Lord Vitthala of Pandharpur
Over the last eight centuries, no other deity has ruled the hearts and minds of the people of Maharashtra, like Vitthala of Pandharpur, who is also known as Vithoba and Panduranga. Right from Sant Jnaneshvar and Sant Namadev in the 13th century, to Ekanath Maharaj and Sant Tukaram in the 16th and 17th centuries respectively, all the sants or saints found happiness and fulfillment in contemplating Vitthala’s lotus feet. In all their devotional songs, these extraordinary saints burst forth with the conviction that the sole life and pervader of the universe, the Absolute without form and characteristics, had manifested in Pandharpur in a black stone-image, standing on a brick with hands on his hips. They were convinced that the same Krishna who enjoyed his pastimes in Vrindavan had come, drawn by the devotion of his devotees, to settle on the banks of the Chandrabhaga river under the name of Vitthala.
The saints repeatedly describe Vitthala as one who is different from the 24 avatars of Vishnu mentioned in the Srimad Bhagavatam. His name does not appear in the Sahasranama or the 1000 names of the Lord, but the saints declare that the three syllables—Vi-ttha-la are the essence of everything; he is the ‘Ancient One’, the sum total of all the avatars, the home of the Vedas!
Though they lived centuries apart, these saints experienced Vitthala in the same way. They saw him inside the heart as well as outside in every particle of creation. They realized Him with form and without form, and foremost they found Him in His name. They poured their hearts out in thousands of songs known as abhangs, and the singing of these abhangs with full feelings is the very essence of this sampradaya or tradition. The message is simple: let your mind, speech and action be suffused with love for Vitthala and remember him all the time while performing your everyday duties.
The worship of Vitthala does away with empty rituals, rules of caste, gender, and status. This path is open to everybody who wants to woo Vitthala with a longing heart! It is a tradition called Varkari Sampraday; varkari in Marathi language means a pilgrim-traveller. Lakhs of pilgrims from all strata of life embark on annual foot-pilgrimages to Pandharpur. Devotees walk for many days in harmony and brotherhood – chanting Vitthala’s name, singing His glories, and sharing everything in a divine brotherhood. These foot-pilgrimages act as a unifying and uplifting force for the betterment of society.
Sant Jnaneshvar
One of the earliest sanits of the Varkari Sampraday is Sant Jnaneshvar or Jnanadeva who lived in the latter half of the 13 CE. He is credited with laying the strong foundation for this bhakti-sampraday. A great genius, he wrote sublime poetry, presented a profound philosophy and manifested deepest spiritual realisations. He took pride in his mother tongue and stated that his Marathi words were sweeter than even nectar. He composed all his works in Marathi since he wanted the Lord’s message to be understood by the common man in his mother tongue. Due to this, his contribution to Indian philosophy has not been adequately recognized by scholars outside Maharashtra.
Sri Jnaneshvar is loved and revered by the common people even to this day. They endearingly call him ‘maoli’ or Mother Jnaneshvar. ‘Sri Jnaneshvara Maoli–Tukaram’ is the primary chant for thousands of Varkaris on their annual pilgrimage to Pandharpur.
Early Life
During Jnaneshvar’s lifetime Maharashthra enjoyed a peaceful, prosperous and creative period. His ancestors were hereditary ‘kulkarnis’ (Brahmins who maintained land and tax records in villages) of a place called Apegaon (near Paithan, in Aurangabad district) on the banks of the Godavari river. Jnaneshvar was born in Apegaon in 1275 A.D. on the auspicious day of Krishna Janmashtami.
His father Vitthalpant married Rakhumabai, the daughter of the kulkarni of Alandi (near Pune). Though married, Vitthalpant, had an ascetic temperament and longed for God-realisation. So, one day he left for Varanasi and received initiation into sannyasa from Swami Ramananda. But while on a pilgrimage, the guru came to know that Vitthalpant had abandoned his wife who was also issueless. The guru then sent Vitthalpant back to lead a householder’s life and fulfill his duties towards his wife. However, the orthodox Brahmins of Alandi disapproved of the sannyasi returning to a family life and declared him an outcaste. The couple were forced to live at the outskirts of Alandi and suffer the taunts and censures of people. In due course, Rakhumabai gave birth to four children who showed signs of greatness even in their childhood.
