.This is a little of detailed history, bibologrphy & importance of Vaishnavite
pilgrimage heritage in
.
VITTHALA-
RUKMINI Devasthana Sree Khetra Pandharpur.
I would jut like to put forth the story of Pandharipuram the place named after Lord Panduranga Vitthalla.
Once it so happened that Vitthalla
was immensely pleased at the sincere un-conditional Bhakti
of his devotee named Pundalika who resided in Pandharpur.
Sree Hari
Vitthalla decided to go one earth from Vaikumtham and visit Bhakta Pundalika. When Vitthalla came to
Bhakta Pundalika’s house he
called Pundalika out from his home so that he would
meet him. Pundalika at that time was offering service
to his old parents and they were resting on Pundalikas
lap.
Pundalika answered vitthalla that he would have to wait as he din’t want to disturb his parents sleep. Since Pundalika could not even offer any seat to Sree Hari Vitthalla
he just threw a brick out at Vitthalla and asked him
to stand on the brick while he would come.
Vitthala was overjoyed by the
service of Pudalika to his parents he smilingly stood
on the brick log and decided to stand on the same BRICK LOG so that
he could give darshana
to all his bhaktas & thus happened to be pandurangas Pamdhripuram the name
of the place.
Even today before the Name of Vitthalla
is chanted, Pundalikas name is chanted First as
PUNDALIK HARI VITTHALA.
Unlike other Vaishnava temples
where Acharam or Madi is
been immensely followed at Pamdharipuram it all
happens to stay at bay may be Vitthalla would come to
his bhaktas so close that any person he or she can touch their forehead deep at the lotus
feets of Hari Vitthalla. How sweet of Vitthalla ! What
closeness…what a solace to our heart…where could we get this joy! What an ocean
of joy to touch his heavenly feets and seek Moksham.
The music sung in Pandharipuram is quite very
different it would make any one wonder that unlike any basic music training
that one undergoes for carnatic music this music in Pandharipuram is made out of small Marathi hyms into melodious songs…these are called Abhangas.
One Abghanga goes like Vitthala chya Payi
Veetha (brick) zhale bhgyavant, (i.e by the grace of sree hari Vitthalla’s feet… the bricks
have become immortally lucky). Many such abghangas
have been composed by Saint Tukaramm, Dynadeva, Janabai etc.
They are all
generally sung in Adi Taalam
but something very enchanting about these Abhangas is
that though not being a complex tone it sounds as fresh like carnatic music.
So you can visit Pandaripuram at
least once in a life time and seek the heavenly grace of Lord Vitthalla…
Temple of Pandharipuram
(PANDHARPUR) , is also considered as the
Shri Mahalakshmi is the consort of Shri Vishnu and it is said that both reside in the Karveer area eternally (
HISTORY OF THE
The
architectural structure of the temple, shows that it
may have been built during the Chalukya reign i.e.
around 600 to 700 A.D.
DESCRIPTION OF THE STATUEThe idol of the
goddess is made of gemstone. It weighs about 40 kilos. A stone lion stands
behind the statue. The goddess has four limbs. The head has a crown and the Sheshnag (the mythical serpent of Shri
Vishnu)is on it.
According to the Karavira
Mahatmya Sree Vishnu
resides in the form of Mahalakshmi at
Sant TUKARAM 1608-1649
Visiit to Dehu
Dehu
is a place of Sant Tukaram - well known sant in Maharashtra. He lived here and
taught people how to pray to god. Born in 1608 he and Sant Dnyaneshwar were the
popular sants and both worshiped Lord Vitthal.
Sant
Tularama wrote more than 5000 abhangas in the Praise of Sri Hari Vitthala, Tukaram performed many miracles
during his lifetime. He fed a multitude of people eventhough
he only cooked for one. He turned iron into gold on more than one occasion. He
made the dumb speak and brought the dead back to life. He changed the water in
a well from brackish to sweet, instantly calmed a very vicious dog, and once
while at the home of an elderly brahmin
couple, made lamp oil appear out of thin air.
Yet, he was no
magician. His total devotion to Pandurang was the
force behind these amazing feats. Tuka's wife hated Pandurang because she considered Him, the object of Tuka's overwhelming devotion, to be the reason Tuka was unable to work and support his family in a proper
way. One day, she got a thorn in her foot, while Tuka
was away in the mountains.
After some time, the two of them went off to the mountains to find Tuka. Avali wanted to bring him
some food. When Tuka looked up and saw Avali with Pandurang walking a
few steps behind her, he felt as if he were seeing day and night together. When
they drew near, Tuka grabbed
When it came time for
Tuka to leave this earth, he did so in an
extraordinary way. With both human beings and the denizens of heaven looking
on, he got onto the Pushpak chariot and left this
world in a flash of light. His body had become transformed, and Tukaram joined the ranks of the immortal.
http://video.filestube.com/video,ae36d7cc6007965303e9.html
this is a clip on internet which you can watch on clicking the same- where the
Garuda Vahana come to receive Tukarama & Tuke gives his last valuable
discourse to Bhagvatas.
