities as well as the challenges they had to face due to early departure of their parents and strict social customs, the miracles performed by Dnyanadeva when he was merely a child, their meeting with Changadeva, the composition of Bhavartha Deepika which is also known as Dnyaneshwari, the explanation of Bhagavad Geeta of Lord Krishna in Marathi and finally the departure of Dnyanadeva in the presence of Lord Krishna. In addition, the books also has 8 verses in praise of Dnyanadeva and the summary of Bhagavad Geeta presented in only 18 verses. The text is concluded with 8 verses of heartfelt prayers by the author to Lord Krishna where he humbly expresses his limitations. Author has described all these topics in extremely enjoyable way and one is sure to feel spiritual bliss after studying the book. This book is a rare treat for devotees of Lord Krishna, especially those who can read and understand Marathi verses.

For me, I felt humbled and inspired by the way Dnyanadeva has taught us the goal of human life and the way to achieve it by Bhakti. This book will be an important addition to the collection of those who are looking for satisfaction, inspiration and happiness on the spiritual path.

If you wish to read this book, please send me an email at hrishikeshsonalikar@gmail.com. I will reply with the scanned pdf of the book.