The children were named Nivritti (1273 -1297), Jnaneshvar (1275 -1296), Sopan (1277 – 1296) and their little sister Mukta (1279 -1297). But the orthodox society ostracized even the children and denied them traditional education and the sacred-thread ceremony. The only way out, according to them, was for Vitthalpant and his wife to atone for their ‘sin’ by drowning in Prayag, the sacred confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi. The pious couple accepted this punishment with the hope that their children would then be admitted into society. But even then, the orphaned children were asked to go to Paithan—a stronghold of brahminical learning—and bring a ‘Shuddhipatra’ or a certificate of purity. Initially, the children failed to impress the pundits there; but when young Jnaneshvar made a buffalo recite the Vedas and thus proved that divinity resides in all beings, the pundits accepted the request of the children. This miracle and another associated with Yogi Changadev spread the fame of the children across the region.
Changadev, who was believed to have lived for 1400 years, wanted to meet Jnaneshvar. Using his occult powers, he came riding on a tiger, holding a poisonous snake as a whip. At that time, Sri Jnaneshvar was relaxing with his siblings on a stonewall. Seeing Changadev coming, Jnaneshvar made the insentient stonewall, with the four of them sitting on it, move forward to welcome him. Thus, the yogi’s pride was broken and he became the disciple of Jnaneshvar’s little sister Muktabai!!
These three brothers and their little sister lived and travelled together. The eldest Nivrittinath was their Guru. Nivritti was initiated into the Nath sampraday by Gahininath (disciple of Gorakshanath) even in his childhood, and he in turn initiated his three siblings. Sri Jnaneshvar’s spiritual lineage thus can be traced to two sources—the Nath Sampraday and the Varkari Sampraday of Pandharpur. Though a master of the ascetic path of the Nath sampradaya, Jnaneshvar was a devotee at heart. He found fulfillment at the lotus feet of Lord Vitthala in Pandharpur.
The Jnaneshvari
During their wanderings, the divine siblings reached Nevasa. When the villagers requested for spiritual enlightenment Jnaneshvar, at the behest of his elder brother, started giving discourses in a temple nearby. One Saccidananda Baba noted down the teachings and thus was born Jnaneshvari—the most influential work of Jnaneshvar. It is a running commentary on the Bhagavad Gita in simple Marathi language.
Jnaneshvari also known as Jnanadevi and Bhavartha Deepika or ‘lamp enlightening the import of Gita’ is written in the Ovi meter which is the Marathi adaptation of Sanskrit Anushtup. While Bhagavad Gita has 700 shlokas, Jnaneshvar’s commentary runs up to 9030 verses. They reveal the spirit of loving devotion that pervades the ‘Song of the Lord’. Jnaneshvar preferred to call the work ‘an ornament to the Gita’ or ‘the Gita draped in the attire of Marathi’. The work is one of the earliest existing texts in Marathi language and probably also the most beloved religious book in Marathi language.
One can only marvel at the exceptionally beautiful flow of language, the metaphors and comparisons, and the rhythm of the Ovi! The treatment of any topic in the Jnaneshvari is sublime, enchanting and full of spiritual fervor, worldly experience, and maturity. And Jnaneshvar was just 15 years old when he composed it! A striking aspect in all of Jnaneshvar’s works is his great gurubhakti for his brother and guru Nivrittinath, who was only two years elder to him. With great fervour, he praises Nivrittinath again and again and attributes literally everything to his grace. He declares that his mind is constantly submersed at the feet of Nivrittinath where all the holy tirthas come together.
