Jnandev Studies, vols. I and II: Songs on Yoga: Teaching of the Maharastrian Naths; vol. III: The Conservative Vaisnava: Anonymous Songs of the Jnandev Gatha.

• Author: Novetzke, Christine Lee
• Position: Review

Jnandev Studies, vols. I and II: Songs on Yoga: Teaching of the Maharastrian Naths; vol. III: The Conservative Vaisnava: Anonymous Songs of the Jnandev Gatha. By CATHARINA KIEHNLE. Alt- und Neu-Indische Studien, vols. 48.1 and 2. Stuttgart: FRANZ STEINER VERLAG, 1998. Pp. vi + 352; 123.

In two exceptional volumes Kiehnle packages three critically edited texts in Old Marathi, attributed to the thirteenth-century Marathi saint (sant) Jnandev, who is remembered as the author of the Jnanesvari, a commentary and translation of the Bhagavadgita in Old Marathi. In Songs on Yoga, Kiehnle offers a critical edition, apparatus and translation of the Lakhota, or "Sealed Letter," and the Yogapar Abhangamala, or "a collection of songs (abhang) on yoga." Both texts are about the experience and practice of yoga from the perspective of the Maharastrian Nath tradition. In The Conservative Vaisnava, Kiehnle assembles, critically edits, and translates fifty songs attributed to Jnandev in the Jnandev Gatha. She gives the collection the title Anusthanapath or "Litany of Observances." As this title implies, the Anusthana path deals with proper behavior within the Varkari tradition of Maharastra.

In a thorough introduction to Songs on Yoga, Kiehnle analyzes the problems of authorship, collation, and translation, while she explores the relationship of the broader Nath tradition to its particular manifestation in Maharastra. Through a detailed treatment of the language of the two texts, she produces something like a primer for the practical study of Old Marathi, adding texture and clarification to Alfred Master's A Grammar of Old Marathi. Perhaps most impressive is the exhaustive commentary Kiehnle sets alongside her translation of the Lakhota. She employs a wide range of sources, such as the Jnanesvari and the songs of other Marathi saints; she draws from unpanisadicv and siddhanta texts, Muktananda's Citsakti Vilas, and Kabir's Sakhi; and she makes use of accounts of Ramakrishna's yogic visions. As Kiehnle points out, the Lakhota is a "sealed letter," filled with enigmatic symbols and coded instructions. Her commentary provides a meticulous interpretation of the songs' possible meanings.

Part two contains a critical edition and translation of Yogapar Abhangamalu, a compilation of verses similar to the Lakhota in subject but not as ornate in poetics or concise in presentation. Kiehnle devotes less attention to it because she observes there a greater philological...