PANDHARPUR Pandharpur is a holy place of Shri.Vitthal and Shri.Rukmini. It is also known as the Southern Kashi of India and Kuldaivat of Maharashtra State. It is located at a distance of 72 kms by road. from Solapur District headquarters. The Pandharpur Railway Station falls on the Miraj-Kurduwadi-Latur railway track. The ancient temple of Shri.Vitthal was renovated in 1195 A.D. There are many other temples of Indian Dieties and Mathas (Dharmshalas) of many Saints. The Chandrabhaga (Bhima) river flows through the City. Large number of devotees from all over Maharashtra and surrounding States gather at Pandharpur mainly to celebrate the Aashadhi and Kartiki Ekadashis every year in addition to the regular rush of devotees everyday. The
 The ancient temple of Shri.Vitthal was renovated in 1195 A.D. There are many other temples of Indian Dieties and Mathas (Dharmshalas) of many Saints. The Chandrabhaga (Bhima) river flows through the City. Large number of devotees from all over Maharashtra and surrounding States gather at Pandharpur mainly to celebrate the Aashadhi and Kartiki Ekadashis every year in addition to the regular rush of devotees everyday. The Palaquins (Palakhi) of various Saints originating from various locations gather at Wakhari, five kms. from Pandharpur for the Waari festival. The various daily rituals like Kakda Aarati, Mahapooja, Mahanaivedhya, Poshakh, Dhooparati, Padyapooja, Shejarti etc are performed in the main temple of Lord.Vitthal. The following are the temples inside the main temple as one enters from Namdev Payari and come out of Pachhim Dwar of the temple. Namdev Payari - In memory of Shri.Sant Namdev Ganesh Mandir Datta Mandir Garud Mandir Maruti Mandir Chowrangee Devi Mandir Garud Khamb Narsimha Mandir Ek-mukh Dattatraya Mandir Rameshwar Lingam Mandir Shri. Lord Vitthal is the Supreme God of the Universe with incarnation of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. Lord Vitthal is also known by the names Shri.Panduranga and Vithoba, Great Saints like Shri. Sant Dnyaneshwar, Shri. Sant Tukaram, Shri Sant Namdev, Shri. Sant Purandardas and others sung Abhangas in praise of Lord Vitthala. 'Padsparsha Darshan' is the unique feature of Vithoba Temple. Irrespective of the caste and creed every devotee can enter the Sanctum Sanctorium and can place his/her head on the feet of Lord Vitthala. This tradition is followed nowhere in India. The Bhagawat Dharma is being followed with full spirit in Pandharpur Kala Bahirav Mandir Laxmi-Narayan Mandir Kashi-Vishwanath Mandir Satya-Bhama Mandir Radhika Mandir Siddhi-Vinayak Mandir Mahalakshmi Mandir Venkateshwar Mandir Kanhopatra Mandir Ambabai Mandir Shani-Dev Mandir Nagnath Mandir Guptaling Mandir Khandoba Mandir
TEMPLES IN AND AROUND PANDHARPUR SN. NAME OF THE TEMPLE LOCATION 1 Padmavati Mandir Railway Station Road 2 Lakhubai/Rukmini Mandir Chinch Baag 3 Ambabai Mandir Dagadi Bridge, Solapur Road 4 Gopalpur 2 kms. from Pandharpur 5 Vishnupad 2 kms. from Pandharpur 6 Pundalik Mandir On Chandrabhaga River Bank 7 Namdev Mandir Pradakshina Road 8 Dnyaneshwar Mandir Naath Chowk 9 Tukaram Mandir Pradakshina Road 10 Kala Maruti Mandir Pradakshina Road 11 Tambada Maruti Mandir Pradakshina Road 12 Vyas Narayan Mandir Solapur Road 13 Yamai Tukai Mandir Sangola Road 14 Gajana Maharaj Mandir Shivaji Chowk 15 Takpeethya Vithoba Near Mandi 16 Ram Baag Solapur Road 17 Laxman Baag Railway Station Road PLACES OF IMPORTANCE IN PANDHARPUR 1. Sant Kaikadi Maharaj Math - It is on the north side of the town. It is a modern innovation depicting the ethoes of the epic Gods and Saints. It may take minimum two hours to see the entire Math. 2. Sant Tanapure Maharaj Math - 3. Gujarathi Devsthan - It is on the other side of the river Bhima. The pilgrims have to cross the river and visit the Shrinathji Temple. MAJOR FESTIVALS OF PANDHARPUR In Pandharpur, Wednesday is regarded as the auspicious day in the week and Ekadashi, the auspicious day in the month. The Aashadi, Kartiki, Magh and Chaitra Ekadashis are the four major festivals of the temple. Out of these four, the first two festivals attract a large crowd about 8 to 10 lakhs. Apart from these, festivals like Gudipadwa, Ramanavami, Dasara and Deepawali are also celebrated. There are three major events Ashadhi Ekadashi i.e immediately after onset of Monsoon season. All the farmers complete their pre mansoon farming works. All the Warkaris (pilgrims) visit Pandharpur Pilgrim Centre from allover India