God at Play by Mhaimbhat

God at Play by Mhaimbhat

The oldest extant literature written in Marathi.

God at Play, or Līḷācaritra, is a remarkable biography of the medieval religious figure Chakradhar Svami. His followers, called Mahanubhavs, understand him to be an incarnation of Parameshvar, the one supreme God. Mhaimbhat, a Brahmin goldsmith who became one of Chakradhar’s most important followers, compiled this astonishingly down-to-earth religious text around 1278. It records not only Chakradhar’s ethical and theological teachings, but also his travels and his everyday activities, including the foods he ate and the people he met. This rich, detailed account provides insights into economic conditions, political history, and society in medieval India. Manuscripts of the work were carefully preserved within the Mahanubhav community but were not known to outsiders until the early twentieth century. The second volume of God at Play portrays Chakradhar as a full-blown guru, teaching and leading a group of committed disciples. This new English translation of Līḷācaritra is accompanied by an emended Marathi text, based on Hari Narayan Nene’s edition, in the Devanagari script.

Anne Feldhaus is Distinguished Foundation Professor of Religious Studies, Emerita, at Arizona State University.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780674303706
ISBN 10	0674303709
Title	God at Play
Author	Mhaimbhat
Series	Murty Classical Library Of India
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Harvard University Press
Year published	2026-05-12
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.