श्रीः
जय पाण्डुरङ्गविठ्ठल
20 Sep ’24 to 25 Sep ’24.
Accompanied by Sri Sudhir Gauranga Das and Sri Subrahmanya Bhat, 24 yatris did the Pandharpur yatra.
This is not the Ashada Vari that the Varkaris perform for Vithoba, but we did a bus yatra. For those who are not aware of it, for about 800 years now, Varkaris do an annual pilgrimage - they walk about 200 kms all the way to Pandharpur, to have a glimpse of Vithoba. They commence the walk from Alandi and surrounding places and carry the padukas of Sants Jnaneshwar and Tukkaram in palkhis as they go. This pilgrimage (Dindi) of theirs is spread over 21 days, it was started by Sant Jnaneshwar.
Below is a recollection of places we visited, compiled with inputs and help from Sri Anirudh MC, a saha-yatri.
Anirudh had clicked some beautiful pictures and was generous enough to share them with me. I hope they add to the appeal of this write-up.
Day 1 - Dehu, Alandi
Dehu (Indriyani river) - Approx 30 kms from Pune
- Jagadguru Tukkaram maharaj (17th century) samsthan mandir -
Svayambhu murthis of Vitthala and Rukmini taayar. Tukkaram’s Sannidhi is called
Shila mandir – it has the rock on which Sant Tukkaram sat and fasted when his
book (Abhang Gaatha) was thrown into the Indrayani river. There was also a book
of Abhangs written in Tukkaram’s original handwriting. There is a small shrine
of Sri Rama in the same premises.
- Tukkaram Janmasthaan – his house. It also contains vigraha
of his wife Jijabai.
- Gaatha mandir - contains writings on the walls, decorative
elephants at the entrance, big idols of Tukkaram and the avataras of Maha
Vishnu.
- Ananda Doha contains a small Vitthala-Rukmini mandir and a
Shivalingam.
- Vaikunta-gamana mandir (Vaikuntasthaan mandir) - place
from where Tukkaram left for Vaikuntha in his physical body. The place also
contains the tree under which Tukkaram meditated before his ascent.
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| Tukkaram samstan mandir |
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| Indrayani mata retrieving the book of Abhangs |
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| Gaatha mandir |
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| Tukkaram - Gaatha mandir |
Alandi (Jnaneshwar) - Approx 15 kms from Dehu
- Sant Jnaneshwar (13th century - contemporary of Namdev) Samadhi mandir
& palki ratha.
- Wall which moved towards the Guru (Chaang dev) as
Jnaneshwar (believed to be an avatara of Vishnu in the local folklore) and his
siblings - Nivruttinath (avatara of Shiva),
Sopan (avatara of Brahma) and Muktabai (avatara of Shakti) were seated on it.
This showed the spiritual power of Sant Gnaneshwar because an inert object
(wall) operated under his direction and control based on his mere wish.
- He and his siblings had been ostracised by society because
their father vittal nath (Vithoba) had taken to gruhastashrama after taking
sanyasa. After this incident, they were accepted back.
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| Sant Jnaneshwar - Palki |
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| Jnaneshwar - Wall |
Day 2 - Drive to Neera Narasinhpur (Approx 180
kms from Pune) and Pandharpur (Approx 50 kms from Neera)
- Neera Narasimha temple (and Mahalakshmi devi, Prahlada,
Garuda) - Beautiful old temple at the triveni of rivers Neera (Lakshmi), Bheema
(Uma) and Saraswati. Ugra narasimha and shaanta narasimha (seated inside the
garbhagruham next to ugra).
- Uniqueness of the kshetram - Janmasthanam of Prahlada,
tapas sthanam of Kayadhu, Narada's ashram.
- Considered to be the center of the earth.
- The bhat here belongs to the (approx) 50th generation of
priests who have served here, the first person arrived from belgaum doing
dandavat-pranam all the way.
- They feed about 5000 people during Vijaya dashami
annadanam,
- Travelled to Pandharpur (Approx 200 kms
from Pune) - Mukha darshanam at Vitthal-Rukmini mandir. Experienced
beautiful scenes of bhaktas dancing on the roads, singing bhajans.
