The life of Sant Dnyaneshwar
Tw: mentions of suicide
Dnyaneshwar(also referred to as jnaneshwar or dnyanadev) was a 13th century poet, philosopher and saint.
His works,the Dnyaneshwari and the Amrutanubhav are the oldest surviving literary works written in the Marathi language. He followed the Nath and Varkari religious traditions,and was a great worshipper of Vithoba(Krishna). His legacy inspired various poets like Tukaram or Eknath and he is also considered one of the founders of the Bhakti movement in Maharashtra
He lived a short life of 20-21 years, being born in 1275 and dying in 1296.
He was born into a Deshastha Brahmin family.
His father was named Vitthal pant,while his mother was named Rukmini
Long story short,Vitthal pant had gotten married to Rukmini,then had left for renunciation with her consent. However,one day his guru came to her house,and when Rukmini told him about the renunciation,he told vitthal to go back to his normal life. The couple then had four children,one of them was Dnyaneshwar
The orthodox Brahmins did not allow the four brothers to do the sacred thread ceremony to be fully accepted into Brahmin hood, because Vitthal Pant had become a renunciate before,and returning was considered irreligious and a loss of caste.
The family went to Nath for some time,and upon returning,the parents asked the Brahmins how to atone for their sins and become Brahmins again. The orthodox Brahmins asked the couple to commit suicide to atone for their sins. Dnyaneshwar's parents then gave up their life by jumping into the indrayani river.(Some sources state that his father jumped into the ganges river instead of the indrayaani river)
Considering that it's a confirmed fact that Dnyaneshwar wrote the Dnyaneshwari at the age of 15,he was likely much younger during the time his parents committed suicide. This likely had a great effect on him,as after he and his brothers were accepted into the nath hindu tradition,Sant Dnyaneshwar wrote the Dnyaneshwari in 1290 with the goal of making the Bhagvad Gita accessible to all castes.(The Dnyaneshwari/Jnaneshwari is hence known as the common man's Gita)
At the age of 21,he ended his life by Sanjeevan Samadhi,choosing to enter a cave and sit in a meditative state and having it be sealed so he could leave his mortal body.
(there are also multiple miracles associated with his life,but I did not mention them for the sake of historical authenticity)
