Vithoba

The name Vithoba means Father Vitthala. Vitthala is said to have been derived from the word Vishnu in Kannada.

Pandurang or Vithoba it is supposed to be The Supreme God of The Universe for all the Maharashtrians The worship of Vishnu - Vitthala at Pandharpur is derived mainly from the puranas and has been augmented by the contribution of the great

Vaishnava saints of Maharashtra

Saint Dnyaneshwar, Saint Tukaram, Saint Namdev, Saint Purandardas, Chokhamela, Janabai,Eknath,Purandar Das, Vijay Das, Gopal Das, and Jagannath Das,
Sant Kanhupatra,Sant Bahinabai,Sant Muktabai,Sant Ramdas,Sant Savtamali,Sant Venabai,Sant Mahadamba,Sant Sakhubai

In the temple of Vithoba, “Pad-Sparsha-Darshan” is a special ceremony.

Irrespective of caste any devotee can enter the sanctum sanctorum and can place his/ her head at the feet of Vitthal. The Bhagwat Dharma sect is followed in Pandharpur, with full spirit

The temple with its vast area has a total of six gates. The eastern entrance to this temple is known as the Namdev gate. The sanctum enshrines a standing image of Vithoba also known as Panduranga, Pandhari or Vitthala.

The river Bhima, better known as “Chandrabhaga” flows through the city. Large number of devotees walks from the whole of Maharashtra, to celebrate the “Ashadhi Ekadashi and Kartiki Ekadashi” twice every year

The cult of Vitthala is part of the bhakti devotional movement. Its deity, Vitthala or Vithoba, was originally a Kannada hero in the south of Maharashtra around whom a cult developed. The cult was pastoral and so was assimilated with Krishna. Therefore the Vitthalas are a Vaishnavite bhakti cult.

The bhakti devotional doctrine of the Vitthalas is based on a succession of writers and poets.

First is Jnanesvara with many devotional hymns and a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita.

He is followed by poets that wrote in Marathi. Namdev's poetry tells of a deity who is everywhere and accessible to everyone. All that is needed is to love him and sing his name. You do not have to practise austerities and renunciation, meditate on the absolute, or go on pilgrimages. Vitthala is a transcendent god of such breadth he is identified with Brahman.

The ascetic life of Eknath while still living with his family emphasised the belief of the sect that sanctity could be attained by anyone in daily life. You did not need to live in the forest as an ascetic.

The most important poet was Tukaram, who claimed that devotion to Vitthala alone sanctifies. Love of God is above everything and without this love there can be no real spiritual growth. Such love of God would not be possible without duality (dvaita).

There was a political content to the doctrine of the Vitthalas, for the Marathi poets started a nationalist movement of resistance to the Mughals.

Though Namdev wrote that pilgrimage is not necessary, an annual pilgrimage to Pandharpur is a central part of the practice of the cult, with devotional singing of hymns and prayers on behalf of Tukaram to Vitthala. The importance of pilgrimage is reflected in the cult also being called Vakari Panth, 'pilgrim's path.'

The Vitthalas are united in the annual pilgrimage to Pandhapur. The most devout devotees make two other pilgrimages in the year. The pilgrimage starts from different parts of Maharashtra at places sacred to the great poets. The pilgrims carry pictures of the poet-saints and sing their hymns as they go and so keep them alive in an oral tradition.

Jay dev jay dev jay panduranga

The “Vi” in Lord Vithoba’s name denotes knowledge and “Thoba” denotes shape. He is the shape of knowledge or the idol of knowledge. Another interpretation is that the word “Vitthala” is said to be derived from the Marathi word “Vit”, meaning brick. The reason behind the brick will be explained later in this article. “Ba” is used to denote “father” in Marathi.