The Jnaneshvari ends with a prayer, the Pasayadan, where Jnaneshvar seeks blessings from Nivrittinath whom he regards as the Lord of the universe. Jnaneshvar’s magnanimity of heart is fully expressed in this selfless prayer where he asks blessings not for himself, but for the wellbeing and upliftment of all sentient beings, of people from all castes, creeds and class.
In course of time many errors crept into the transmission of the text. Three hundred years later in 1590 CE Sant Ekanath, who was born in Paithan, corrected these mistakes without changing the original text. This edition of the Jnaneshvari is now the gospel for thousands of Varkaris who regularly visit Pandharpur.
Other works of Sri Jnaneshvar
Jnaneshvar’s Amrutanubhav or ‘the experience of nectar’ is a great philosophical work based entirely on his spiritual experiences. His intention was to extend his knowledge and bliss, gained through the boundless grace of Nivrittinath, to all the people in the world. As he says, ‘I have served this dish of my spiritual experience in this Amritanubhav so that the whole world may enjoy a feast of nectar!’ His other work Changadev Pashasthi contains 65 verses of advice addressed to Changadev. The Haripat consists of 27 verses, called Abhangs in praise of the Lord’s name.
Sri Jnaneshvar’s Metaphysical View
Jnaneshvar’s approach was a combination of advaita and dvaita. He saw the world as an expression of infinite love and joy. Instead of dry asceticism, his vision promoted loving devotion to the Lord and selfless service to the world. Infinite love is the central reality of the universe. Love is not the quality of God, but God Himself out of which all creation flows spontaneously. That the world is ever changing means that the Absolute is ever dynamic, manifesting itself spontaneously in novel forms. Hence the world is called Chidvilas, ‘the Playfulness of the Lord’. To understand and experience this Divine Love is the highest achievement of human life. Every object is charged with divine significance and a true bhakta’s heart will overflow with divine love at the sight of any object in the world! Whatever he sees, hears, smells, tastes, or touches—everything is identified with God! And this love is reciprocal! the devotee is dearer to God than anything else, just like a calf is to the mother cow.
In one of his abhangs, Jnaneshvar says: ‘Lord Vitthala of Pandharpur is a symbol of love, a complete premavatar. He is the very existence of Sacchidananda, overflowing with love. Placing his hands on His waist, He is waiting for his devotees……’
And though the Supreme Lord Vitthala became manifest in an image seemingly male, Jnaneshvar considers and experiences Him as his mother! He felt that there was nothing more tender and selfless than a mother’s love for her children. In Jnaneshvari he makes Arjun call Krishna again and again as ‘mother’, and gradually it becomes clear that Arjun is here not the Lord’s male friend as in the Gita, but His child. In many of their Abhangs, the saints look upon Vitthala as their mother and address Him as Vithai, Vithabai, Pandurangi or Maoli. All they long for is a loving glance of their mother.
Sant Jnaneshvar in Pandharpur
The arrival of Sant Jnaneshvar in Pandharpur was the greatest event in the history of the Varkari Panth. When Jnaneshvar reached Pandharpur with his siblings, he met Sant Namdev a very dear devotee of Lord Panduranga. Both had heard about each other and were delighted to meet. While Jnaneshvar represented jnana mishrita bhakti, i.e., a blending of devotion and knowledge, Namdev was a child of Vitthala who depended on the Lord for everything, moving Him with his strong bhava, or devotion. Namdev was a tailor by profession and five years elder to Jnaneshvar. A very close spiritual friendship sprang up between the two. Apart from Namdev there were other great devotees of Vitthala living in Pandharpur. There was Janabai, disciple of Namdev and a maidservant in his household; Chokhamela, a lower caste disciple of Namdev; Narahari Sonar the goldsmith; Savatamali the gardener; and Gora Kumbhar the potter. They formed a wonderful spiritual association of saints in Pandharpur. Their life was Vitthala, and they together created a divine atmosphere with their bhajans, kirtans and discourses.
