Pandharpur
Pandharpur
is one of the revered pilgrimage sites in Maharashtra. It is located 65 km west of Sholapur, on the banks of the
river
Bhimarathi
also known as
Chandrabhaga.
Pandharpur enshrines
Vithoba
in a grand temple, on the banks of the river. Vithoba is a form of
Krishna;
the name Vithoba means Father
Vitthala.
Vitthala is said to have been derived from the word Vishnu in Kannada.
Panduranga
is a sanskritized form of Pandarga, the old name of Pandharpur.
Pundalik,
a saint was closely associated with this shrine, and hence this shrine is also
known as
Pundarika pura.
Vithoba's consort is Rakhumai or Rukmini.
The worship
of Vishnu - Vitthala at Pandharpur is derived mainly from the puranas and has
been augmented by the contribution of the great Vaishnava saints of Maharashtra
from the 13th through the 17th centuries (Namdev,
(Jnaneshwar),
Eknath,
Tukaram).
This temple
covering an a vast area has a total of six gates. The eatern entrance to this
temple is known as the
Namdev
gate. The sanctum enshrines a standing image of Vithoba also known as Panduranga,
Pandhari or Vitthala.
Stylistically the image dates back to the 5th century CE. There are inscriptions
in this temple dating back to the 13th century.
Namdev,
the 13th century saint was closely associated with this temple. Copper plate
inscriptions of the
Rashtrakootas
place this shrine in the 6th century CE. There is also a shrine to
Pundalik
at Pandharpur.
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