An extract from my book 'Temples of Maharashtra-A Travel Guide' on the sacred occasion of Ashadi Ekadashi
"The very mention of Pandharpur
brings to our mind vivid images of the turban or topi clad Warkari holding cymbals or tals
in his hands and singing abhangs
(sacred hymns composed by the great saints like Gyaneshwar or Tukaram) with
joyous abandon and devotion, walking towards his Lord Vittala in complete
surrender. No wonder then, that Pandharpur is considered by many as the holiest
place in Maharashtra, the Bhu-Vaikuntam.
This is the place where Lord Vittala stands on bricks with hands held on hip,
waiting for his beloved devotee, Pundalik, to finish his chores for his parents
and turn towards the Lord so that he can be blessed, the place where the Lord
Vittala and his devotee, (Warkari),
cannot be separated.
Pandharpur, located approximately
365 kms. from Mumbai and 215 kms. from Pune, is best accessed from Solapur which
is at a distance of 74 kms and has good stay options. The road is well
maintained and buses are available every fifteen minutes. As you enter the
ancient temple town, picturesquely positioned on the banks of the river
Chandrabhaga, your attention never wavers from the Vittala temple. The temple
is believed to be more than 2000 years old. Traditionally, one is supposed to
have a dip in the holy waters of the Chandrabhaga, have darshan at the Pundalik
temple and worship the devotee before the Lord. Hence the main eastern entrance
faces the Pundalik temple on the banks of the crescent shaped river. It is
lined with shops selling flowers, bukka and puja materials, and one, though
unsolicited, is approached by many who wish to guide you for a fee. The
entrance to the sanctum sanctorum is through the Namdev Gate, in respect to the great Marathi poet and devotee, Sant
Namdev. There are twelve steps and the first one has the figure of Namdev with
a tambourine in his hand singing a kirtan, and fourteen members of his family
carved on it. There is also a bust of Namdev to the side of the step. It is
said that when Namdev took Samadhi, the rest of the fourteen members drowned
themselves. This step called Namdev
payari is considered the Samadhi or the final resting place of
Namdev. Hence devotees worship it, cross it without setting their foot on it.
Generally the pujari here is from Namdev’s Shimpi community and the offerings
go to the Badaves or the hereditary priests of Vithoba.
Near the entrance we find the Samadhi of Chokamela, a great devotee of
the Lord. Chokamela was from the Mahar community, who in those times were
considered outcasts and not allowed inside the temple. He was termed mad by the
people because he used to always be in ecstacy singing, dancing and conversing
with his Vithobha. The Lord loved him and used to converse with him. The story
goes that while the Lord was having lunch at Chokamela’s house, one day, curd
fell on his vastra. It was neivedya time at the temple and the priest was
stunned to see curd on the vastra of the Lord. When he came to know the truth,
the temple priest apologised profusely to Chokamela.
The Darshan Mandap which can accommodate the huge gathering of varkaris
during the Ashadi and Karthiki Ekadashis
has been built quite recently. As we enter through the central doorway flanked
by the images of Jaya and Vijaya, the dwarpals of the Lord, we come across the Solakambh mandap (16 pillared hall),
which reveal exquisite carvings depicting scenes from the Dashavatar and
Krishna Lila on the roof. All the pillars exhibit artistic carvings while the
back one encased in silver and bearing the image of Lord Vishnu, is known as
the Garuda Stambha (the place where
the statue of Garuda was supposed to be standing before the mandap was built.)
The devotees traditionally embrace the Garuda stambha and make offerings before
praying to Lord Vittala. We were shown an inscription carved on a block of stone,
listing the donors to the temple in the 12th century. Devotees used
to rub their backs on this inscription in the belief that they would be
relieved from their sins and rebirth.
As one enters the sanctum, the
eyes are magnetically drawn to the highly revered black stone image of Lord
Vittala standing on a brick shaped square block with the arms, holding a shankh
in the left and a lotus in the right, resting on the hip. This is believed to
be the brick that his devotee Pundalik offered to him as an asana. The crown or
mukut of the Lord has a shivlinga engraved on it, and the ears are adorned with
makara kundalas and the chest with the Kausthubha gem. The deity is believed to
be swayambu or self manifested. This is the only shrine where devotees can touch
the feet (sparsh) and seek blessings.