When he went on a pilgrimage to North India, Jnaneshvar took Namdev along with him. The pilgrimage lasted for over two years and was filled with extraordinary adventures and divine experiences. Namdeva noted it all down in his Tirthavali. In fact, Namdev is the most reliable chronicler of Jnaneshvar’s life and we can find in the Namdev Gatha, his collection of abhangs, several chapters about the life of Jnaneshvar and other saints.
They returned finally to Pandharpur with a longing heart just in time for the culmination of the grand annual pilgrimage-festival on Kartik Ekadashi, a time when Pandharpur overflows with devotees, the atmosphere resounds with bhajans, shouts of ‘Vitthal Rakhumai’, (Rakhumai is the Marathi rendering of Rukmini, the consort of Vitthala). In this blissful atmosphere, Panduranga welcomed Jnaneshvar and others with greatest affection and personally prepared a feast for them.
Compositions on Sant Jnaneshvar by contemporary saints
Namdev, Janabai and others have written numerous abhangs about the greatness of Jnaneshvar. They call him ‘the most generous, and compassionate—the one who sees no caste distinctions, the mother of the orphaned, a touchstone, a doll of complete emancipation…’ The importance of Jnaneshvari cannot be overestimated. It was the first translation of the Bhagavad Gita in Marathi, and it opened up a spiritual treasure house for the common people. The expression, ‘he lit the lamp of knowledge through this best of all books,’ occurs in many an abhang. Sant Ekanath wrote 300 years later: ‘Whoever reads the Jnaneshvari with full devotion, on him Hari surely will have compassion! Please leave all doubts and hold tight to the Jnaneshvari!’
In fact, they all loved and revered Jnaneshvar and took refuge in him and the Jnaneshvari; he was practically the Adiguru of all. The tender motherly heart of Jnaneshvar yearned day and night for the welfare of all mankind, thus earning him the name Jnaneshvar Maoli. It is most wonderful and astounding that one so young in age was addressed as ‘mother’. He was also called Jnanaraja, Jnanasagar, Yogiraja, ‘Maoli’ or mother, and Jnanabai (‘bai’ is a feminine suffix, like ‘ba’ is the masculine suffix as seen in Jnanoba, Vithoba, Tukoba).
The Crest jewel of Abhangs
Sant Jnaneshvar was the first eminent saint to pour out his love for the Lord through abhangs. His contemporary saints and others down the centuries continued in the same tradition and composed abhangs exclusively on Lord Vitthala. Though many of these abhangs have been lost, we still have more than 20,000 abhangs! Though the word ‘abhang’ refers to a verse metre, it also in a symbolic sense means unbroken or continuous clinging to Vitthala in the form of these song offerings.
Most of the abhangs were written by the four pillars of the Varkari Sampraday: Sant Jnaneshvar, Sant Namdeva, Sant Ekanath and Sant Tukaram. The very essence of Varkari sampraday is the singing of these abhangs, which often goes on for many hours daily. The message is simple and literally gets stamped in the heart of one who sings it again and again. The stress is on the lyrics, for, the saints did not leave any musical annotations; any melody suitable to the mood of the abhang can be chosen, and the traditional accompaniment is only brass cymbals and Pakhvaj.
Jnaneshvar’s decision to write only in Marathi, was for the benefit of the common people. This gave the bhakti-movement a new means of expression, and also a sound philosophical background. It helped the tradition to spread all over Maharashtra.
There are about 900 abhangs of Sant Jnaneshvar covering various topics—all very personal experiences. While his other works show his intellectual genius, the abhangs are the very heart of Jnanadeva. His abhangs are recognized by his specific mudra or ‘signature’ which appears in the last line. He has two mudras: Jnanadeva mhane, or ‘says Jnanadeva’, and Bapa Rakhumadevi vara, or ‘My father, the consort of Rukminidevi’; the second mudra appears in his later abhangs.
