Vitthal Rukmini Temple

Overview

The Vitthal Rukmini Temple is a Hindu temple in Pandharpur, in the Indian state of Maharashtra, located on the Bhima river. It is the main centre of worship of Vitthal, a form of the deity Vishnu, and the destination of the Wari, an annual walking pilgrimage that brings over a million pilgrims to the town for Ashadhi Ekadashi in June or July. Daily worship is active year-round.

Present

The Vitthal Rukmini Temple is managed by the Shri Vitthal Rukmini Temple Committee, a body constituted under the government of Maharashtra. Daily worship follows a full schedule of rituals from early morning to night, and pilgrims perform Darshan, beholding the image of Vitthal in the sanctum, throughout the year. The temple is the destination of the two annual Wari pilgrimages of the Varkari tradition, culminating on Ashadhi Ekadashi in June or July and Kartiki Ekadashi in October or November, when the town fills with pilgrims who arrive on foot from across Maharashtra. In 2014, the temple became the first major temple in India to appoint women and people of all castes as priests.

Religious Significance

Hindus venerate the Vitthal Rukmini Temple as the home of Vitthal, a form of the deity Vishnu in his incarnation as Krishna, worshipped together with his consort Rukmini. According to Hindu tradition, the deity came to Pandharpur to visit his devotee Pundalik, who was absorbed in caring for his elderly parents and tossed out a brick for the visitor to stand on while he finished his duty. Moved by this devotion, the deity chose to remain standing on the brick, and the temple's image shows Vitthal standing upright on a brick with his hands on his hips. The temple is the centre of the Varkari tradition, a devotional movement within Hinduism that teaches that direct devotion to God is open to all, regardless of caste or learning. Its poet-saints, including Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Eknath, and Tukaram, composed Abhangs, Marathi devotional songs to Vitthal, which pilgrims sing on the Wari, the annual walking pilgrimage to the temple. Pilgrims bathe in the Chandrabhaga, as the Bhima river is called at Pandharpur, before Darshan.

History & Structure

The Vitthal Rukmini Temple is documented from the 12th century. An inscription in the temple dated 1189 records that a shrine of Vitthal was established on the site in that year. A further inscription of 1237 records a Hoysala king granting a village for the temple's upkeep, and extensive construction followed in the second half of the 13th century. The present structure dates mainly from the 17th century and later, built in the Deccan style with dome motifs and lobed arches. The temple is a walled stone complex with six gates. The eastern entrance is reached by steps named after the saint Namdev, who Varkari tradition holds attained his vision of the deity there, and pilgrims touch the first step in his memory. The sanctum holds the black stone image of Vitthal, about a metre tall, standing on a brick. A shrine of Rukmini, the consort of Vitthal, is located within the temple complex, and the complex contains assembly halls, a sixteen-pillared hall, and cloisters.

Resources

• Related: Shri Vitthal Rukmini Temple, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India