Early History of the Dekkan down to the Mahomedan Conquest c21.93

c21.93

The great Marâṭhâ *sâdhu* or saint Jñâneśvara or Dnyâneśvara as his name is ordinarily pronounced, flourished during the reign of [118] Râmachandra. At the end of his Marâṭhi commentary on the Bhagavadgîtâ he tells us: "In the Kali age, in the country of Mahârâshṭra and on the southern bank of the Godâvarî, there is a sacred place five *kos* in circuit, the holiest in the three worlds, where exists Mahâlayâ, who is the thread that sustains the life of the world. There, king Râmachandra, a scion of the Yadu race and the abode of all arts, dispenses justice, and there a vernacular garb was prepared for the Gîtâ by Jñânadeva, the son of Nivṛittinâtha, sprung from the family of Maheśa."⁶⁰ The date of the completion of the work is given as Śaka 1212 or A. D. 1290, when we know Râmachandra was on the throne.