Who is Vitthal?
Do you know we have a male God that’s also called a mother? We’re exploring underrated parts of our culture, episode 1. And here’s the tea.
The beauty of Sanatan Dharma is that we have hundreds of different groups approaching God in their own unique ways & there’s no right one - one of the most beautiful sects is the Warkari Sampradaya.
Warkari literally means the one who walks the wari or path, the path of bhakti or selfless devotion, & you’ll see these folks gathering in the lakhs twice every year in June-July & October-November for their Ekadashi celebrations, where they will dance, sing & walk barefoot from all parts of Maharashtra to Pandharpur, where we have the central temple of Pandurang or Vithoba.
Vithoba or Vitthal means the one who is patiently standing on a brick for his devotee to come to him, and while some believe him to be a form of Vishnu, Krishna & even Shiva, he is ultimately seen as the friendly form of God accessible to all common people, including the needy & poor that are abused or not accepted by society.
Vitthal gained popularity because of saints & poets like Dynaneshwar, Tukaram, Namdev, and Janabai - who helped in humbling the idea of God only restricted to Bhramins, helping the common masses find their hero not through rituals but by getting lost in his devotion.
A devotee named Pundalik, who has many legends, is also credited to being the first one to worship this form, with one popular story being that he instructed Vishnu/Krishna to wait on a brick while he tended to his parents, and God didn’t mind it because he is humble & loving for his devotees who are doing their dharma i.e. duty.
While Vitthal’s accompanied by his girl Rukumai, he himself is given the honour of a Mauli i.e. mom, which is such a beautiful thought because he transcends our ideas of gender to play the role of a mother who is protecting, serving, helping & watching over us at all times.
Vithoba is also worshipped in Karnataka, Goa & other surrounding regions, by other sects called as Haridasa or Pushtimarg, too. And they approach him in different ways as well.
Hearing his abhangas or devotional songs will definitely bring tears to you eyes so search ‘em up on YouTube & if you ever get the chance, definitely visit Pandharpur once in your life.