including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, and Andhra Pradesh. States. It is a very big long march of Warkaris (Pilgrims) from the various other pilgrim centre from Maharashtra as below. About 2 lakh Warkaris marching from pilgrim Alandi of Sant Dnyaneshwara and from Dehu of Sant Tukaram’s pilgrim centers and many other warakaris join this march on their way to this long route of Alandi-Dehu to Pandharpur. In all about 7 – 8 lakh devotees visit Pandharpur for Aashadi Ekadashi. Katiki Ekadashi comes immediately after the monsoon season is over and many warakaris visit Pandharpur from Dehu, Alandi, Newasa etc. and other parts of Maharashtra. About 3 – 4 lakhs devotees visit Pandharpur. Maghi Ekadashi comes in the initial period of summer season. About 2 lakh devotees visit Pandharpur. Chaitri Ekadashi comes generally in the month of April. About 1 lakh devotees visit for this ekadashi.
THE MAIN TEMPLE Vithoba Temple which is the main temple is situated in the central part of the town. The temple has eight entries. The main entrance is the eastern one known as Mahadwar which is also called as Namdev Payari, because one of the steps known as Namdev Payari is built up over the places where the remains of the great saint Namdev are believed to have been burried at his desire. After Namdev Payari there are three small rooms called Mukti Mandap. After crossing the Mukti Mandap there is a quadrangle of about 120’ x 60’ with wooden pillars, presently called as Vithal Sabha Mandap. After crossing this sabha mandap one enters a hall known as Solkhamb, by reason of the fact that its superstructure rests on 16 pillers. One of the pillar is plated with Gold at the base and silver above it and is known as Garood Khamb. Near solkhamb there is a large stone slab with inscription of 1208 A.D. Close to the Solkhamb mandap, towards the sanctum is a small hall called Chowkhambh as the superstructure rests on four pillars. From the chowkhambhi hall one is let into the shrine or Gabhara, a small room about 6’ square consists of a platform of 3’ height with silver canopy above and on this platform stands the idol of Shri. Vithoba which attracts millions every year. The idol is called by different names Vithoba, Pandurang, Pandhari, Vithal, Vithalnath etc. Behind Vithoba temple in the north east corner of the temple, facing east is the temple of Rukmini, the consort of Vithoba. It has a Gabhara, entry / exit, outer hall and a sabha mandap.
 PADSPARSHADARSHAN
Every devotee not only enter the sanctum irrespective of the dress/caste/creed, but even places his or her head on the feet of the deity actually touching it. And this is a privilege prized and exercised by all devotees. This Padsparshadarshan is unique and not found in most of the Hindu temples elsewhere. For padsparsha Darshan it requires 2 to 3 hours on ordinary days, 4 to 5 hours on weekly holidays and Ekadashi day and upto 24 to 36 hours on Yatra days. MOOKH DARSHAN For the devotees who cannot spare long hours in queues for Padsparshadarshana one can have the Mookhdarshan. Bhakta or devotee can take darshan of Vitthal from the distance of about 25 metres and of Rukmini, from the distance of about 15 metres. It requires only 15 to 20 minutes for darshan. Darshan in Pandharpur has a distinctive meaning valued sentimentally by all devotees which does not obtain in any other temples in India. DAILY RITUALLS IN THE TEMPLE Sr.No. Particulars Timings. 1 Temple Door Opening 4.00 a.m. 2 Kakada Aarti 04.30 to 05.00 a.m. 3 Nitya Pooja (Regular Pooja) 05.00 a.m to 06.00.a.m. 4 Mahapuja by devotees 07.00 a.m. to 08.00.a.m. 5 Maha Naivedya 11.00 a.m. to 11.15 a.m. 6 Pshakh (dressing) 04.30 to 05.00 p.m. 7 Dhoop Aarati 07.00 to 07.30 p.m. 8 Padya pooja 10.00 to 10.30 p.m. 9 Shejarati 11.00 p.m.
SALE OF PRASAD AND PHOTOS
From 22.03.1985 onwards the Laddu Prasad was introduced and distributed inside the temple premises. Each Laddu is prepared in highly hygenic conditions and offered to Lord Vitthala and Rukmini as Naivedhya and thereafter they are sold as Prasad for the benefit of the devotees on the counters. From 01.05.1985, being a Silver Jubilee of Maharashtra Day, colour photos of Lord Vitthala and Rukmini are printed and sold at reasonable prices. Shri. Vitthal-Rukmini Temple Committee is dedicated to the devotees warkaris, by providing facilities for easy and quick darshana and performing sevas and poojas. OTHER PHOTOS OF PANDHARPUR ARE AS FOLLOWS.

