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Compiled by Narayan Moreshwar Khare, Ashram Bhajanavali, Ahmedabad: Navajivan Mudranalaya, 1938. Hindi edition

288 pages in Hindi and Gujarati; original printed yellow paper wrappers, title page in Hindi, publisher's advertisement and contents at rear, complete. Ownership inscription in Gujarati on the title-page; contemporary ANAND T. HINGORANI ownership label to the front cover reading "Editor • Publisher: Gandhi Series, Upper Sind Colony, Karachi (Sind)"; oval "Anand T. Hingorani Home Library, Allahabad" stamp on the front preliminary leaf and contents page.
5.8 x 3.8 in (15.87 x 14.60 cm)

Inscribed and dated by Gandhi in black ink “7/4/1941” with the blessing “Bapu ke Ashirwad” in Hindi.

THE SONGS OF SABARMATI: Gandhi's Book of Prayer

A well-preserved early edition of the celebrated Ashram Bhajanavali, the devotional hymnbook compiled principally by Narayan Moreshwar Khare, musician and music instructor at Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram. First issued under Gandhi's guidance, the volume was carefully compiled, standardised and approved for use during the daily prayer meetings at Sabarmati and, later, Sevagram Ashram, where collective prayer formed an essential part of the moral and spiritual discipline observed by residents and followers. More than a liturgical text, the Ashram Bhajanavali embodied Gandhi's conviction that prayer was the ethical foundation of individual character and communal life.

Drawing together hymns, scriptural passages and prayers from Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Muslim and Christian traditions, the collection reflects Gandhi's lifelong commitment to religious pluralism and spiritual inclusiveness. Among its best-known hymns are Vaishnava Jana To, Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram and Ishwar Allah Tero Naam, alongside devotional verses intended to cultivate humility, self-restraint, compassion and communal harmony. Throughout Gandhi's life, these prayers accompanied not only the daily rhythm of ashram life but also his public meetings, where devotional singing became inseparable from the practice of satyagraha and the wider nationalist movement. As such, the Ashram Bhajanavali remains one of the defining spiritual texts of the Gandhian movement.

This example is distinguished by its exceptional provenance. It belonged to Anand T Hingorani (1907–1988), Gandhian scholar, publisher of the influential Gandhi Series in Karachi, and one of Mahatma Gandhi's longest-standing correspondents and most dedicated collectors. The original printed ownership label identifying Hingorani as "Editor • Publisher: Gandhi Series, Upper Sind Colony, Karachi (Sind)", together with the later Anand T Hingorani Home Library, Allahabad ownership stamp and contemporary Gujarati ownership inscription, firmly establishes its provenance. These markings document the volume's journey from Hingorani's pre-Partition library in Karachi to his post-Partition collection in Allahabad, preserving an important chapter in the history of one of the most significant private Gandhian libraries assembled during the twentieth century.

Unlike Gandhi's political writings and public addresses, works such as the Ashram Bhajanavali illuminate the spiritual architecture underpinning his philosophy of truth, non-violence and self-discipline. Association copies from the libraries of Gandhi's close associates are notably uncommon, and the present volume stands as both a devotional text central to Gandhian practice and an important artefact from the personal library of Anand T Hingorani, whose lifelong relationship with Gandhi forms the foundation of the present collection.

This lot will be shipped in "as is" condition. For further details, please refer to the images of individual lots as a reference for the condition of each lot.