PALKHI FESTIVAL - ART & CULTURE
News: News
in Frame - Spiritual Sojourn
What's in the news?
● Tens
of thousands of pilgrims called "warkaris" undertake on foot the
journey to honour the deity Vitthal, also known as Vithoba, at Pandharpur in
Maharashtra every year. The pilgrimage that can span 22 days is known as
Dindi/Palkhi festival.
Key takeaways:
● The
pilgrimage culminates on Ashadhi Ekadashi, which fell on June 29 this year.
Palkhi festival:
● Palkhi
festival is an annual yatra to Pandharpur
– the seat of the Hindu god Vithoba in Maharashtra, in honour of the deity.
Features:
● The
Palkhi starts in the month of Jyeshth
(June).
● Every
year on the eleventh day of the first half of the month of Ashadh (July), the
Palkhi reaches Pandharpur (a pilgrimage town on the banks of Candrabhagā River
in Solapur District, Maharashtra).
● The
devotees take a holy dip in the sacred Chandrabhaga River before proceeding to
visit the Vithoba/Vitthal temple in Pandharpur.
● The
whole process lasts a total of 22 days.
Warkaris:
● The
word warkari is explained as a combination of two words. War is an abbreviation
of wari, which means pilgrimage, and kari is the one who performs the
pilgrimage.
● Warkaris are devotees of
Lord Vitthal or Lord Vithoba
○ Vithoba
is a form of the god ‘Vishnu’ & it means ‘Lord who stands on a brick’.
● Among
its most popular figures were Jnanadev
(1275- 96), Namdev (1270-50) and Tukaram (1608-50), who have left behind
many verses that embody the essence of Bhakti.