The walking tradition of the ‘Sant Tukaram Maharaj Palkhi (palanquin)’ aka wari will continue with the Dehu Devsthan temple trust having declared its schedule for this year’s palkhi according to which the prasthan of Sant Tukaram Maharaj’s palkhi will take place on June 10 this year.
Amid the chants of ‘Jai Hari Vitthal’ and ‘Dnyanoba Mauli Tukaram’, thousands of ‘warkaris’ or devotees of Lord Vitthal, every year walk to the temple town of Pandharpur in the Solapur district. The processions culminate in Pandharpur on the auspicious day of Ashadhi Ekadashi, which falls on Jun 29 this year.
Ekadashi denotes the 11th day of the lunar calendar, four days prior to the full moon night. The month of Ashadh in the Hindu calendar generally falls in June or July while the month of Kartik overlaps with October or November.
The palkhi will move out of Dehu Temple on June 10 and will reach Pandharpur on June 28, a day before the Ashadhi Ekadashi. The duration of the wari will be of 19 days. It will come back to Dehu on July 13.
Palkhi route near completition
On March 11, Union minister Nitin Gadkari conducted an aerial survey of the 'palkhi marg' (palanquin route) between Dehu in Pune and Pandharpur in Solapur district that thousands of Vithoba devotees will traverse by foot.
The root is about to get completed. "Palkhi marg is a matter of faith. This is not just a road but an attempt to create a Bhakti Marg. We are designing something so that the feet of the devotees who undertake this pilgrimage by foot get relief. The route is nearing completion," Gadkari had told reporters.
