Panduranga, also known as Vitthala or Vithoba, is a form of Lord Krishna, mainly popular in Maharashtra and the Karnataka states of India. There is a separate sect dedicated to him whose followers believe that he is the Ultimate God, i.e., the creator, sustainer, and destroyer of the universe. His main temple is in Pandharpur in Maharashtra, which is the most popular religious place in the state. He is considered the god of the poor and downtrodden people of the region.
Meaning of the Word Panduranga:
The word Panduranga comprises of two words, viz. Pandu and Ranga. “Pandu” means white, and “Ranga” means color. Hence, the meaning of Panduranga is “the one with white color or complexion”. However, the common belief is that he has a dark complexion.
Meaning of the Word Vitthala or Vithoba:
The word Vitthala is made of two words, viz. Vit and thala or sthala. It is a Marathi word. In Marathi, “Vit” means a brick, and “sthala” means a place or standing. Therefore, the word Vitthala means “the one who is standing on a brick”. There is a legend behind why the lord is standing on a brick.
The word Vithoba is a vocative term. In Marathi, the word Aaba is used to address father. As the devotees of Lord Krishna or Lord Vishnu believe that he is the father of the world, he is called Vithoba.
Different Names of Panduranga:
There are about 108 names attributed to him. Some of the most popular ones are:
1. Vitthala.
2. Vithoba.
3. Pandharinath (the lord of Pandharpur).
4. Vithu Mauli (mother Vitthal).
5. Hari.
6. Narayana.
The Origin of Panduranga Worship:
There are at least four different theories about the origin of the worship of Lord Vitthala.
1. The Story of Pundalika:
The story of Bhakta Pundalika is mentioned in the Skanda Purana and the Padma Purana briefly. There are different versions of this story. The most popular of them are mentioned here.
Pundalika was the son of Janudev and Satyavati. His parents were great devotees of Lord Krishna. He was not that much of a good son, but then things got worse after his marriage. Pundalika and his wife started torturing his parents. He treated them as an unnecessary burden. Therefore, they decided to leave for Kashi to spend the rest of their lives. Pundalika and his wife also accompanied them to make sure they do not come back.
On the way, they camped in a hermitage of Sage Kakkuta. In the early morning, Pundalika saw three beautiful young ladies entering the hermitage wearing dirty clothes. They performed chores around the hermitage, like cleaning, sweeping, etc. After that, they entered the prayer room and came out. Pundalika was flabbergasted when he saw the ladies came out with the same but spotless clean clothes.
Intrigued by the incident, he approached them and asked, “Who are you all, and how did you become clean after entering the prayer room?”
The ladies said, “We are Ganga, Jamuna, and Saraswati, the holy rivers of India. People bathe in our water to wash off their sins. Their impurities make us dirty. But when we come and serve here, we become pure again. But you are the biggest sinner of all because you treat your parents badly.”
It was an eye-opener for Pundalika. He then apologized to his parents for his misbehavior and returned to his home along with them. He reprimanded his wife, who was inciting him against his parents. Pundalika devoted his whole life to the service of his parents. Lord Krishna was pleased because of his devotion toward his parents.
One day, he decided to test his devotion and went to his house when he was pressing the feet of his parents. When Lord Krishna appeared before him, he was very happy but told him to wait until he had finished serving his parents because he did not want to disturb their sleep. Therefore, he threw a brick toward Lord Krishna and asked him to stand on it for a while. Since that time, Lord Krishna is standing on the brick in Pandharpur. Lord Krishna’s devotees believe that the incident happened about 28 Yugas before the current Yuga.
Per the other version, Lord Krishna was pleased by the devotion of Pundalika toward his parents, so he told him to ask for a boon. Then Pundalika said, “O Lord! As you have blessed me today, please stay here forever and take care of your devotees.”
Panduranga agreed to do so and hence is standing on the brick that signifies he is always ready to help his devotees.
2. Legend of Rukmini:
Once Goddess Rukmini was upset with Lord Krishna because she thought that Lord Krishna loved Radha more than her. Therefore, she left for the forest of Dindiravana near Pandharpur. She started meditation after coming there. Lord Krishna came after her to convince and take her back home, but she refused to do so.
Therefore, Lord Krishna came to meet his devotee Pundalika. Pundalika was so busy in the care of his parents that he ignored the god and just threw a brick at him to stand on it. Since then, he is standing there and waiting for Pundalika to finish service to his parents. Also, this is the reason why there is only the idol of Panduranga, and Rukmini is not accompanying him.
