Saint Dnyaneshwar

According to the Hindu calendar, Saint Dnyaneshwar was born in the Shaka 1197 (the year 1275), on the eighth day of the waning phase of the moon in the month of Shravan. His birthplace was his ancestral village Apegaon, near Paithan. His parents were Rakhumai and Vitthalpant Kulkarni. He had two bothers, Nivrutti, Sopan, and one sister Muktabai. Saint Dnyaneshwar composed extraordinary spiritual texts at a young age. His works include "Bhavarthadipika" (also known as Dnyaneshwari), "Amritanubhav," "Changadeva Pasashti," "Abhanga Gatha," and "Haripath." These writings were in the Prakrit Marathi language, making them easily understandable to the common people due to their simplicity and poetic beauty.

"माझ्या मराठीची बोलू कौतुके ! परि अमृतातेही पैजा जिंके ।"

"ऐसे अक्षरे रसिके मेळवीन ।!"

In these verses, Saint Dnyaneshwar expresses his pride and admiration for the Marathi language, stating that it is sweeter than nectar. He took immense pride in and expressed great importance for the Marathi language. At the sacred pilgrimage site of Alandi near Pune, at the young age of twenty, Saint Dnyaneshwar attained Samadhi on the Kartik Vadya 13, Shaka 1218 (year 1296). This area is also revered as a divine place.

"जो जे वांछिल तो ते लाहो प्राणिजात हे।"

Saint Dnyaneshwar, who is concerned for the welfare of all beings, is affectionately addressed in the Vaishnav tradition and by other people as "Mauli" with great love and reverence