The Haripath, which literally means ‘to repeat Hari’s name’, is a set of 28 abhangs in praise of the holy name. These are the most popular of Jnaneshvar’s abhangs and they are sung every day as a form of spiritual sadhana by hundreds of thousands of Varkaris all over Maharashtra—often with enthusiastic simple dance steps. Sant Jnaneshvar declares that repeating the Lord’s name every moment is the royal road to meet Him. Without love for God all other sadhanas like yoga, mantra japa, tapas, sacrifices and pilgrimages are futile. He exhorts us not to waste this precious human life, but to cling to God’s name constantly. The refrain of each verse literally entreats: Hari mukhe mhana!!, ‘Say Hari! Let your lips chant the holy name!’
The next most popular abhang is Rupa pahata locanim; the Varkari saints chose this song as the invocatory song for all bhajans and kirtans. Jnaneshvar Maharaj says: ‘My friend, I have seen the Husband of Rukmini, this ocean of bliss, with my own eyes and I’m so happy!! Surely, I must have performed many good deeds in a previous birth, to feel so much attraction and love for his name!’ In another abhang Jnaneshvar exclaims: Yogiya durlabha to mya dekhila sajani, ‘The Lord who is so difficult to be attained by even the yogis, I have seen him! All my doubts are gone! I saw him in different forms and attires!’
This brings us to the old question: is God Saguna, with form, or Nirguna, without form? Jnanadev says, Tuja saguna mhano ki nirguna re, ‘I thought you to have form, but there—you are formless! Sagun and Nirgun are one and the same Govinda! What shall I say of your form? Is it gross or subtle? Is it visible or invisible, manifest or unmanifest? In both aspects you are the very same Govinda! With the blessings of Nivrittinath I understood: my father, the consort of Rukmini alone is pervading the whole universe!’
In many an abhang he describes the captivating, effulgent, blissful form of the Lord. He says: ‘Have a constant look at it and merge your identity into it!’ This advaita Nathyogi who was established in the Non-dual Brahman, advocates in his Haripath (abhang 9): Saguna he dhyana!— ‘the meditation is with form!’ And the path to the Lord’s darshan is through His name, because His name and His form are one!
In the abhang Soniyaca divas aji amrite pahala, Jnaneshvar sings ‘Today is a golden day! I have seen nectar! While remembering His name, His form appeared! Gopala! I’m thinking of you all the time! Life of the world, I cannot forget you even for a moment! My mind and body is fully surrendered at your feet! I don’t know anything else but the consort of Rukmini! Everything is pervaded by Him!’ Such a vision implies that God is seen in every living being and that differences like caste and creed vanish. He says: Yatikula majhe gele haraponi, ‘My caste, my family status, all have disappeared—I know nothing which is not filled by Sriranga!’
Another important aspect is rang or colour — ‘to be coloured with the Lord.’ Here all formal sadhana simply drops off. All mundane activities are performed with this sweet turmoil in the heart — breathing Vitthala, eating Vitthala, sleeping Vitthala, dreaming Vitthala… body, mind and speech all become Vitthala! Together with the colour, the Lord’s divine qualities enter as well. Jnaneshvar experiences the Lord in the colours neel, blue, and savale, black; Vitthala is called the savale parabrahma, ‘the Black Absolute!’ Jnaneshvar says: savaliye bunthi savaliya rupa…, ‘the black colour, the black form has attracted me! What shall I do now?! All my senses are joined in one and perceive nothing else!’
A very special set of abhangs written and popularized in the beginning by Jnaneshvar are the Virahinis. Virahini comes from viraha or yearning. They are the only abhangs set in Madhura Bhava — the longing of a lover towards God. The individual soul is depicted as a woman pining for Vitthala. The soul is the virahini. The state of viraha is actually the uttermost sweet divine experience, where in his intense longing the devotee experiences showers of grace and the embrace of the beloved.
He says Padile duradeshi maj athave manasi, ‘Thrown in a faraway land I’m remembering you! I cannot bear this separation and agony anymore! Days and nights are passing thinking of you; yet you have not come!’ Referring to such yearning for the Lord, Sri Ramakrishna would say, ‘Restlessness and yearning is all that is needed! It is the dawn to the Lord’s darshan!’