3. Lilacharitra:
Lilacharitra by Chakradhar Swami is the main text of Mahanubhav Panth. There is a very controversial story in it about the origin of Panduranga worship. According to it:
Vitthala was a robber who was a Brahmin by caste. He along with his two colleagues, Nemadeva and Mhaya, looted and murdered travelers. One day, they attacked Maidarana and tried to take away his cows by force, but they died in that fight. On hearing this, the sons of Vitthala came there and erected a memorial pillar there. Then, their mother, whose name was Lakhai or Lakhamai, established a linga there. A deity identified itself with this pillar, which began fulfilling the wishes of the people who worshipped it. His sons composed songs and mentioned their parents as Vithoba-Rukmni in them. Thus, the worship of Vitthala started.
But many scholars believe that this story was manipulated and modified afterward because of the dispute between Varakaris and the followers of the Mahanubhav sect. The original story is like this:
There was a hero named Vitthala who died protecting the cows. Therefore, a memorial pillar was erected in his place. A deity identified itself with it, and the pillar got supernatural powers and began to fulfill the wishes of people who worshipped it.
In short, the god Vitthala according to Chakradhar Swami is a deified hero-stone (known as Veergala in Maharashtra). This Veergala is located exactly opposite the main entrance of the Pandharpur Temple per Dr. Günther-Dietz Sontheimer.
Therefore, many scholars believe that this hero-stone was given the human form afterward and some legends were associated with it. Thus, the worship of Panduranga started.
4. Bir Kaur of Bihar.
Bir Kaur is a cattle-god of Ahirs in Bihar. Interestingly, he is also depicted as standing with his hands on the sides of his waist. He also died while protecting his cattle from a tiger and is identified with Lord Krishna.
Iconography:
The images of Panduranga that we see are based on the main image in the Pandharpur temple. This sculpture is 3 feet 9 inches tall. It is made of a black basalt stone.
He is standing on a brick, barefooted, with his hands on the sides of his waist. He is wearing a lingam-shaped crown and fish earrings. His upper torso is naked and is wearing a Pitambara below the waistline. He is wearing Vaishnava Tilaka on his forehead with a Janeu across his shoulder. This murti is believed to be Svayambu, i.e., self-manifested.
In most of the other temples, he is depicted standing side-by-side with his wife, Rukmini.
Stories of Panduranga:
Most of his stories are associates with his devotees, who are accredited as saints.
Saint Namdev:
Namdev’s parents were great devotees of Lord Vitthala. His father, Damashet, used to visit the temple every day and offer food to the god. Then he used to bring it home as Prasadam.
One day, because of some work, he could not return home. Therefore, his wife told Namdev, who was a kid, to offer food to god. Namdev reached the temple and offered the food to god and waited for the god to eat it because he thought God would actually eat the food. But obviously, God did not eat it. Namdev said, “Oh, God. If you do not eat this food, my father would be angry with me,” but still nothing happened. Then Namdev started crying and requested the god from the bottom of his heart to eat the food but still the same. Then he told God if he did not eat the food, he would beat his head against the floor and started doing so.
His devotion pleased Panduranga, and he actually appeared before him and ate the food. When Namdev returned home empty-handed, his parents asked him about Prasadam. He then narrated the event that happened in the temple.
Soon the story spread among people like a wildfire, and Namdev became a wonder child who grew into a saint later.
Gora Kumbhar:
Gora Kumbhar was a potter and was a great devotee of Lord Panduranga. He used to chant his name while working and all the time. Once he was trampling the clay to make pots and at the same time chanting the name of God. He was so indulged in the devotion of the lord that he did not notice that he had trampled his toddler son and killed him. When his wife noticed it, she lamented and cursed him. She held Panduranga responsible for this. Gora Kumbhar punished himself by cutting his hands on a sharp instrument for his mistake, but he continued his devotion toward the god.
Once Saint Namdev was doing Kirtana in a temple. Gora also went there. During the Kirtana, Saint Namdev told them to sing along with him and clap. Forgetting about his chopped hands, Gora Kumbar also started clapping with the stumps of his hands. To everyone’s surprise, he regrew his hands at that moment and was able to clap. Seeing this, all the people in the temple were astonished. Gora Kumbhar’s wife also bowed before Panduranga and requested him to give his son back. The next moment, her son came crawling to her.
There are many such stories in which he helped his devotees, like Saint Janabai, Saint Sakhubai, Saint Tukaram, and others from time to time. Interestingly, most of these saints appeared within a particular period in history and belonged to different castes. At that time, the caste system had taken a very rigid form.
The followers of the Varakari sect believe that all these saints were actually incarnations of Lord Panduranga only. Panduranga wanted to teach people that all humans are equal to him, and the form of caste system they were following was wrong.
Why is Vitthala Called Panduranga?
When Lord Vitthala came to Pandharpur to pay a visit to Pundalika, he was covered with white-colored dust, and he appeared whitish in color. Therefore, he is called Panduranga.
