Why does Vitthal stand on a brick?
When Lord Krishna came to the devotee Sant Pundalik, Sant Pundalik was serving his old parents and would not leave them. He threw out a brick for Krishna to stand on and asked him to wait. Krishna waited, and at Sant Pundalik’s wish he stayed, as Vitthal, the one who stands on the brick.
The brick, and his other emblems
As the Vitthal page draws them
The brick, the vit
Sant Pundalik threw a brick out of his door for Lord Krishna to stand on while he finished serving his parents. Krishna waited on it, and stands there still: Vitthal, the one who stands on the vit, the brick.
The tulsi mala
He wears a necklace of tulsi beads, and so does every Varkari: a mala of tulsi wood round the neck marks one who walks his path. Tulsi leaves are the offering he loves best.
The palkhi
Each year the padukas, the sandals, of the saints are carried to Pandharpur in palkhis, palanquins: Sant Dnyaneshwar’s from Alandi and Sant Tukaram’s from Dehu, with many more joining on the way.
His temple at Pandharpur
His great temple, the Shri Vitthal-Rukmini Mandir, stands in Pandharpur by the Chandrabhaga. Pilgrims bathe in the river before they come to him, and visit the temple of Sant Pundalik on its bank.
The cymbals, taal
Varkaris walk singing his abhangs, keeping time with small cymbals, the taal, while the leader of each group, the dindi, carries a veena. The beat of the taal and the drum goes with the wari all the way.
The saffron flag
Saffron flags on long poles, carried on the shoulder, are seen all along the road of the wari, in every dindi, the group a Varkari walks with, from Alandi and Dehu to Pandharpur.
Questions
Who is Vitthal?
Vitthal, also called Vithoba and Panduranga, is Lord Krishna, a form of Lord Vishnu, as he stands on a brick at Pandharpur in Maharashtra, with Rukmini beside him as Rakhumai. He is the god of the Varkaris, who walk to him each year in the wari.
Which day is Vitthal’s?
Wednesday is held as his day of the week. In the year his great days are Ashadhi Ekadashi and Kartiki Ekadashi, and Varkaris fast on every Ekadashi.
What is the Pandharpur wari?
The walk of the Varkaris to Pandharpur for Ashadhi Ekadashi. The palkhis of Sant Dnyaneshwar from Alandi and Sant Tukaram from Dehu, near Pune, are carried about 250 km in some three weeks, with the Varkaris walking in dindis, singing to the taal.