Vithoba
Pandharpur is an important pilgrimage city on the Bhimā
river in Solāpur district,
Whenever I hear of Panduranga Vitthala my mind goes
back to the village called Mohol which is near the holy city of
Ashadha Ekadashi is a day of great celebration and
jubilation at Pandharpur, when the Varkaris—devotees of Vitthala who gather
from all over Maharashtra, walking all the way from their homes to Pandharpur—have
holy darshan of their beloved deity. I remember the massive influx of devotees,
the enormously crowded streets, and the canvas tents for medical aid and
vaccination. The road from Mohol to Pandharpur is lined with neem trees casting
their reticulated shadows on the ground. I can still hear the soft rustle of
delicate green leaves, smell their medicinal aroma, and see the yellow seeds
profusely scattered under the trees. Pandharpur makes me nostalgic.
As I grew up, I developed a keen interest in the
cultural, social, and historical aspects of the Vitthala cult. I was fascinated
by the enormous numbers of Varkaris, hearts full of love, trekking speedily to
see their very own Vithai Mauli (Mother Vithoba), putting up cheerfully with
all the difficulties and inconveniences of a long journey. When we read Sant
Jnaneshwar’s virahinis (philosophical
poems dealing with the pangs of separation from God) or Sant Tukaram’s abhangas (a particular metrical
composition in praise of the deity), we can feel the fervour and intense
longing for the supreme presence. Jnaneshwar says, “The crow is calling on the
other side, predicting some auspicious happening.” He wishes to adorn the feet
of this crow with gold, for it is telling that “Pandharirau (that is, Vitthala)
would be coming home as a guest.” Tukaram says, The jiva is longing to meet
you, O Lord.”
Pandharpur:
the
The principle deity of Pandharpur is Sri Vitthala. The
temple has three doors each on its eastern and northern sides, and a door each
on the south and the west. The main door on the eastern side is the one
frequently used, so it is called the Mahadwara. It is also called Namdev
Darwaja, Namdev’s Door. Near the Mahadwara, there is the Samadhi-pitha
(memorial) of the saint Chokhoba. We have to climb twelve steps to reach it.
The first of these steps is known as Namdevachi Payari (Namdev Step). Sant
Namdev left his mortal coil at this very place. A brass image of his face is
installed here. Namdev firmly believed that if he were to receive the touch of
the ardent devotees of Vitthala he would certainly be liberated. This step is
sacred to the devotees. They take care not to step on it.
If we approach the Vitthala shrine from the southern
door, we get to see the image of the saint woman Kanhopatra in a niche on the
wall. Behind the Vitthala shrine to the northwest, is the shrine to Rukmini,
the consort of Vitthala. The shrines to Satyabhama and Rahi are also close by.
Vithoba’s
Image
Researchers hold varying opinions about the history of
the Vitthala temple and the image. The main temple was built by the Yadavas of
Devgiri in the twelth century though the deity was well-known several centuries
earlier. During the Muslim invasion in the sixteenth century the image had to
be kept hidden for fear of desecration.
There is another interesting debate about Vitthala.
There are arguments suggesting that Vitthala is a Karnataki or Kannada deity
rather than a Marathi deity. Jnayaneshwar says: kanada ho vitthalu karnataku,
yene maja lavile vedhi; this Vitthala who is kanada (difficult to understand) and
karnataku (from Karnataka, or kara nataku, playful) has put me in the state of
constant remembrance.’ Saints like Eknath and Namdev have also referred to him
as kanada vitthala. Those who vouch for his being Marathi emphasize that kanada
means ‘inaccessible, indescribable’. Geographically; Pandharpur is on the
border of
To the saints, Vitthala is sāvale parabrahma; Parabrahman with a dark complexion; he is Hari
in the form of a gopa (cowherd) he is also Shiva and Vishnu. There are many
Kannada saints and poets who have sung the glory of Vitthala with loving
devotion. In his poem Panduraanga
Mahatmyamu, the Telugu poet Tenali Ramakrishna too sings praises to
Vitthala: O Parvati, accepting the services of Pundarika and Kshetrapala
(Kala-bhairava), becoming the wish fulfilling tree by assuming a subtle body
for the sake of devotees, fulfilling their wishes, the deity Panduranga resides
in that temple.
This shows that Vitthala is an impressive symbol of
synthesis. He became the centre for the emergence of a unique social and
spiritual movement. The devotee saints declared war against hollow rituals and
hypocrisy. They were not interested in the shallow vulgar show of erudition. On
the contrary they wanted to experience the spirit of the ‘one without a second’
in their own life. Why do we need temples? Because temples and deities
represent humbleness which, along with goodness and the spirit of synthesis, we
need to protect. If this purpose is not served, then sacred places and temples
are mere heaps of stone. Tukarma says: holy places are made of mere stones, God
is in wisdom and in the pious’.
Vithoba,
Vitthala, Panduranga
The Varkaris fondly address Vitthala as Vithoba Mauli
(Mother Vithoba). According to legend he is related to both Shiva and Vishnu.
Panduranga is another of his popular names. Scholars have provided interesting
insights into the etymological meanings of these names.
In a copper plate found at Bendigere near
But to the simple-hearted Varkari devotees, these
analytical details are not of much interest. To them Vitthala is their mother,
Vithoba Mauli.
Excerpted from Prabuddha Bharata’s article at
http://www.esamskriti.com/essay-chapters/Vithoba-of-Pandharpur-1.aspx
Vithal, or Vitthal, or Vithoba, or Pandurang (a form of
The name Vithoba means Father Vitthala. Vitthala is said to have been derived
from the word Vishnu in Kannada. Panduranga is a Sanskritized form of Pandarga,
the old name of Pandharpur.
Story of Panduranga Vitthala
It is said that the devotee Pundalik founded
Pandharpur. His father Janudeva and mother Satyavati lived in a thick forest
called Dandirvan.
Pundalik was a devoted son but soon after his marriage he began to ill-treat
his parents. To escape from this misery, the parents decided to go on a
pilgrimage to Kashi. When Pundalik's wife learnt about this, she also decided
to go. She and her husband joined the same group of pilgrims on horseback.
While the son and his wife rode on horseback, the old couple walked. Every
evening when the party camped for the night, the son forced his parents to
groom the horses and do other jobs. The poor parents cursed the day they
decided to go on a pilgrimage. Soon the party reached the ashrama of the great
sage Kukkutswami. There they decided to spend a couple of nights. They were all
tired and soon fell asleep—except Pundalik who could not sleep. Just before
daybreak he saw a group of beautiful, young women, dressed in dirty clothes,
enter the ashrama, clean the floor, fetch water and wash the swami's clothes.
Then they entered the inner room of the ashrama, and came out in beautifully
clean clothes and passing near Pundalik, they vanished.
Next night he saw the same sight again. Pundalik threw himself at their feet
and begged them to tell who they were. They said they were Ganga, Yamuna and
other holy rivers of
One day it so happened that Lord Krishna, the King of
Dwarka, while feeling lonely, was reminded of his early days in
But at that time Pundalik was busy attending to his parents. Though he knew
Lord Krishna had come to see him, he refused to pay his respect to the God
before his duty towards his parents was done. He, however, threw a brick
outside for lord
An imposing temple was built at the place where
The eastern entrance to this temple is known as the
Namdev gate (after the great 13th century Vaishnava saint). The sanctum
enshrines the standing image of Vithoba also known as Panduranga, Pandhari or
Vitthala. Stylistically the image dates back to the 5th century. There are
inscriptions in this temple dating back to the 13th century which place origin
of this shrine to the 6th century.
Extracted from http://www.gsbkerala.com/panduranga.htm