The distinguished anthropologist Irawati Karwe wrote, ​“I found a new definition of Maharashtra: the land whose people go to Pandharpur for pilgrimage.”

Pandharpur, near the city of Solapur, is a sacrosanct destination for the Varkari path within Hinduism, centred around the worship of the deity Vitthal or Vithoba, a form of Vishnu. The Varkaris are a part of the Bhakti movement, a spiritual tradition characterised by the immersive loving worship of a chosen deity.

The word ​‘Varkari’ means ​“one who performs the vari”— vari in Marathi refers to the annual 21-day pilgrimage to Pandharpur, which devotees of Vitthal perform as an expression of faith. The vari is a symbolic journey of the sants (those who have seen the truth) from their respective hometowns to the abode of Vitthal, and the varkaris carry symbolic palkhis (palanquins) bearing their padukas (footwear). The pilgrimage culminates on Ekadashi, the 11^th day of the Hindu lunar month of Ashadha, which falls between late June and July according to the Gregorian calendar. Another pilgrimage is celebrated on the Ekadashi of the month of Kartika, which falls in November.

Helmed by the sants, the poet-saints who were instrumental in shaping the movement, the Varkari tradition reached its zenith from the 13^th to 17^th centuries. The tradition recognises about 50 sants, who hailed from varied backgrounds, castes, and professions. Chief among them were Dnyaneshwar, an outcast Brahmin scholar and poet; Namdev the tailor; Chokhamela, born into the Dalit Mahar caste; Eknath, a Brahmin; and Tukaram, a farmer and merchant. Other poets such as Muktabai, Janabai and Gonabai have also contributed to the wealth of verse in the tradition.

The earliest of the Varkari saints, Dnyaneshwar and Namdev broke with convention by composing abhangas, devotional songs in praise of Vitthal, in Marathi, the language of their followers, rather than the classical Sanskrit of the priestly class.

The Varkari saints believed that God was omnipresent and dwelt in the hearts of humans. Their teachings were not dogmatic or rigid. Although they encouraged their followers to live a life of austerity and self-sacrifice, theirs was a householder mode of Bhakti rather than an ascetic one. Their abhangas reinforce the message that all people are equal before god. 

In the fourth episode of our series Bhakti Republic, Amit Basole continues his exploration of constitutional values in the poetry of the Varkaris through anecdotes and readings, against a background of original music performances.

Credits

Akshay Ramuhalli, Bijoy Venugopal, Bruce Lee Mani, Harshit Hillol Gogoi, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Sananda Dasgupta, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi, and Velu Shankar

Original music tracks performed by Anjali Malkar, Bruce Lee Mani, Junuka Deshpande, Karthik Bhat, and Noël Prashanth

Acknowledgements

This episode draws extensively on the work of Sadanand More, Indrajit Bhalerao, Christian Novetzke, and Jon Keune. Thanks to Anjali Malkar for help with selecting and interpreting some of the poems.

Resources 

A. Books and articles

1. Sakal Sant Gatha (Marathi) — a comprehensive collection of Varkari poems 
2. Tukaram Darshan (Marathi) by Sadanand More
3. History, Bhakti and Public Memory: Namdev in Religious and Secular Traditions by Christian Novetzke
4. Shared Food, Shared Devotion: Equality and the Bhakti-Caste Question in Western India by Jon Keune
5. The Quotidian Revolution: Vernacularization, Religion, and the Premodern Public Sphere in India by Christian Novetzke
6. Untouchable Saints: An Indian Phenomenon, edited by Eleanor Zelliot and Rohini Mokashi-Punekar
7. Female voices in the Vārkarī sampradāya : gender constructions in a bhakti tradition. by Jacqueline Daukes (PhD Thesis. SOAS, University of London)
8. A Medieval Encounter between a Hindu and a Muslim: Eknath’s Drama Poem ​“Hindu-Turk Samvad” by Eleanor Zelliot in India’s Islamic Traditions 711‑1750, edited by Richard Eaton (original poem in Marathi: https://​www​.translit​er​al​.org/​p​a​g​e​s​/​z​1​0​1​0​2​9​0​5​2​8​1​5​/view)
9. Shruthi Vishwanath — The Ant Swallowed The Sun; Seminar Online

