Temple Of Pandharpur

The temple is an imposing structure built at the place where Sri Krishna and his great devotee Pundalik had met. Inside the temple the murti of Krishna continues to stand on the brick that Pundalik had given him! By his side stands  Rukmini. The temple covers a vast area and has a total of six gates. The eastern entrance  is known as the Namdev gate. The sanctum enshrines the standing image of  Lord Vithoba.  The idol of the deity Vitthala or Vithoba is made of a three and a half feet tall black stone. The murti has a Shivalinga on his head and the Kaustubha jewel around the neck. It is placed in front of a Prabhaval or silver plate inside the sanctum. The main shrine is a five-story building with a pyramidal gun spire. The statues of Jaya and Vijaya (Vishnu’s attendants in Vaikunda) flank Lord Vithhal. The temple may have been built in the 13th century since it has the hemadpanti style of architecture. The statue of Vithoba is of an earlier style.

Lofty walls and colossal towers are the landmark signs of this lovely shrine. It is situated on a high platform. The entry to the temple is through the Namadeva gate which has a flight of 12 steps. There is a statue of Namadeva holding the tambourine.

The mandapa of the main temple has what is known as a Nagarkhana where various musical instruments are placed. The western side has two Deepmalas which are tall structures with lamps that are lit on festive occasions. The mandapa also has shrines dedicated to Garuda and Hanuman. Next comes the Solakhambi Mandapa with sixteen pillars. The beautiful chamber is engraved with the lilas of Sri Krishna and the avatars of Lord Vishnu. The entrance to the shrine is through a silver door called the Rupyacha Darwaja.

Several smaller shrines dedicated to Ganesha, Garuda and Krishna’s consorts Rukmini, Sathyabama as well as to Radha, Kashi Vishwanath, Sri Rama and Lakshmana, Kalabhairava, Dattatreya, and Narsoba can be seen in the Panduranga temple complex.

The Rukmani mandir is dedicated solely to her and also stands on the banks of the Chandrabhaga River. It is commonly called the Panduranga Temple. Lofty walls and colossal towers are the landmarks of this lovely shrine. It is on a high platform. The entry to the temple is also through the Namdeva gate which has a flight of 12 steps. Though Rukmini is Krishna’s wife she is not seen with her husband in this shrine. Legend has it that Rukmini is doing penance here and that is why she is alone.

The Pundalika temple is about half a kilometre from the Vitthala Temple. This temple marks the spot where Pundalika, the Lord’s devotee, spent the last years of his life and also is place of his samadhi. It stands on the banks of Chandrabhaga River.

The main attraction in this square -shaped temple is its huge portico. This has a murti of lord Shiva, which is protected by a brass cover. It is customary for the devotees to wash their feet in the warm water spring that flows adjacent to the temple before they step into the temple.

Another strange sight in the temple premises is an iron boat 3ft by 2 ft which floats on the river but is too heavy to raise with one’s hands!

The temple is believed to be centuries old and the most amazing aspect in this holy shrine is the scripture that dates back to the year 1195.The devotees used to rub their back on this scripture, which is believed to absolve them from the wheel of rebirths.

Vishnupad Temple

Vishnupada literally means the lord’s feet and this temple is situated within the city limits. It is a lovely shrine built in the middle of the Chandrabhaga. It is connected to the shore by a ramp.

Constructed in stone, the temple is in the shape of an open hall where sixteen pillars support the flat roof. The pillars portray images of Krishna and Vishnu in typical postures. It also has the lotus feet of the lord on rock, which is placed on a square. These rocks carry the footprints in two positions. One of the footprints shows the Lord’s feet crossed, one over the other in his typical posture. The other one depicts him standing on both feet. One can also see the foot prints of a cow.

Since the temple is situated in the middle of the river, it has water up to its floor level. During the monsoons the temple is virtually submerged in water.

The first step of the temple is named after Saint Namadev. He begged the Lord to give him a place where he could touch the dust of the feet of all devotees visiting Panduranga in the temple of the Pandharpur. After expressing this wish, he looked at the floor and the found that the stone had split with a huge gap in the middle. Panduranga told Namdeva that this place was his gift to him so that his wish of touching the dust of all the devotees of the Lord could be fulfilled. The floor is said to have parted at this juncture and Namdeva jumped into the crevice. His family members and followers also followed suit. The crack closed immediately after they jumped in.

One and half kilometers away towards the southeast of Pandharpur there is a Krishna temple called Gopalpura. It is on the top of the hill called Gopalpura Parvat (hill). This parvat is believed to be the Govardhan parvat.
According to the Skanda Purana when Sri Krishna started his journey to Pandharpur, the hill, Govardhan started to follow him. Scared that Krishna would scold him, he stayed in the village of Gopalpura where both the rivers Chandrabhaga and Pushpavati meet. Krishna had gone there along with his cattle and their footprints are still imprinted on the stones. This place is called Vishnupad. There is a temple of Devarshi Narada exactly in front of the temple.

There is another temple where Yashoda is supposed to have churned milk.  The temple has a stone staircase. The temple has three doors. The main door is huge and very attractive.
 In the middle of garbha griha there is a small and very beautiful murti of the Lord in which he is shown playing the flute. There are groups of gopis on the both sides of the Lord.

We have been fortunate enough to have gone on a pilgrimage to this most holy place last week.

I consider myself to have been very lucky to have been able to have a darshan of Sri Vitthala in this holy place.

Jai Sri Vittala!