Maharashtra Vishnupaad Temple At Pandharpur

Vishnupaad, in Sanskrit, literally means Paada or feet of Lord Vishnu. This is one of the most beautiful temples in Maharashtra as it is situated on the shore of the river Chandrabhaga. The beauty of the temple is further aggravated by the beauty of the river. This is a very scenic temple and attracts visitors just for the sheer location and the peace it provides to devotees who throng to the temple.

History

This temple is literally the Lord’s feet and the devotees who visit here are simply enthralled by the beauty of the temple and they feel blessed while visiting here.  Lord Krishna is the presiding deity here. The temple resembles a large hall and everybody feels welcome here. This is quite an old temple and sees large number of visitors during festivals that are special for Lord Vishnu. The temple is scenically located on the shore of the river Chandrabhaga and is connected to the shore by beautiful ramps.

Architecture

This temple was built using stone masonry technique and there is exquisite stone-work everywhere on the temple. There are totally 16 strong pillars made of stone and these are connected to the roof. All the pillars are beautifully engraved with marvellous images of Lord Krishna and Lord Vishnu in their various postures and different avatars.  The feet of the Lord are given immense importance and the lotus feet are engraved on a rock, which in turn is placed on a square. There are footprints of the Lord in different positions on the rock and there are also footprints of a cow that is embedded into these footprints some times.

Some of the footprints have the characteristic posture of Lord Krishna, in which He is standing on His left foot and the right foot is crossed and resting on his toes. Some footprints show the Lord resting on both his feet. This temple is situated on the river so the devotees should be careful while entering the temple as it can be fully submerged during heavy rains.

How to Reach

By Air

The airports that are the nearest to the temple are Pune (211km) and Mumbai (361km). From these airports, the devotees can choose any mode of transport to reach Pandharpur.

By Rail

Mohol is the nearest railway station which is 41km away from the temple. The other nearby stations is Kurduwadi which is 52km away and Solapur which is 73km away from the temple.

By Road

There are lots of taxi and car services from Solapur and Mohol to Pandharpur. These services are quite frequent and are very comfortable.

Important Shrines

Some of the important shrines in and around Pandharpur are Padmavati Mandir, Rukmini Mandir, Ambabai Mandir, Gopalpur, Namdev Mandir, Ram and Laxman Baag, Dhyaneshwar Mandir etc.

Significance of the Temple

This temple is very significant as it is located on the river Chandrabhaga and is known for its scenic beauty. This is one of the few temples in the country to be located on the river shore. It is connected to the ground through ramps.

Attraction

Some of the must visit places near Pandharpur are Sant Kaikadi Maharaj Math which is a depiction of the famous kings and saints. This is a huge area and takes a couple of hours to visit the entire math. Some other places of interest are Sant Tanapure Maharaj Math and the Gujarathi Devastan.

Weather and Time to Visit

Since this place is situated on the river, rainy seasons (June to August) must be avoided as the temple is likely to be submerged in the water. The months of September to November are quite cool and pleasant for visiting. Ashadi Ekadasi, Katiki Ekadasi and Maghi Ekadasi are major festivals in Pandharpur temple.

Accommodation

There are various hotels and other accommodation facilities in and around Pandharpur because this is a temple city and attracts lots of visitors throughout the year. These facilities are very comfortable for people who are looking for some cheap accommodation with no compromise on quality.

Tips for Devotees

Devotees are expected to be very silent and careful while inside the temple; because this being situated on the river shore can cause severe damage if the devotees are not cautious enough and focused on worship.

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