B. Music videos

• YouTube: majhe maher padhari by Bhimsen Joshi
• YouTube: majhe maher pandhari by Shameema Akhtar
• YouTube: johar mai baap by Kumar Gandharva
• YouTube: goroba chya haati by LOkshahir Vitthal Umap
• YouTube: aaly aalya paach gawlani
• YouTube: vitthal vitthal jai hari
• YouTube: Jai Jai Ram Krishna Hari | Varkari Sampraday Popular Bhajan
• YouTube: Sundar Te Dhyan | M.S. Subbulakshmi | Sant Tukaram | Abhang | Carnatic Music | Carnatic Song
• YouTube: Har Mein Har Ko Dekha by Kabir, sung by Warsi Brothers Qawwal and Party
• YouTube: Ba har su jalwa e dildar deedam by Hafiz sung by Munshi Raziuddin Qawwal and Party
• YouTube: Vaishnavaa ghari sarvkaal by Namdev, sung by Pt. Bhimsen Joshi
• YouTube: Kate Ketakichya Zada by Sheikh Muhammad, sung by Meenal Mategaonkar
• YouTube: Janabai Charithram | Kalaimamani Smt.Vishakha Hari
• YouTube: Sant Gora Kumbhar — Old Classic Marathi Movie
• YouTube: माझे माहेर पंढरी | Majhe Maher Pandhari | Shameema Akhter | Mazhar Siddiqui | Sarhad Music
• YouTube: विठ्ठल अभंग / Shahir Vitthal Umap / Live Performance
• YouTube: संत सावता माळी — अभंगवाणी | Sant Savata Mali — 5 Abhang | कांदा मुळा भाजी | आमुची माळीयाची जात
• YouTube: Sufi Meditation Music | Tahir Qawwal | Abyat e Bahoo
• YouTube: Prashant Damle — Ya Vithucha Gajar / Gajaar — विठूचा गजर — Dindi
• YouTube: Sant Chokhamela — Marathi Movie
• YouTube: Tujhe Roop Chitti Raho — Sudhir Phadke, Sant Gora Kumbhar, Devotional Song
• YouTube: Tukaram abhang complete 2012
• YouTube: Janabai Charithram | Kalaimamani Smt.Vishakha Hari

C. Lectures and talks

• Lectures by Indrajit Bhalerao (Marathi)
• Chokhamela: संत चोखामेळा आणि कर्ममेळा । जीवन आणि काव्य । इंद्रजित भालेराव । 8432225585
• Janabai: संत जनाबाई । जीवन आणि काव्य । इंद्रजित भालेराव । 8432225585
• Tukaram: संत तुकाराम | जीवन दर्शन | इंद्रजित भालेराव | 8432225585
• Namdev: संत नामदेव । जीवन आणि कार्य । इंद्रजित भालेराव । 8432225585
• Savta Mali: संत सावता माळी | जीवन आणि काव्य | इंद्रजित भालेराव | 8432225585
• Eknath: संत एकनाथ | जीवन दर्शन | इंद्रजित भालेराव | 8432225585
• Sena Nhavi: संत सेना न्हावी | जिवन आणि काव्य | इंद्रजित भालेराव | 8432225585
• Gora Kumbhar: संत गोरोबा कुंभार | जीवन आणि काव्य | इंद्रजित भालेराव | 8432225585
• Lectures by Sadanand More (Marathi)
• तुकोबारायांना समजून घेऊ…
• Dr. Sadanand More — Speech on Varkari Sampraday In Maharashtra
• संत परंपरेमुळेच समाज एकत्र | सदानंद मोरे
• Discussion on Kabir’s poetry (HIndi) by Purshottam Agarwal, Abdul Bismillah and Dibang at Jash-e-Rekhta (clip for Eknath’s Hindu-Turk Samvad)

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