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| Neera Narasimha Temple |
- Tulaja bhavani temple, Tulajapur (one of the shakti
peethas). Approx 120 kms from Pandharpur.
- Earlier the temple was referred to as Twarita Bhavani
temple (tulaja = twarita = quickly)
because She was quick to arrive and destroy the asura Kukura, when requested by
a pregnant devotee anubhuti who was facing harassment from the asura.
- Chintamani shila is in this temple – this is believed to
be able to predict whether one’s mission will be successful or not. Chhatrapaji
Shivaji maharaj also used the shila for this purpose, Bhavani is believed to have
also gifted him the sword with which he fought invaders.
- Adi maya / Adi devi mandir is outside this temple.
- Old (original) Rukmini temple, not visited by many
people. The place this is located in is called Dindirvan.
- Janabai mandir - Janabai's rescue by Bhagavan at
Vishnu pada (Janabai was a devotee who used to receive help from Bhagavan for household chores, and
on one occasion He left His jewellery behind in her house, and her shawl was found on Him, so she
was blamed and condemned to death. He arrived there with the fragrance of
sandal and turned the iron rods on which she was to be hung into water).
Rock contains 2 sets of footprints of Krishna - one set in standing pose and
one set in Govardan pose, ie, cross-legged. There is also a flute painting on the
rock.
- Narada mandir is a submerged temple, near Vishnu pada.
- Sant Sakkubai samadhi with the churning equipment which
she used.
- Gopalkrishna mandir, Gopalpur - here Krishna stands as
Vitthala but with His flute. This contradicts the popular belief that Krishna
did not take up his flute after leaving Brindavan. This temple has the grinding
stone and some of the vessels that Janabai used.
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| Tulaja bhavani mata |
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| Approach to Vishnu Padam |
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| Vishnu Padam |
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| Gopalkrishna mandir |
- Morning dip in Chandrabhaga river at ISKCON's Srila
Prabhupad ghat. (Across the Dindirvan)
- Pada-sparsha darshanam of Vittala natha. Rakumai mata,
Satyabhama and Radhika mata have small shrines at the temple.
- In the queue leading up to the garbhagruham, there is a (now
only the trunk exists) tree called Kanhopatra Vriksha. Kanhopatra was one of
His devotees. Most of the women devotees offer special prayers at this tree.
- Saw temples around Vitthala mandir - Sant Namdev Payari
(his samadhi), Mallikarjun mandir, Dvarakadhish mandir, Rameshwar mandir, Pundalik
mandir (the temple is built for his parents. Pundalika was the devotee for whom
Lord Vitthala manifested), Akaraarudra maruti mandir, Khandoba mandir,
Taak-pithe Vithoba mandir.
- Taak-pithe is a Maharashtrian drink like buttermilk. This vithoba visited a devotee's house (rama devi) and asked for buttermilk - she had been unwell and hadn't visited Him for a few weeks, so He was checking on her. the house is now a temple because her wish was that He should always remain there. Taak-pithe mandir is considered equivalent to the main Vitthala temple. For me personally, while all the Vitthalas looked ravishing, this particular Vitthala seemed special - maybe it was the peace and quiet that enveloped this temple, or the endearing story behind Him manifesting there. One felt that one could stay there for a few hours and just be with Him !
- Performed Tulasi archana in the Vitthala-Rukmini mandir.
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| Vitthal-Rukmini mandir |
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| Vitthala natha, Rakumai mata - Selfie point ! |
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| Srila Prabhupad Ghat |
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| Taak pithe Vithoba mandir |
-Kopeshwar Mahadev temple, Khidrapur (earlier known as
koppam)
-Has Maha Vishnu in the same garbhagruham in an unusual
lingam form (Dhopeshwar).
- Beautiful temple dating back to the Chalukyas. (7 CE) who
started construction, which was completed by the Yadavas (11 CE). The name
Kopeshwar is derived from the furious shiva after Sati immolated herself. He was
uncontrollable / inconsolable, Vishnu brought Him here and consoled him.
