Sant Dnyaneshwar was a 13th-century Marathi saint, poet, philosopher, and yogi in the Varkari tradition of Maharashtra. He is celebrated for writing the Dnyaneshwari (a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita in Marathi) and numerous devotional abhangs (spiritual poems).
The abhang “Are Are Dnyana Jhalasi Pavan” serves as a profound celebration of spiritual awakening and self-realization, reflecting the principles of Advaita Vedanta. The piece illustrates the precise moment an individual ego dissolves into Supreme Consciousness, bridging philosophical inquiry with devotional ecstasy.
Verse 1
अरे अरे ज्ञाना झालासी पावन ।
तुझें तुज ध्यान कळों आलें ॥१॥
Are Are Jnyānā Jhālāsī Pāvana |
Tujhe Tuja Dhyāna Kaḷo Āle || 1 ||
Meaning: O Dnyaneshwar, dear one! You have become utterly pure and sanctified. You have realized your own divine nature within yourself.
Word to Word Meaning
- अरे (arē): Hey/O, dear! (a term used to call out someone affectionately)
- अरे (arē): Hey/O, dear! (repeated for emphasis)
- ज्ञाना (jñānā): O Dnyaneshwar (“Dnyana” shortened form of Dnyaneshwar)
- झालासी (jhālāsī): You have become
- पावन (pāvana): Pure / sanctified / holy
- तुझें (tujhē): Your
- तुज (tuja): To yourself
- ध्यान (dhyāna): True nature / focus / meditation
- कळों (kaḷō): Understood / realized
- आलें (ālē): Has come
Verse 2
तुझा तूंचि देव तुझा तूंचि भाव ।
फिटला संदेह अन्यतत्त्वी ॥२॥
Tujhā Tūnchi Deva Tujhā Tūnchi Bhāva |
Phiṭalā Sandeha Anyatattvī || 2 ||
Meaning: You yourself are God, and you yourself are the devotion (Bhava). All doubt regarding any separate or external divine entity has completely vanished.
Word to Word Meaning
- तुझा (tujhā): Your
- तूंचि (tūchi): You yourself
- देव (dēva): God / Divine
- तुझा (tujhā): Your
- तूंचि (tūchi): You yourself
- भाव (bhāva): Devotion / feeling / worshipper
- फिटला (fiṭalā): Disappeared / was cleared
- संदेह (saṃdēha): Doubt / hesitation
- अन्यतत्त्वी (anyatattvī): Regarding any other reality or principle
Verse 3
मुरडूनियां मन उपजलासी चित्तें ।
कोठें तुज रितें न दिसे रया ॥३॥
Muraḍuniyā Mana Upajalāsī Chitte |
Koṭhe Tuja Rite Na Dise Rayā || 3 ||
Meaning: By turning the wandering mind inward, the pure consciousness has manifested in your heart. With that awakening, nowhere does one see any emptiness or absence of the Divine; everything is truly perceived as full of the same ultimate Reality.
Word to Word Meaning
- मुरडूनियां (muraḍūnīyā): Turning back / redirecting inward
- मन (mana): Mind
- उपजलासी (upajalāsī): You manifested / arose
- चित्तें (cittē): In pure awareness / consciousness
- कोठें (kōṭhē): Anywhere
- तुज (tuja): To you
- रितें (ritē): Empty / devoid of God
- न (na): Not
- दिसे (disē): Appears / is seen
- रया (rayā): O dear one (an affectionate form of address)
Verse 4
दीपकीं दीपक मावळल्या ज्योती ।
घरभरी वाती शून्य झाल्या ॥४॥
Dīpakī Dīpaka Māvaḷalyā Jyotī |
Gharabharī Vātī Shūnya Jhālyā || 4 ||
Meaning: Just as when the flame of one lamp merges into another, their individual identities vanish – illusion of separateness ends, in the same way, ceasing (शून्य झाल्या) of
individual "wicks", represents the resolution of individual upādhis or limiting adjuncts.
Word to Word Meaning
- दीपकीं (dīpakī): In the lamp
- दीपक (dīpaka): Another lamp
- मावळल्या (māvaḷalyā): Merged / dissolved / absorbed
- ज्योती (jyōtī): Flames
- घरभरी (gharabharī): Throughout the whole house
- वाती (vātī): Wicks
- शून्य (śūnya): Void / merged into nothingness / without separation
- झाल्या (jhālyā): Became
Verse 5
वृत्तीचि निवृत्ति अपणांसकट ।
अवघेंची वैकुंठ चतुर्भूज ॥५॥
Vṛittīchī Nivṛitti Āpaṇāsakaṭa |
Avaghechī Vaikuṇṭha Chaturbhuja || 5 ||
Meaning: The mental tendencies and vagaries have ceased and dissolved, melting aways the individual ego. Now, the entire universe manifests as Vaikuntha – radiating the all-pervading form of the four-armed Divine Lord.
Word to Word Meaning
- वृत्तीचि (vrūttīchi): Mental tendencies, whims or vagaries
- निवृत्ति (nivṛtti): Cessation / resolution / quietude
- अपणांसकट (apaṇāsakaṭa): Along with one's own self/ego
- अवघेंची (avaghēchī): Everything / the entire universe
- वैकुंठ (vaikuṇṭha): The divine abode of Lord Vishnu
- चतुर्भूज (caturbhūja): Four-armed (the form of Lord Vishnu / omnipresent
Divinity)
Verse 6
निवृत्ति परम अनुभव नेमा ।
शांतिपूर्ण क्षमा ज्ञानदेवो ॥६॥
Nivṛitti Paramānubhava Nemā |
Shāntī Pūrṇa Kṣhamā Dnyānadevo || 6 ||
Meaning: Dnyaneshwar acknowledges that the grace of Sant Nivruttinath (his elder brother and Guru) a supreme realized soul, has enabled Dnyaneshwar to become the
embodiment of forgiveness and serene tranquillity.
Word to Word Meaning
- निवृत्ति (nivṛtti): Sant Nivruttinath – elder brother and Guru of Sant
Dnyaneshwar - परम अनुभव (param ānubhava): The supreme spiritual experience / realization
- नेमा (nēmā): Rule / steady state / principle
- शांतिपूर्ण (śāṃtipūrṇa): Full of peace, serene tranquillity
- क्षमा (kṣamā): Forgiveness / tolerance
- ज्ञानदेवो (jñānadēvō): Sant Dnyaneshwar
What makes this abhang timeless is how it simplifies the complex philosophy of Advaita Vedanta into raw, poetic emotion. Through everyday metaphors like merging lamps and dissolving thoughts, Sant Dnyaneshwar guides us toward our own true nature. He beautifully illustrates that true liberation is not a destination after death, but a shift in perspective while we are alive. As you reflect on these word-to-word meanings, may Mauli’s words inspire you to look within and discover the boundless peace and divinity that resides in your own heart.
– Translation by Vaishali Koparkar and Prasad Koparkar.