Why Does Lord Panduranga Wear Fish Earrings?
The followers of the Varakari Sect are strict vegetarians. Also, Lord Vishnu is considered to be a vegetarian god. Then, why does Panduranga wear fish earrings? There is a story behind this.
Once a poor fisherman came to visit Panduranga. As he was a poor person, he had nothing but fish to offer to the lord. But nonvegetarian food is considered bad. Therefore, Brahmins in the temple did not allow him to enter the temple and drove him away.
The poor fisherman said, “I am very poor and unable to buy any gift for the lord. I can afford only these two fish that I have caught. Please let me in and see my lord.” Saying this, he started crying.
Seeing the devotion of the fisherman, Lord Vitthala came out of the idol and accepted his fish, and wore them as earrings.
He said, “I accept anything from my devotee let it be fish also because it is their love for me that matters the most. I don’t differentiate among my devotees based on their caste, religion, occupation, or anything. “
Therefore, we see Panduranga wearing fish earrings.
Why does Panduranga keep his hands on his waist?
There are multiple theories behind this.
1. Per the Pandurangashtakam and an Abhanga by Saint Dnyaneshwara, Panduranga’s hands-on waist signifies that the ocean of worldliness (Bhava Sagara) is only waist deep, and his devotees should not be afraid of crossing it.
2. By his hands on his waist, he tells his devotees that he has reduced the Bhava Sagara to waist level only, and they should cross it without any fear.
3. As mentioned above in the story of Bhakta Pundalik, he is waiting for Pundalika’s service to his parents to get over.
Pandharpur Temple:
Shri Vitthal-Rukmini Mandir of Pandharpur is the central place of worship of Lord Vithoba. The temple was built by King Harshavardhana in the 12th century CE. The priests who perform the rituals there are called “Badve”. It is one of the most important temples in Maharashtra.
Millions of people visit the temple every year. On the eve of Ashadhi Ekadashi, the lacs of Vaishnavites (Varakaris) visit the temple. They come on foot from their villages after traveling hundreds of kilometers. It is called “Pandharichi Wari”.
Panduranga Ashtakam by Adi Shankaracharya:
महायोगपीठे तटे भीमरथ्या वरं पुंडरीकाय दातुं मुनीद्रैः ।
समागत्य तिष्टंतमानंदकदं परब्रह्मलिंगं भजे पांडुरंगं ॥ १ ॥
तडिद्वाससं नीलमेघावभासं रमामंदिरं सुंदरं चित्प्रकाशम् ।
वरं त्विष्टिकायां समन्यस्तपादं परब्रह्मलिंगं भजे पांडुरंगं ॥ २ ॥
प्रमाणं भवाब्धेरिदं मामकानां नितंबः कराभ्यां धृतो येन तस्मात् ।
विधातुर्वसत्यै धृतो नाभिकोशः परब्रह्मलिंगं भजे पांडुरंगं ॥ ३ ॥
स्फुरत्कौस्तुभालंकृतं कंठदेशे श्रिया जुष्टकेयूरकं श्रीनिवासम् ।
शिवं शान्तमीड्यं वरं लोकपालं परब्रह्मलिंगं भजे पांडुरंगं ॥ ४ ॥
शरचंद्रबिबाननं चारुहासं लसत्कुंडलक्रान्तगंडस्थलांगम् ।
जपारागबिंबाधरं कंजनेत्रम् परब्रह्मलिंगं भजे पांडुरंगं ॥ ५ ॥
किरीटोज्ज्वलत्सर्वदिक् प्रान्तभागं सुरैरर्चितं दिव्यरत्नैरमर्घ्यैः ।
त्रिभंगाकृतिं बर्हमाल्यावतंसं परब्रह्मलिंगं भजे पांडुरंगं ॥ ६ ॥
विभुं वेणुनादं चरन्तं दुरन्तं स्वयं लीलया गोपवेषं दधानम् ।
गवां वृंदकानन्दनं चारुहासं परब्रह्मलिंगं भजे पांडुरंगं ॥ ७ ॥
अजं रुक्मिणीप्राणसंजीवनं तं परं धाम कैवल्यमेकं तुरीयम् ।
प्रसन्नं प्रपन्नार्तिहं देवदेवं परब्रह्मलिंगं भजे पांडुरंगं ॥ ८ ॥
स्तवं पांडुरंगस्य वै पुण्यदं ये पठन्त्येकचित्तेन भक्त्या च नित्यम् ।
भवांबोनिधिं तेऽपि तीर्त्वाऽन्तकाले हरेरालयं शाश्र्वतं प्राप्नुवन्ति ॥ ९ ॥
Reference: Jstor