25) : Sant Dnyaneshwar and Sant Tukaram of Maharashtra ;Honouring prominent Saints and temples of India

25) Honouring prominent Saints and temples of India:

Sant Dnyaneshwar and Sant Tukaram of Maharashtra

The Reserve Bank of India has taken out several coins commemorating the lives of prominent saints in India.

One of these coin issues was a one rupee coin issued on the honouring the life of the poet-saint Sant Dnyaneshwar in 1999 and the other one is a two rupee coin honouring the life of the poet-saint Sant Tukaram in 2002.

1)Sant Dnyaneshwar (1275-1296 A.D.):

Sant (Saint) Dnyaneshwar is a well-known poet saint of Maharashtra. He was also a philosopher and yogi in the “Nath” tradition. He spent most of his short life of about 21 years in Alandi, in Pune District, where his Samadhi (memorial built at the place where he attained eternal peace) is also situated. Alandi is situated on the Banks of the Indrayani river and a temple built in 1570, marks the Samadhi area.

At the age of sixteen, he wrote the “Bhavartha Deepika Teeka” (meaning a “commentary on meaning of the written word in the Bhagvad Gita”), which is popularly known as the “Dnyaneshwari”. This work is, essentially, a commentary, comprising 18 chapters, on the Bhagvad Gita (the holy book attributed to Lord Krishna, in Hinduism) written by him in the contemporary Marathi language, in verse. The importance of this exhaustive work, written by him was, that it brought the philosophy of the Gita (until then the prerogative of intellectual classes), to the common man. 

The work titled “Amrutanubhav” (meaning “Experiencing the eternal or immortal” which essentially is a treatise on non-dualism) is also attributed to him and is considered to be a valuable contribution to Marathi literature. He also wrote “Changdev Paasashti” addressed to a yogi Changdev Maharaj. The “Haripath” (God’s way) and about 1000 “Abhangs” are also attributed to him.

He was considered by the “Varkaris” (“pilgrims” - of the Vaishnava or Vitthala Sampradaya – Vaishnava followers – in Hinduism) as their teacher and spiritual leader who initiated his followers into the “Advaita” philosophy (one with God) as opposed to Dualism (separate from God). He preached “jnana yukt Bhakti” (Devotion to God through knowledge). (For a brief insight into the Varkari tradition, please see my Note at the bottom of this post). 

At the age of 21, he felt that his life’s work had been completed and voluntarily attained “Samadhi” (eternal peace), in Alandi where the temple Samadhi commemorating his life is built on the banks of the Indrayani river.

In the Hindu lunar month of “Ashadh” (sometime in July as per the Gregorian calendar), the Varkaris walk the 150 kms from Alandi to Pandharpur with the Dnyaneshwar Palkhi (palanquin).

Obverse of a coin issued in 1999, honouring the life of Sant Dnyaneshwar. In the centre is the Lion Capital with the words “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth always prevails) below it. Further below is the numeral “1” denoting the denomination of the coin. On one side of the Lion Capital are the words “Bharat” and “Rupiya” in Hindi, while on the other side of the Lion Capital are the words “India” and “Rupee”. 

Reverse of the above coin. On top are the words “Sant Dnyaneshwar 1274-1296 A.D. in English. On the left side are the words “Sant Dnyaneshwar” in Hindi. The year of issue 1999 is given at the bottom. This coin is minted in Mumbai mint. (Notice the diamond mint mark below the year of issue). Sant Dnyaneshwar is seated on a low “chowki” (seat) in the manner of giving a discourse on some important issue.

(Note: There is some controversy regarding his year of birth. Some historians place it in 1274 while others are of the view that he was born in 1275. As opinion is divided on this score, I would not join the controversy and leave the matter as it is, in this post).

The coin is made of Ferritic Stainless Steel (FSS), weighs 4.85 gms and has a diameter of 25 mm.

2) Sant Tukaram (1608 – 1650 A.D.) :

Sant Tukaram was a seventeenth century Varkari poet saint of Maharashtra. He is, associated with the Bhakti (Devotional) movement and was a devotee of Vitthal or Vithoba (a form of Lord Krishna).  As such he is also known as “Bhakt Tukaram”.  He is the most prominent poet saint of the Bhagavata tradition in Hinduism (teachings of Lord Krishna), which, also, included other saints like, Dnayaneshwar, Namdev , Chokhamela and Eknath who are all revered in the Varkari tradition  as “sants”(saints). He was said to be a disciple of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and later accepted Namdev as his Guru. 

Coming from a well to do family of Dehu, a town near Pune, India, he is said to have waived loans to the poor and destroyed all the records. He preached the doctrine of love and affection as opposed to orthodox religious customs/traditions. His work was mostly in a special verse form called “Abhang” .He emphasized that “Samaaj Seva” (community service) and “Hari Sankirtan” (worshipping God through music in a community gathering and reading of holy books by members of all castes) would inculcate love and affection towards all beings and all things in the environment. These aspects are, also, the integral parts of the “Varkari tradition”. He had the ability to convert even mundane /routine aspects from the physical/material world into spiritual and philosophical dialogue, so as to appeal to the common man. His spirituality was grounded in the reality of daily existence/life.