- Has special features like -
1. Svarga mandap (open for moonlight to stream in),
supported by 48 pillars, one can have darshan of trimurthis if one stands in
the middle - Shiva straight, Vishnu towards the right and Brahmadeva towards
left. the moon is visible right overhead on Karthika pournami nights.
2. Sabha mandapa with 60 pillars, for dance / music
performances. Sunlight streams in right into the garbhagruham on May 6, 7 and 8
every year.
The entire temple has been built with interlocking mechanism
and is an architectural marvel.
3. Nandi resides in neighbouring Veerabhadra temple, hence
shiva is looking that way. This is the one of the few temples in which Vishnu
has manifested as a lingam.
- Signs of vandalism atleast 3-4 times, many sculptures have
been destroyed.
- Krishna river flows by the side of temple, marks the
border between Maharashtra and Karnataka.
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| Kopeshwar Mahadev, Khidrapur |
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| Svarga mandap |
- Mahalakshmi temple (called Mahalakshmi Ambabai mandir,
Karaveerapur) for darshan of Mahalakshmi, Saraswati and Parvati, Tirupati
Balaji, Dashavataram, Seeta-Rama temple and a Hanuman mandir inside the same
premises.
- Hanuman chalisa was being chanted by a few devotees inside
the hanuman mandir, which made the environment of the small shrine very unique.
- It is believed that Shankara bhagavadpadacharya
visited this temple.
- Also built by the Chalukyas, hence similarities with
Kopeshwar Mahadev temple can be observed.
- Chhatrapati Sahu maharaj Rajmahal outside the main temple,
which contains a Bhavani temple and a few other shrines.
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| Mahalakshmi Ambabai, Kolhapur |
- Visited Jwala Narasimha temple, Kole Narasinhpur.
- 16-armed Ugra Narasimha, liberating Hiranyakashipu who
lies on his lap. The idol is made of Shaligrama, resides 20 feet below the
ground. Vigraha is breathtakingly beautiful, surrounded by the Dashavataram in
an arch.
- Story goes that Parashara rishi dropped the idol into the
river. Bhagavan appeared in a devotee's dream and asked him to retrieve the
idol and also explained to him how to. With the help of the king Bhimasena,
they dropped tufts of dry grass at various spots in the Krishna river. At
certain places, the grass went up in flames (hence the name jwala) and idols
were found there, including this Narasimha. His face is surprisingly very
peaceful.
- Temple has an additional secret opening underground, a
tunnel through which one person can pass at a time.
- Small and beautiful vigrahas of Panduranga Vitthala,
Mahalakshmi, Gajalakshmi, etc, are around the main shrine.
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| Jwala Narasimha |
- Earlier before leaving Kolhapur, visited Siddhivinayak mandir opposite to hotel. Made with white marble, was neat and tidy.
The entire trip was memorable mainly because it was my first experience of the devotion
that common people display, the bhajans / abhangas they sing, the dancing on the
roads. Across age groups and all other differences, they just let their devotion for
Vitthala flow with no barriers. It is contagious and gave the entire yatra an
enchanted and surreal feel.
Vitthala seems to have surrounded Himself with endearing
stories of devotees, and was gracious enough to manifest Himself multiple
times, mostly for a single devotee, many of them women. One just has to
surrender oneself to Him, and He solves all the problems, is the lesson I could
draw from the countless stories we heard. What a wonderful state that must be,
to experience – one of total surrender.
We enjoyed the wonderful satsanga of like-minded people, the involvement and dedication of the tour guide and coordinator, the comfortable hotel stays, the bhajans and singing in the bus, the long drives on nice roads, the sattvik food and also experienced the mad traffic of Pune.
Overall, 11
marks out of 10 for the Pandharpur Yatra.
यत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः । तत्र श्रीर्विजयो
भूतिर्ध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम ॥
सर्वं श्रीकृष्णार्पणमस्तु