Pandharpur is a pilgrimage city on the banks of Bhimā river in Solāpur, Maharashtra (bordering Karnataka). The Vithoba temple with the idols of Vittala and Rukmini attracts about a million Hindu pilgrims during the major yātrā (pilgrimage) on the Ekadasis of Ashadha (Shayani Ekadasi) and Karthika (Prabodhini Ekadasi). * TRADITION * - Palkhi, a unique feature of Maharashtrian is a 700-year-old tradition followed by the warkaris (pilgrims who follow the wari, a fundamental ritual). The Palaquins of all the Warkaris visit Pandharpur from allover India including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. People collectively go singing and dancing, chanting Dnyanba-Tukaram in what are called as Dindis (organised group of warkaris) to the holy town of Pandharpur. The pilgrims travel to the Pandharpur temple from Alandi and Dehu, towns closely associated with poet-saints Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram respectively. Along the way, they sing abhangas (devotional songs) dedicated to Vithoba and repeat his name, carrying the palkhis of the poet-saints. Varkaris do not engage in ritual worship but only practice darshan (visual adoration) of the deity. The ritual worship by the priests is restricted to five days each around the Ashadha and Kartik Ekadashi. The chief minister or a minister performs ritual components of worship on behalf of the Govt of Maharashtra (sarkari-mahapuja). * LEGEND * - Both Shayani Ekadashi and Prabodhini Ekadashi, are associated with the mythology of Vishnu. Hindus believe that Vishnu falls asleep in Ksheersagar, while lying on the back of the serpent. His sleep begins on Shayani Ekadashi and he finally awakens from his slumber, four months later, on Prabodhini Ekadashi. * HISTORY * - Since the year 1685, by the tradition started by Tukarams son, the silver padukas of Tukaram from Dehu and the padukas of Dnyaneshwar from Alandi were carried in the same Palkhi. After some disputes in 1830 this tradition was broken and two separate Palkhis – Tukaram Palkhi from Dehu and Dnyaneshwar Palkhi from Alandi (both near Pune) were made. From that time till date, both the Palkhis meet in Pune for a brief halt, meet again at Wakhri and proceeded to Pandharpur. Along with times, the popularity of this ancient tradition has soared immensely. Today, a total of approximately 4 lakh devotees with a total of 43 Palkhis including the above two visit Pandharpur every year.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Nov 2013 03:04:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015