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Mumbai: Lakhs of Warkaris have gathered at the holy town of Pandharpur in Maharashtra's Solapur district for Ashadhi Ekadashi today (July 17) for the penultimate day of the annual walking pilgrimage.
Groups of pilgrims from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Goa, and other states have reached the temple of Lord Vithal, an incarnation of Vishnu, carrying padukas or sandals of different saints. Of the two main groups that walked to the temple, a procession from Alandi near Pune walked 250 kilometres to Pandharpur with a palkhi or palanquin carrying the padukas of Dnyaneshwar, a Bhakti saint from the 13th century. Another group left Dehu, outside Pune, with the sandals of Sant Tukaram, another Bhakti poet from the 17th century.
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Doctors at the medical station |
A group of doctors who left Mumbai to provide medical services during the pilgrimage carried the padukas of Swami Samarth, another revered saint from the 19th century. Another group that started their journey from the Gateway of India has taken the padukas of Sant Rohidas, or Ravidas, who is believed to have lived in the 13th century, with them.
Dr Deepak Mohite, a plastic surgeon from Dadar, who is part of the medical team from Mumbai, said that followers of nearly 2500 saints have gathered at the temple town. Mohite, who is in Pandharpur, said it was his 22nd pilgrimage. The doctors are there to offer medical assistance to pilgrims. On Monday night, the doctors' team served the evening meal as annadan or offering of food. The meal is the last for pilgrims who observe a day-long fast till Wednesday.
Ashadhi Ekadashi is the eleventh day in the month of Ashadh, a particularly auspicious day for Vaishnavites as it is associated with Lord Vishnu. The walk to Pandharpur is a tradition believed to have been started by the father of Sant Dnyaneshwar. In 1685 CE Sant Tukaram is believed to have laid the foundations of the pilgrimage in its present form. The Bhakti religious movement, a religious revival and reform movement believed to have begun between the seventh and 10th centuries, emphasises a devotee's relationship with God. "There are no caste differences in this pilgrimage. People eat together and pray together," said Mohite.
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Doctors serving meals to pilgrims at Pandharpur on Monday evening |
Today, pilgrims will do a 'nagar pradakshina', a ritual that involves making a two-kilometre-long circumambulation path around the old part of the temple, They later take a dip in the Chandrabhaga, the local name for the Bhima River. The queues for a darshan of the deity can stretch for six to eight kilometers and pilgrims who cannot endure the long wait offer their prayers by looking at the temple's tall Shikhar, or tower, asking the lord for an opportunity to enter the temple on the next pilgrimage,
Sant Dnyaneshwar translated the Holy Gita from Sanskrit to Marathi, making the knowledge of the book available to more devotees. "Only pandits knew Sanskrit in those days. Sant Dnyaneshwar's translation has made the Gita accessible to us. At Pandharpur you can touch the feet of Vithal. This is a symbol of equality of God and man," said Mohite, adding that the saints who propagated the Bhakti philosophy came from all castes and social classes.
In Mumbai, the Vithal Rakhumai shrine at Wadala, also called Prati Pandharpur, will host a fair on the day. The temple expects five to seven lakh devotees between July 16 and 17. The police have announced special traffic arrangements in the Dadar-Wadala area to regulate the flow of pilgrims. Taking to social media platform X Mumbai traffic Police stated, “In view of ‘AASHADHI EKADASHI' yatra on 17th July, a large number of devotees would gather in the vicinity of Vitthal Mandir (Prati Pandharpur), Wadala causing traffic congestion on the roads."
