Lord of Pandharpur- The Vitthal Rukmini Mandir, Maharashtra

Lord Vittobha is none other than  Krishna and in Pandharpur He is waiting patiently  on the banks of Chandhrabhaga with his  hands on his hips for his dearest bhaktha Pundalik.

The legend goes like this, once Lord Krishna came to meet his devotee Pundalik . He was so  engrossed in his duty of serving his parents, he  just threw a brick (Eet or Veet in local parlance) for Lord to stand on as the area was full of slush and asked Lord to wait till his duty was over.   The kind and merciful God waited for his devotee but Pundalik never returned as he didn't want Lord to leave that place thus making Pandharpur a sacred place. The deity came to be known as Vittobha as He is standing on Veet .( Ba ' stands for father figure).

There is a  separate shrine for Rukmini near to Vittobha's sanctum .

The temple always reverberates with devotional songs. The unique feature here, one can enter sanctum and touch the feet of the Lord . The main entrance of temple is known as Namdev Mahadwar.

Ashadha Ekadashi and Kartik Ekadashi  are very important days here  and thousands Varkaris march on foot from various parts of Maharashtra singing the glory of Lord to be with the Lord.

Tips to devotees

There are online facility to book the darshan ticket and one can choose darshan timings . Before going for darshan the ticket  has to stamped at the  administrative office which is very close to the temple. Entry for online darshan is through the main gate.These online tickets are free of cost.  

Cameras, electronic gadgets and mobile phones are banned inside the temple.

Check the link below for ticket booking and other details.

Very few good hotels in Pandharpur .  Recommend Prabhu Residency, it is neat and clean  right in the centre of the  town and is just a Kilometer from the temple.

Vittobha temple- Mattancherry,Kochi

The Vittobha temple in Mattancherry, Kochi is famous for its unique form of worship offered to the deity in the form of singing Bhajans. I stayed bang opposite to this temple during my early child hood and grew up right under the gaze of Lord Vittobha and the deity here holds a special place in my mind. Vittobha is none other than Krishna, is called thus by the people of Maharashtra as the one who is standing on eet or veet meaning brick. See my earlier post on Lord Vittobha of Pandarpur. The deity in Kochi is similar to the one that is in Pandarpur. Here also he is standing with his hands on his hips as if waiting for his bhakta (devotee). There is no separate shrine for his consort Rukumai as she resides on his chest in the form of a pendant . A recent addition is a small shrine dedicated to Goddess Annapoorna which is behind the Vittobha temple.

When I was a little girl, I have spent most of my time in this temple as the road separating my house and the temple was only about 15 feet wide. It was as if moving from one room to the other. The temple is at present run very well by a young and energetic group who frequent the temple regularly to see the daily upkeep and needs of the temple. The temple was recently renovated and it looks grand with its simplicity intact. The temple becomes a buzz of activity every evening as young and old come together and chant devotional songs called as Abhangs in praise of God. Abhangs are beautiful invocations to the Lord created by the saints like Sant Tukaram, Namdev, Gnandev etc. This bhajans are usually sung in groups and it is nice to watch, listen and sway to the rhythm of the same. This temple provides a platform for any body who desires to worship the God with the bhajans. An excellent example of camaraderie is visible here among the devotees who throng the temple to worship him in the evenings.

The idol here was brought here by the late Sri Ambu Baliga during one of his visits to Pandarpur and he installed it in Kochi. When the temple was opened for all the Hindus which was frequented only by chaste brahmins, it caused resentment and the temple remained neglected for about 7-8 years. After wards again the temple was opened up and worship resumed again, and it has become a huge movement today as this temple attracts thousands of devotees during the Sapthaham festival which takes place during the month of July. Sapthaham festival starts in the month of Aashada on Siddha Panchami day.

On the first day of the Saptham a huge lamp is lit in front of the deity and it glows for about 7 days and the temple remains open round the clock. Devotees keep singing the Bhajans with accompaniment of cymbals, harmonium and Tabla, with out stopping the cymbals even for a second. The devotees while singing do get totally absorbed in it that they sing and dance around the lamp. The devotees take turn and see that the sapthaham is conducted smoothly. On the seventh day a procession (shoba yatra) of devotees singing bhajans, carrying fruits and flowers march up to the Venkatachalapathy temple near by and returns to the Vittobha temple. I remember there used to be a devotee who used to do sayana pradikshinam (prostrating and rolling continuously on the ground) all the way to the other temple.

A temporary mandap is raised in front of the temple during the sapthaham and food is provided to all the devotees on the day saptham ends. Many stalwarts from the Hindustani music and Bhajan singers from different parts of India offer their worship here during the saptham season. They enthrall the devotees with their singing and this small temple gets thronged for the same. This Bhakti cult i.e singing and worshipping God has become a large crowd puller now. The temple is built in a simple style with attention being given to accommodate as many devotees as possible inside.

