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.