Lord Vithal/ Vitthal/ Vithoba is none other than Lord Vishnu, Lord Narayana or Lord Krishna. It is believed that Lord Krishna had incarnated at the end of Dwarpa Yuga on the eighth day of the dark fortnight in the holy month of Shravan (As per the Hindu calendar). He is lovingly called names like Pandrinath, Panduranga, Pandhairiraya, Vithai, Vithoba, Vithu-mauli, Vitthalgururao by his devotees. But the well-known and commonly used names are Pandurang / Panduranga and Shri Vitthal / Vithal. The word Vitthala is said to be derived from the Kannada (a language spoken in the southern parts of India) word for Lord Vishnu. The worship of Lord Vitthala has been derived mainly from the Puranas. His worship has been made well-known by the teachings, poems, kirtans, and pads of great Vaishnava saints of Maharashtra from the 13th through the 17th centuries. They were saints like Sant Namdeo /Namdev, Sant Jnaneshwar, Sant Eknath and Sant Tukaram. Pundalik, a saint was closely associated with this shrine, and hence this shrine is also known as Pundarika Pura.



According to the legend, there was once a devoted son called Pundalik. He looked after the needs of his father Janudev and his mother Satyavati. But things changed when Pundalik got married. He started ill treating them. Tired of his tyranny, the parents decided to head for Kashi / Varanasi. It is said that those who die in Kashi attain salvation and liberation from the cycle of birth and death. This is still believed today and many people travel there when they feel their end is near.



Hearing his parents plans, Pundalik and his wife decided to join them. His treachery continued so much that he made his old parents walk throughout the journey while he and his young wife rode on a horse. On the way, they came across the hermitage of the venerable sage, Kukkutswami. Tired of the long journey, the group decided to spend some days there. That night, Pundalik lay awake and witnessed something remarkable. Just before dawn, he saw a group of beautiful, young women dressed in dirty clothes, enter the Sage’s hermitage. They did chores like cleaning the floor, fetching water and washing the Sage’s clothes. After that, they went to the prayer room. When they came out, their clothes were spotlessly clean and they disappeared. Pundalik wasn’t alarmed seeing this but rather he felt at peace. He kept thinking about the incident the following day. He wanted to be sure that he was not dreaming but had truly witnessed such a glorious incident. So he remained awake again. But this time, he got closer and decided to speak to the women.

“Who are you all?”

“We are Ganga, Yamuna and all the holy rivers of India. People take a dip and bathe in us to wipe away their sins. The impurity of their mind, body and souls make us dirty. That’s why you see our clothes in such filthy condition.” Pundalik was amazed with their answer.



“But you are the biggest sinner of all because of the way you treat your parents.”



This was a rude awakening for Pundalik. He realized his mistake and changed his ways. He served his parents well and looked after all their needs and comforts. It is said that devotion in any form reaches God. Seeing Pundalik’s sincere devotion towards his parents, Lord Vishnu was extremely pleased. He left his abode – Vaikauntha Lok to bless Pundalik.




Lord Vishnu reached Pundalik’s house and knocked on his door but he was serving food to his parents. Pundalik saw the Lord at his door but his devotion to his parents was so intense that he wanted to finish his duties first and then attend to his guest. It didn’t matter to him whether the guest was a mere mortal or God.



Pundalik gave the Lord a brick to stand on and asked Him to wait until his duty was completed. The ever-loving Lord was so pleased with his devotee that He waited for him. When Pundalik came out, he asked God’s forgiveness for neglecting Him, but the Lord instead asked him to request a boon and it would be fulfilled.What more could a devotee ask when his Lord was standing right in front of him? Pundalik asked that He should remain on earth and bless all His devotees. His wish was granted and the Lord remained behind and is known as Vithoba or the Lord who stands on a brick.This form of the Lord is Swayambhu which means that His idol has not been carved or etched but it came into existence on its own. He is accompanied by His consort Rakhumai or Rukmini.



The most important dates for Pandharpur pilgrimage is on Aashadi Ekadashi (June- July) and Kartiki / Kartik Ekadashi (November). During these yatras or pilgrimage people travel from miles together, barefooted, fasting and chanting His holy name until they get a glimpse of the Lord.