Behind the main shrine is a
separate shrine to Goddess Rukhmani or Rakhumai as she is called here. The
beautiful black stone image of the Goddess is dressed in typical Maharashtrian
style and is adorned with many ornaments. There are shrines to Satyabhama Rahi
(Radhika) and Mahalakshmi Mata too.
There
are stories and legends galore about this temple and the presence of Vithoba in
Pandarpur and his devotees, the most important one being that of Pundalik or
Pundarik who is credited with having brought Lord Vittala to this land.
Pundalik was initially a self centred man who care for nothing except his own
pleasure. He neglected his aged parents. But he agreed to take them to Kashi,
albeit on foot, while he and his wife rode on horses. On the way came across an
ashram of Rishi Kukkut, who welcomed him and took good care of him. Pundalik
could not sleep that night. He witnessed the remarkable sight of three young
women in dirty clothes enter the Rishi’s ashram and started doing cleaning
jobs. They then went to the prayer hall and when they remerged they were
spotlessly clean. When asked about this miracle, the three women mentioned that
they were Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathy. They were burdened with the sins and
impurity of all the thousands of people who took a dip in their waters to
absolve their sins. But they were purified by serving the Rishi, who adored and
took great care of his aged parents. Transformed by this conversation Pundalik
began caring for his parents to the exclusion of everything. Pleased with his
devotion to his parents, Lord Krishna came here to bless him. When the Lord
called out to Pundalik he was serving his parents. So he threw a brick (veet in Marathi) to the Lord to wait.
Probably the name Vittala originated from this veet. The Lord stood on
the brick with his hands resting on his hip and waited till Pundalik finished
his chores for his parents. The Lord still stands, but now He waits for all the
scores of devotees who surrender to Him.
Another
mythological legend, according to the Padma Purana and the Panduranga Mahatmya,
says that Krishna and Radha were inseparable during their childhood. Rukmini
Devi also knew about this. Once when Radharani met Sri Krishna at Dwaraka,
their intimacy upset Rukmini Devi, who silently left to do penance in
Dindirvana to win back her husband. The Lord immediately went in search of her
to ask for forgiveness, but the Goddess, deep in penance, did not even
recognise his presence. Sri Krishna then went to see his devotee Pundalik in
Pandharpur. Later, after her anger and distress had abated, Rukmini Devi joined
her husband to bless the devotee.
Apart
from Pundalik, the primary devotee who was instrumental in the presence of the
Lord Vittala at Pandharpur, Sant Dyaneshwar who is credited with starting the Wari tradition, Sant Namdeo, Sant
Tukaram, Janabai and many others have composed and sung verses (abhangs) in
praise of the Lord, which are being sung with great devotion even today.
Address:
Vittal Rukmini Mandir, Pandharpur, Solapur District, Maharashtra - 413304
Telephone:
02186-224466, 223550
Temple
Timings: The temple opens for darshan at 6.00 am to 11.00 am, from 11.15 to 4.30pm and 5.00pm
to 11.15pm (Darshan remains closed during 11.00 am to 11.15 am for Mahanaivedya, 4.30 pm to 5.00 pm for
Poshakh.)
Festivals: Every day is a festival
and every Ekadashi a fast at
Pandharpur. But the Ashadi and Karthiki Ekadashis are special when a huge
congregation of devotees gather at the temple to have a darshan of their
beloved Lord Vittala. The temple is open for twenty hours on these days, as the
Lord remains awake to bless his devotees. The deity is bathed and dressed in
new clothes the day after and fed a different diet with sugar and spice, as it
is assumed that the Lord is tired after the long day.
Apart from the Ekadashis, the
festival of Navarathri is celebrated with great fervour. The deities are
adorned with beautiful new clothes and fine gold jewellery studded with
brilliant gems of various colours.
The Wari tradition and
the Warkari: The depth of emotion and
spiritual fervour marking the largest procession in the world is unbelievable.