Sant Jnaneshvar’s Samadhi Sohala in Alandi
Shortly after returning from the North Indian pilgrimage, Jnaneshvar expressed his wish to Panduranga; he wanted to take sajivan-samadhi, i.e., have uninterrupted samadhi at Vitthala’s feet!
Namdev describes in great detail this five-day transcendental samadhi-festival, the Samadhisohala, which was held in Alandi just two weeks after returning to Pandharpur. Alandi, in olden times called Alankapuri, is described as a sacred land suffused with the holy vibrations of the immense tapas of yogis and sages of yore! It is the place where Lord Shiva is worshipped as Siddheshvar.
Sant Namdev describes the crowds of bhaktas, sants, rishis, siddhas streaming to Alandi to experience this transcendental festival. A state of grace descended upon the people and they could feel everything pervaded by Panduranga. In the midst of all this shone Mother Jnaneshvar like a wave of total bliss. The samadhi was to take place on the Trayodashi, the 13th day in the month of Kartik, at 12 noon. An underground chamber had been prepared below the Siddheshvar Temple. Everyone present was torn between bliss and deepest sorrow; especially Namdev could not contain his grief. The whole creation held its breath while a gloomy haze engulfed the ten directions of the sky. Jnanadev was seated in the samadhi-chamber with the Jnaneshvari in front of him. He expressed his great joy that he was going to attain Vitthala’s feet forever. Then he withdrew his senses and merged into the Lord. It was as if the sun of knowledge had disappeared from the earth!
Every year about fifty descendants of Sant Namdev, who are of the 16th-18th generation, and who live in Pandharpur, take it as their loving, solemn duty to walk around 250 kms to Alandi and re-enact this Sohala just as it happened more than 700 years ago. With deep longing and intense bhava we can experience the depth of this festival even today. Three hundred years after Sant Jnaneshvar’s Samadhi, Sant Ekanath says: ‘I am present there at this blissful Sohala every moment!!”
In a wondrous way the three siblings of Sant Jnaneshvar too left this world within six months of their brother’s samadhi. These four children are considered divine incarnations who had their pastimes on earth for the upliftment of humanity. Sant Jnaneshvar is deemed an avatar of Vishnu, Sopan of Brahma, Muktabai of the Adishakti and Nivrittinath of Shiva. For the Varkaris, after Pandharpur, Alandi is the most important place of pilgrimage.
The Jnaneshvar Palkhi
When the monsoon clouds gather in the sky in June-July, it is time for the biggest yearly pilgrimage to Pandharpur—the Ashad Wari, which attracts hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. Palkhis or palanquins are taken out from the Samadhi places of the Sants all over Maharashtra with their representative silver padukas or sandals. The Jnaneshvar Palkhi, the oldest and most revered of all, sets out from Alandi. With greatest enthusiasm and joy, the pilgrims walk, dance and sing with their ‘Maoli’ on the long journey of about 20 days. They reach Pandharpur on the big Ashadi Ekadashi along with many other palkhis coming from different places. To go every year on vari is a loving pledge towards Panduranga, defining a Vitthalabhakta as a ‘Varkari’.
Sant Jnaneshvar is called Jnanaraja, ‘King of wisdom and knowledge’, but he did not recommend the path of jnana for the common people. His life was meant to uplift the masses by making them aware that God can be reached even through bhakti alone; an easy path open to all, irrespective of caste, gender, or status. The experience that yogis attain through rigorous practices, is achieved effortlessly by devotees through love and longing even while living in their homes.
Sant Ekanath says, ‘The essence of all sadhana is the pilgrimage to Pandharpur! Here is not the trap of abhiman and pride! The sadhana is nothing short of a ‘sohala’ where the festival of meeting Vitthala who is enshrined in his name, is celebrated every moment! The pilgrims perceive Vitthal everywhere, fall at each other’s feet and dance their way to Pandharpur!’ Pandharpur is verily a heaven on earth.