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Known as Vithoba, Vitthala, Panduranga, Pandharinath, Vithoba – “predominantly worshipped in the Indian states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh”. Considered Krishna, or Hari, or Vishnu, but also as Own God, or One God etc.. The most famous temple of Panduranga is found in India, in the State of Maharashtra, district Solapur, in the city of Pandharpur, known also as “Pandarpur Rukmini Vithal Temple”. This temple is known for all, no such caste restrictions and so on. The darshan is made by a process where one first should PRAY TO THE DEVOTEEES, then enter. First will be found a Ganesha shrine. Next as one proceeds, there will be a hall where bhajans are constantly being sung. As one proceeds to see the hall, there will be two shrines found, one for Garuda and one for Hanuman. These Lords will be facing the main sanctum where climbing a few steps you will see Lord Vitthala. You can see the face of Panduranga in this way, there is no standing in line. For Padha Darshan or touching the feet darshan, there is a line however that is entered from outside the temple. Also in the complex are shrines for Rukmini Devi, Radhika Devi, Lord Narasimha, Maha Lakshmi, and Annapoorna Devi. There are also other shrines, and an area which is a mandap or a platform set up for weddings and religious ceremonies where you will at times find devotees in ceremony acts as Gopis (Krishna and the Gopis).
The temple in Pandhapur was “built” in the 13th Century, but there is ample evidence that Vitthala form was worshipped here for a long time prior, and in some cases is seen as connected to Hindu-Jainism blend. The Name Vitthala may be Kannada language, meaning Vitthu, Kannada for Vishnu, and La or Father. Nath is sometimes added to the end of the Name meaning Lord. Panduranga means White Lord which is a Jain term for Shiva.
Some see this Lord as “One” or All, all sects of Hinduism.
The Murthi or Idol is a black basalt sculpture, and is said by scholars that the head is crowned by a Lingam. The Varkari Panth or Pilgrim Path known as the Varkari Sampradaya or Pilgrim Tradition is the primary sect of Vitthala Panduranga, these as simple devotees but have their own Saints. The “first” Varkari poet-saint, Dnyaneshwar of the 13th century states that Vithoba “carries Shiva the Great Devotee on His own head”. The overall features have markings of Vishnu. What is also interesting is found in Vithoba temples, Vithoba's image replaces the traditional representation of Buddha depicted as the ninth avatar of Vishnu. One will note, sometimes Jagannath is as well in other non-Varkari traditions in East India.
Panduranga-Vitthala worship was brought to California by Sant Keshavadas in the 1970s, this group has a large temple in Bangalore, India. There are devotees of the Varkari and Panduranga sect(s) also from India in the US and other parts of the world. It is open to all no matter what background.
Thank you!