The eight centuries old tradition of Wari is a journey on foot to the
abode of the Lord Vittal at Pandharpur that the devotee or Warkari undertakes again
and again. Lakhs of Warkaris gather at different venues across the country and
carry the padukas (wooden or silver
footwear) of Sant. Dnyaneshwar, Sant Tukaram, Sant Eknath or Sant Eknath in
palkis (palanquins), and start their journey to the reverberating sound of
hundreds of drums, mridangas, cymbals etc. The largest congregation is at the
start of the procession accompanying the palki carrying the padukas of Sant
Dnyaneshwar, who is credited with starting the Wari tradition, from his
birthplace Alandi. Another big procession is from Dehu carrying the Tukaram Padukas.
The starting day of the Wari may be different depending on the distance to
Pandarpur, but the concluding day is the same, the day before Ashadhi Ekadashi,
when Warkaris coming from various cities and direction meet on the banks of the
Chandrabhaga spreading love and devotion in the air and chanting the holy
abhangas in gay abandon. En route to Pandharpur, the Wari halts at various
places and the locals of that place welcome the Warkaris with some special food
and delicacies. Medical aid is provided to those who require it, at most halts
free of charge. The dindi system is followed to avoid chaos or missing persons.
Each dindi comprises of a number of Warkaris, generally from the same locality,
carrying combined essential rations, clothing and medicines in a truck or a
trolley, and they group together wherever they halt. Usually they have some abhang singers and cymbal players. All
the dindis in a particular Wari assemble
for the evening aarti conducted by their palki chief. On reaching Chandrabhaga,
they take a dip in the holy waters. The excitement of the Warkaris reaches its crescendo when they first sight the flag atop
the main Vittal Mandir and they rush forward in unison to catch a glimpse of
their favourite Lord. That is the climax. The moment they are face to face with
the Lord and feel his benevolent gaze blessing them for ever and ever.
More shrines to visit
at Pandharpur: The Pundalik shrine on the banks of the Chandrabagha, is managed
interestingly by priests from the Koli community. The main deity in this temple
is a Shivalinga. A brass mask adorned with new white dhoti and gold earings, is
placed on the linga everyday after the morning puja which include abhishek,
archana and neivedya. The temple is open from 4.00am to 7.00pm and during the Wari, it is open for 24 hours.
Just
outside the Pundalik shrine is the Loha
Danda Thirth. A boat made of stone is seen floating in the water. The story
behind this thirth is that when Indra prayed for relief from his curse by Sage
Gautam, the Lord gave him an iron rod (Loha danda) and said that when this rod
floated in water, he would be relieved from the curse. Indra went to many
places and finally landed up at the Chandrabagha River. Miraculously the rod
floated and Indra was relieved from the curse. The crescent shaped Chandrabhaga River is itself of great
importance as the moon was relieved of it’s curse by having a holy dip in the
river’s waters. A bath in the river is believed by many devotees to relieve
them from all their sins. Boats are available for ferrying devotees to Gopalpura, approximately 1.5 Kms from
the Pundalik shrine, where an ancient temple stands to Lord Krishna as Gopala,
the cowherd, with a flute in his hands. The ferry will halt at a large rock
with imprints of the feet of the Lord as he walks along with his cows and
calves. There are pillars on one of which is carved the image of Srikrishna
standing on the left leg with the right leg crossed and standing on toes. On
another pillar is carved the chaturbhuj image of Srikrishna with shankh,
chakra, gada, and padma. The imprints on the rock include one of the cow’s feet
and Srikrishna’s staff apart from two sets of the Lord’s footprints. This rock
is highly revered as Vishnupad. The
month of Margashirsh is very significant for the worship of Lord Krishna at
Gopalpura and Vishnupad and sees a huge rush as processions carrying the
padukas of Lord Vittala set forth to and fro from the Vishnupad. The belief is
that Srikrishna enjoys his time with his cowherd friends during this period.
Note: The beauty of the
Chandrabagha in spate can be seen during the monsoon months from July to
September. Ashadi ekadashi is the best time to have a glimpse of the famed Wari,
when lakhs of devotees congregate on the temple premises. During peak season
like Ashadi, Karthiki, Chaitra and Magha ekadashi, when the Wari with thousands
of Warkaris enter the town of Pandharpur, the devotee gets only a fleeting
darshan of the Lord as a strict queue system is in place. But even this
fleeting moment gets imprinted in the mind of the devotee, leaving a lasting
impression. However, if one wants to have a peaceful darshan, any other time of
the year is suitable for a visit."
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