Every Ashadh, devotees across Maharashtra take a pilgrimage on foot to the Vithoba temple in Pandharpur. The 800-year-old tradition is called the Wari and the devotees-the Warkaris (literally ‘those who do the wari’), a community in the bhakti tradition. The Wari is a distinctive part of Maharashtrian culture. Men in Gandhi caps, women with tulsi pots on their heads, saffron flags, musical instruments, bhajans, kirtans and tastefully decorated vehicles are characteristic of the Wari today.
The tradition is traced to Vitthala Pant. He was the father of Sant Dyaneshwar, who wrote Dyaneshwari in the 13th century – the oldest known Marathi literature that led to the flowering of Maharashtra’s renowned Sant Parampara (saint tradition). Many other saints in the 14th to 16th centuries have been known to do the wari – Namdev, Bhanudas, Eknath. In the 17th century, Sant Tukaram performed the wari with the padukas (sandals) of Sant Dyaneshwar around his neck.
The present system of carrying the padukhas on palkis (palanquins) was first introduced by Haibatravbaba, a courtier of the Gwalior based Scindias, in the 19th century. Under his supervision, the Wari began to resemble a military procession with elephants & horses and groupings of thousands of devotees called the Dindis.
Source: On the Road, A Maharashtrian Pilgrimage. Irawati Karve.
https://swarajyamag.com/culture/the-pandharpur-wari-the-journey-of-the-devout
Picture Credit: The wonderful photographer Salonee Jain, Instagram @thesaloneejain
Every Ashadh, devotees across Maharashtra take a pilgrimage on foot to the Vithoba temple in Pandharpur. The 800-year-old tradition is called the Wari and the devotees-the Warkaris (literally ‘those who do the wari’), a community in the bhakti tradition. The Wari is a distinctive part of Maharashtrian culture. Men in Gandhi caps, women with tulsi pots on their heads, saffron flags, musical instruments, bhajans, kirtans and tastefully decorated vehicles are characteristic of the Wari today.
The tradition is traced to Vitthala Pant. He was the father of Sant Dyaneshwar, who wrote Dyaneshwari in the 13th century – the oldest known Marathi literature that led to the flowering of Maharashtra’s renowned Sant Parampara (saint tradition). Many other saints in the 14th to 16th centuries have been known to do the wari – Namdev, Bhanudas, Eknath. In the 17th century, Sant Tukaram performed the wari with the padukas (sandals) of Sant Dyaneshwar around his neck.
The present system of carrying the padukhas on palkis (palanquins) was first introduced by Haibatravbaba, a courtier of the Gwalior based Scindias, in the 19th century. Under his supervision, the Wari began to resemble a military procession with elephants & horses and groupings of thousands of devotees called the Dindis.
Source: On the Road, A Maharashtrian Pilgrimage. Irawati Karve.
https://swarajyamag.com/culture/the-pandharpur-wari-the-journey-of-the-devout
Picture Credit: The wonderful photographer Salonee Jain, Instagram @thesaloneejain