He is remembered as the greatest poet in Marathi language. His position in Marathi Literature is akin to that of Shakespeare in English or Goethe in German or Rabindranath Tagore in Bengali literature. 

The hill where he breathed his last, (some say he was carried away in a “viman” (aircraft) by the God Vithoba himself) is still worshipped by his followers/devotees who gather even today to sing his praises and remember his life’s work.

 Obverse of the two rupee coin issued in 2002 honouring the life of Sant Tukaram. In the centre is the Lion Capital, below which are the words “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth always prevails). On the bottom of the coin is the numeral “2” denoting the denomination of the coin. On the one side are the words “Bharat” and “Rupees” in Hindi while on the other side, the words “India” and “Rupees” are mentioned in English.

Reverse of the above coin. On the left side are the words “Sant Tukaram – Bhakti – Bhratatva – Jagriti “in Hindi (meaning – Devotion – Brotherhood – Awakening). On the right side are the words “Sant Tukaram “in English. The year of issue is 2002 appears at the bottom of the coin which has been minted in Kolkata mint (no mint mark below the year of issue). Sant Tukaram is shown as sitting on a low seat with an Ektara in one hand and cymbals in the other, perhaps, participating in an Hari Sankirtan session.

Note on the Varkaris:

Varkari means “a pilgrim” and is a Vaishnava religious movement within the Bhakti spiritual tradition of Hinduism, which has been prevalent in Maharashtra since the 13^th century. Varkaris believe in strict avoidance of alcohol and tobacco, and reject a caste based society, embracing all living things with love and affection. The presiding deity of the Varkaris, Vithoba is in Pandharpur, Maharashtra).

Every year on “Ekadashi” (eleventh day ) , of the Hindu lunar calendar month of “Ashaadha” (sometime in July as per the Gregorian calendar), and the Hindu calendar month of “Kartik”, thousands of Varkaris  walk  to Pandharpur, carrying Palkhis (palanquins)  of  their sants (Saints) from the places of their “Samadhis” (memorials built at  places where they attained eternal peace).

 In the second last week of June this year, I had gone to the heart of Pune city for some work. As it happened that was the day when over three lac Varkaris accompanying the Sant Tukaram Palkhi from Sant Tukaram Devasthanam (Saint Tukaram’s Samadhi) in Dehu, (as part of the 326^th Sant Tukaram Palkhi procession, which is one of the biggest processions in the country), started their 23 day pilgrimage to Pandharpur which will culminate on 12^th July 2011 which happens to be the “Asadhi Ekadashi” this year. Almost 300 “Dindis” ( groups of Varkaris) accompanied the Tukaram Palkhis. Also nearly 300 “Dindis” forming the Sant Dnyaneshwar Palkhi, will be turning up at Pandharpur from the Sant Dnayeshwar Samadhi, via Akurdi and Alandi in Pune District. The Palkhi processions are also called “Wari”.

It was  a stirring sight to see thousands and thousands of Varkaris from all over Maharashtra (the Indian state in which Pune city and Dehu where Sant Tukaram lived, are situated) all dressed in white with colourful  “pagdis” (head dress) go along in a peaceful, orderly procession, each one carrying an identical  “ektara” (one stringed musical instrument) in one hand and  cymbals in the other hand, on which the great saint used to sing his Abhangs, as a mark of tribute to his memory and his abhangs were being played on loud-speakers on moving vehicles all along the procession. To me, it seemed that all these devotees were dressed like the saint himself, as a mark of complete identification with him and ,as a tribute, to the great soul himself.  I am sure that the procession carrying the Palkhi of Sant Dnyaneshwar was equally soul stirring.

Posted on 13.03.13: 

 India Government Mint Kolkata is taking bookings from 01.04.2013 to 31.05.2013, for four-coins sets (comprising Rs.100/-, Rs.50/- Rs.10/- and Rs.2 coins) both in Proof coin sets and uncirculated coin sets to commemorate the life of Sant Tukaram. The Proof coin-sets are priced at Rs.10,000/- and the uncirculated coin sets are priced at Rs.9,534/-.

Links to other articles on coins issued on Prominent saints and temples of India: 

1) 25 Years of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board

2) Lord Mahavir: 24th Teerthankar of Jainism

3) Sant Thiruvalluvar

4) Celebrating 1000 years of Brihadeeshwarar Temple

5) Mother Teresa  

6) Jagathguru Sree Narayana Gurudev

7) Mahatma Basaveshwara

8)   Sant Dnyaneshwar and Sant Tukaram

9) Swami Chinmayananda : Celebrating his Birth Centenary: A Rs.10/- coin issued by the Hyderabad Mint 

10) Commemorating the Birth Centenary of Acharya Tulsi of Jainism by issuing a Rs.20/- coin

Other interesting posts on Christian Saints, Churches, priests and the Pope: 1) The inspiring story of Saint Teresa :

2) Saint Alphonsa: The first Catholic Woman Saint of India 

3) Pope Francis: 80th Birthday on 17.12.2016: 6 Commemorative coins issued by Cook Islands 

4) Christ Church Fort Teppakulam, Trichirapalli 

5) St. Joan of Arc: The patron Saint of France 

6) Archbishop Benedict Mar Gregarious Centenary Celebrations

7) Bicentenary of the Old Seminary in Kottayam