Pandharpur – Land of Lord Vitthala – Story
(By H.H.Lokanath Swami)
Devoted pilgrims travel hundreds of kilometers and wait all night to see their Lord for a few moments.
THROUGHOUT the provinces of India, the Supreme Lord is worshiped in various forms. In Andhra Pradesh He appears as Tirupati Balaji, in Kerala as
Guruvayurappan, in Karnataka as the beautiful Udupi Krsna, in Gujarat as
Dvarakadhisa and Ranacora Raya. And in Pandharpur, the spiritual capital of Maharashtra, the Lord is worshiped as Sri Vitthala. His devotees also fondly call Him Vithobha or Panduranga.
Pandharpur Dhama is located about four hundred kilometers southeast of Bombay.
Some call it Bhu-vaikuntha, “the spiritual world on earth.” Others call it
Daksina Dvaraka, the Dvaraka of the South. The town is located on the western bank of the river Bhima. Because of the way the river bends as it reaches Pandharpur, it is known there as the Candrabhaga (“crescent moon”). For the devotees of Vitthala, this river is as holy as the Ganges.
Along the riverbank are fourteen ghatas, or bathing places. The main one is Maha Dvara Ghata. The short street that links this ghata to the eastern gate of the Vitthala temple is lined with shops and stalls selling tulasi, flower
garlands, coconuts, incense, and sweets, all to offer to the Lord.
Temple and Deity Worship
The black stone temple hosts the five-thousand-year-old self-manifested Deity of Lord Vitthala. As one enters through the main door, one sees a deity of Sri Ganesa, to whom the Vitthala devotees pray to remove all obstacles to their worship.
Across the courtyard, up a few steps, one enters the darsana-mandapa, the hall where one can see the Lord. To proceed to the Deity room, visitors queue up through corridors built alongside the walls. Flanking the entrance of the Deity room are huge four-armed statues of Jaya and Vijaya, the doorkeepers of Vaikuntha, the spiritual world.
The slightly smiling, blackish-complexioned Deity of Sri Vitthala is three and a half feet tall. He stands on a brick, His hands resting on His hips. This
posture reflects His pastimes in Pandharpur.
The Padma Purana and the Skanda Purana briefly describe why the Lord journeyed to Pandharpur and why He stays there in this form.
Once Srimati Radharani, Lord Krsna’s consort in the village of Vrndavana,
visited Dvaraka, where Lord Krsna lived as a king. At that time, Rukmini Devi, Lord Krsna’s queen, noticed that Krsna was dealing more intimately with Radharani than He had ever done with her.
Upset, she departed for the forest of Dindirvana, near Pandharpur.
Lord Krsna followed Rukmini to apologize, but His apology left her unmoved. So the Lord moved on to Pandharpur to visit one of His devotees, Bhakta Pundarika, now popularly known in Maharashtra as Pundalika.
When the Lord reached Pundarika’s asrama, Pundarika was serving his elderly parents.
So Pundarika gave the Lord a seat of brick and asked the Lord to wait.
The Lord did as told.
He stood, lotus hands on His hips, waiting for Pundarika to return.
While He was waiting, Rukmini, having forgotten her distress, came from
Dindirvana and rejoined Him.
Both of Them stayed in Pandharpur in Deity form.
To this day the Lord stands on the same brick, but now He’s waiting for all His devotees to come see Him.
While waiting, the Lord seems to tell the devotees, “Do not fear. For those who have surrendered unto Me, I have reduced the depth of the ocean of material suffering. See, it is only this deep.”
He indicates the shallowness of the ocean by placing His hands on His hips.
Elegantly dressed in yellow and other colors, Lord Vitthala wears around His neck a vaijayanti garland and tulasi, whose aroma permeates the darsana hall and the surrounding area. His right hand holds a lotus flower and His left a conchshell. On His chest He bears the mark of Bhrgu’s foot. His ears are decorated with shark-shaped earrings, and on His forehead beneath His crown is a broad mark of tilaka.
The Lord’s smile irresistibly enchants His devotees. Each pilgrim who approaches Him gets a glimpse of His peaceful smiling face and considers this the perfection of life.
(REMEMBER GURU BEFORE ANY ACTION – STORY! READ HERE!)