Viṭṭhala at Pandharpur
Lord Viṭṭhal is the cowherd Kṛṣṇa at Pandharpur in Maharashtra. All the great Vārkarī saints, from Jn͂āneśvar in the thirteenth century to Niḷobā in the eighteenth, find their fulfilment in contemplating his feet. Their voices delight in singing his praises. The saints believe that the same “very dark Absolute” who settled at the foot of the wish-granting tree in the Dvāpara Age stands playing his flute in Gopalpur, just outside Pandharpur, in the dark Kali Age.
Jn͂āneśvar, for example, sings:
“Taking the thrice-bent stance, O Mother,
he plays the flute at the foot of the wish-granting tree.
O Mother, Govinda Gopāl
is completely supreme bliss, inside and out.
Seeing the dark, excellent life of all living beings,
the solid embodiment of bliss, my mind was lost.
Pervading the universe, moving and still, he remained imperceptible.
My father is the husband of Rakhumādevī;
Viṭṭhal is everything.”
In this abhaṅg, one of his many compositions on the Lord Viṭṭala, says Pandharice Bhūt Mōṭhe is a Marathi abhaṅg that is classified as a “ninda stuti”, which indirectly praises God through sarcasm, as an expression of Supreme bhakti. :
“The Great Ghost of Pandhari
Pounces upon everyone who passes by.
That forest is haunted by many spirits
Whoever enters it finds it maddening.
O do not ever go there — you!
Nobody who goes in ever comes back.
Only once did Tuka go to Pandhari:
He hasn’t been born ever since.”
Tukārām
“Pandhariche Bhoot Mote”, translated by Dilip Chitre
Pandharice bhūt mōṭhe
ālyā gēlyā jhaḍāpi vāṭē
jā’ū nakā kōṇī,
tithē jā’ū nakā kōṇī,
jē gēlē, nāhi āle paratōni
tukā paṇḍharīsī gēlā
punhā janma nāhi ālā
Calling Viṭṭala a mighty ghost that haunts Paṇḍhari and possesses all those who visit, Tukārām warns people against visiting Paṇḍharipura as the “bhūt” will trap devotees. Tukārām says he himself had gone to Paṇḍharpur and not only had he not come back from the temple due to the allure of Viṭṭala, but was also, not born ever again! He is praising both Viṭṭala and Paṇḍharpur by noting the sacred significance of the Śri Krṣṇa shrine there: those who visit Paṇḍharpur are freed from the vicious cycle of birth, death and and rebirth — such is the power of Viṭṭala of granting mokṣa!
Image: Sant Tukaram (film) poster, 1936. Wikimedia Commons
References: Ḍhere, Rāmacandra Cintāmaṇa. Rise of a Folk God: Vitthal of Pandharpur. United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, USA, 2011.
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