Visit to Alandi
Sant Dyneshwar was just 14 years old when he took samadi, at a very yound age he
translated to Bgagwat Geeta
into Marathi called as “Dynaneshwar”i-
Dyneshwar Maharaj had a elder brother Nivruti, younget brother Sopan and the
youngest sitar called Muktabai, all for brothers had outstading devotion to Lord Krishna right from their
childhood.
Their father Vitthala
entered into Sanyas Ashram at a very younger age and
became a disciple of a swami called Ramananda, the swai did
accept Vitthal as his student and initiated him into the sanyasashram.
Ramananda
Swami later set out on a pilgrimage to southern India and came to Alandi where
he happened to see Rukmini to whom he granted the boon "ashta putra
saubhagyavati bhava" (may you be blessed with 8 sons). After being blessed
by the holy man, Rukmini broke down and told him about her past. After
listening carefully he was convinced that his student Vitthal was the husband
of Rukmini who abandoned her without performing his duties in the
"grihastashram". So he returned to Kashi and queried Vitthal about
his past again. Upon learning the truth, he ordered Vitthal to return home to his
family.
Vitthal
returned to his wife in Alandi. The couple was excommunicated from the brahmin caste as Vitthal had
broken the law of accepting grihasthashram after sanyasashram which, was not
allowed since the latter was considered the last of the four ashrams. Four
children were born to the couple: Nivrutti in 1273, Dnyandev (Dnyaneshwar) in
1275, Sopan in 1277 and daughter Mukta in 1279. According to some scholars
their birth years are 1268, 1271, 1274, 1277 respectively.
Dynaneshwaras Early Life.
Vitthal tried to persuade the brahmins to accept his children into the
caste but he failed. The brahmins in Paithan ordered Vitthal and Rukmini to
wilfully end their lives as a punishment. They accepted the punishment.
Meanwhile the couple set out on a pilgrimage with their children to
Tryambakeshwar (near Nashik, Maharashtra]] where
their elder son Nivrutti (at the age of 10) was initiated in to the Nath
tradition by Gahininath. Nivrutti later became the teacher of Dnyaneshwar (at
the age of 8), Sopan, Mukta and initiated them in to the Nath tradition.
It is believed that later Vitthal and Rukmini ended their lives by jumping
into the waters at Prayag where the river Ganga
meets Yamuna hoping that their children would be
accepted into the society after their death.
The orphaned children somehow grew up begging for
dry alms from sympathetic people which they would
cook and eat. In the course of time they too approached the brahmin community
of Paithan to accept them in society after whatever purification rites were
necessary but the brahmin community refused. According to some scholars the
children were purified by the brahmins on the condition of observing celibacy. But, the authority of the documents
(especially the so-called "shuddhi patra") provided itself is
disputed. The children stayed in Paithan for a couple of years after their
argument with the brahmins earned them fame and respect from the society due to
their righteousness, virtue, intelligence, knowledge and politeness.
Dynaeshwra
at once realised that the true meaning of devotion, religion & faith was
really not understood by mankind to its fullest & & hence we dicided to
preach the true doctrine of Bhagvat Geeta into a more simple form in Marathi
& wrote the “Dyaneshwari” Granth a a very tender age.
visiting the Ram Mandir of Nasik
Sree Rama Mandir
Panchwati,
Panchwati is the scared place where Sree Rama, Seethai & Lakshmana
lived here in their exile, Kalaram Mandir,
one of the major attractions of the Nashik, is
situated in the Panchavati area of the city. It is
the biggest as well as the simplest amongst all the temples situated here and
dates back to the year 1790, when it was constructed by Sardar
Odhekar of Peshwa. The
temple is dedicated to Lord Rama, who has been enshrined
inside the sanctum sanctorum in the form of a decked black stone idol. Since
the image of the Lord is in black color, the temple came to be known as Kala Ram Temple (meaning the temple of the black Rama)
Besides the idol of Lord Rama, are those of Sita Mata and Lord Lakshmana,
both of them sandy black and adorned with ornaments. The temple has been
constructed completely out of black stones and four entrance doors, one each
facing East, West, South and North. The summit of the Kalaram
Mandir is made up of 32 tons of gold. Earlier, Harijans were not allowed inside the temple. It was only in
the year 1930, after the Satyagraha of Dr. Ambedkar, that Harijans were allowed to enter its premises.
Surrounding the building of the Kalaram Mandir is a walled enclosed, which comprises of 96 pillars.
The enclosure is entered from the eastern side, through an arched portal. The
stones used in the construction of the temple were brought from Ramshej. 23 lakh rupees and
efforts of 2000 workers went into the construction of the temple, which took
approximately 12 years.
Panchwati Trees
It is the cave where Sita Mata
is believed to have resided during her exile and comprises of a grove of large
Banyan trees nearby. The temple is said to be quite similar in its appearance
to the
Sita Gumpha
In
Panchavati today, there are five trees marked, one of which is an Ashoka tree,
however. There is also a cave here called Sita Gumpha. Sita, Ram and Lakshman
prayed here to Lord Shiva. The ancient Shivalinga still exists in the small
temple in the cave and is visited by devotees.
The
famous Laxman Rekha is located in Panchavati about
a kilometre away from Sita Gumpha. It was from here that Ravana abducted
Goddess Sita. Today this area is a major pilgrimage and tourist attraction.