This temple has completed 100 years (1909) and a sahashra kalasha abhishekam was conducted as part of the centenary celebrations.

How to reach
The nearest railway station is Ernakulam south Junction which is 10 Kms from Mattancherry.
Nearest airport is Nedumbassery.
Private buses ply from Ernakulam to Mattancherry
Budget and luxury hotels are available in Ernakulam town itself

For a treat of Abhang listen to this Lata Mangeshkar's Melodious invocation

Lord Vittobha Of Pandarpur

Right from childhood I had a fascination for Lord Vittobha as there was a Vittobha temple right in front of my house at Kochi . I have spent a good part of my childhood in this temple playing , listening to the Bhajans and singing the same to the Lord in the evenings. With out my knowledge my heart was steeped in bhakthi and I learnt many devotional songs when young itself. This temple also has its own charm as it had played a good part in shaping my Bhakthi bhava. May be that was God's wish. I consider myself fortunate to have lived near the temple. I will reserve posting about this temple to a later date and this post of mine is on Lord Panduranga Vittobha of Pandarpur.

Panduranga or Vittobha is none other than Krishana himself. The temple is situated in Pandarpur in Maharashtra. This is one of the Divya deshams of Vishnu.This is one of the most revered temples in Maharashtra.

When I grew up I had the desire to see the real Vittobha and I chanced upon the same when my sister in law was in Walchand Nagar and she offered to take me to this temple. So my family reached Pandarpur but we unknowingly landed on a Ekadasi ( 11 th day of the Hindu Lunar calender) and this temple gets thronged with his devotees as it is a very auspicious day. There was no way for us to go near the sanctum sanctorum as there were long serpentine queues. I felt sad thinking that we will have to return even without a darshan of the Lord. We also could see the varkaris ( a religious movement, having hundreds of pilgrims) marching towards the temple on foot traversing hundreds of miles from the villages singing the praise of God . They were dancing with the beat of dholak, Thal and Chipla(Dumbells) .

Then may be God decided to intervene and a security allowed us to move to the entrance of the temple to have a mukh darshan (We can see the face of the God from a distance). of the deity.Thinking this itself as a blessing we went for the same and could get a glimpse of the Vittobha's face. I was not happy as I could go near the deity and made a decision to return the next year to have better darhan. Next year again I visited the temple and I met my dear Vittobha though he made me wait for all that long. I could place my head near the feet of the the Lord and felt blessed. The practise of touching the Lord's feet which was very much in vogue has been stopped since as a precautionary measure to save the idol from chiseling due to frequent touching by the devotees. We had a Darshan of his consort Rukmabai (Rukmani) She has a seperate shrine and many more shrines dedicated to Ganesha ,Garuda and Dattatreya.

The main Gate of the entrance i.e the eastern gate is named after the great saint Namdev and the temple has six gates.The temple is spread over a vast area. Pandarpur Yatras are very famous which comes 4 times in a year and lakhs pilgrims converge here to have a darshan of the God and spend time by singing the praise of God.

The deity here is of a standing posture with hands on hips as if waiting for his Bhaktha. The legend surrounding this temple is that a person named Pundalik who was ill treating his parents later under went transformation and devoted all his time tending to his parents with great devotion . God seeing his devotion to his parents comes to his house to bless him . As he was immersed in the service of his old parents he requests Panduranga to wait outside and throws a brick for the God to stand as there was slush outside. God waits for his bhaktha and Pundalik later meets the God and begs pardon and requests God to stay in his village and shower his grace on every body. Thus the God comes to be known as Vittobha -one who is standing on the eet(brick) . He is known as eetobha or Vittobha meaning same.

Many saints like Gnaneshwar, Tukaram , Eknath, Namdev, Purandaradasa and many more created hymns and Abhangas in praise of the Lord and have attained salvation. These abhangas are real gems till date and are very popular.It helps one to immerse oneself on the divine form of Vittobha . There is also a museum near by, dedicated to the life of various saints. It is some what shaped like a train, once inside you only can get out through the other side nonetheless it was blissful.

This temple is in Solapur district and situated on the banks of the Bhima river also called as Chandra bahga., which is in the shape of a half shaped moon. Pilgrims have a dip in this holy river before paying obeisance to the Lord.

How to reach.

The nearest airport is Pune which is 200 kms. from Pandharpur.
Cabs can be hired to reach the temple.
State owned transport buses ply between Pandharpur and the nearest cities. The city is connected to Pune (204 km), Mumbai (386 km) and Sholapur (74 km) by buses.

By train
Major railway station near to Pandharpur is Sholapur and the nearest is Kurdhuwadi 52 Kms ,one can hire a cab or buses are available.
Where to stay
Accomodation at Pandarpur is not attractive and it is suggested that one should stay in bigger towns nearby..
Sholapur has some good hotels
MTDC guest houses are also available.