Vithoba (IAST: Viṭhobā), also known as Vitthala (IAST: Viṭṭhala), and Panduranga (IAST: Pāṇḍuraṅga), is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is a form of the Hindu deity Vishnu in his avatar of Krishna. Vithoba is often depicted as a dark young boy, standing arms akimbo on a brick, sometimes accompanied by his consort Rakhumai.
Vithoba is the focus of an essentially monotheistic, non-ritualistic bhakti-drivenZelliot and Berntsen (1988) p. xviii "Varkari cult is rural and non-Brahman in character"Sand (1990), p. 33 "According to Raeside the Varkari tradition is essentially monotheistic and without ritual, and, for this tradition, Vithoba represents Hari Krsna, while for the badavas or hereditary priests "Vithoba is neither Visnu nor Siva. Vithoba is Vithoba (...)"; p. 34 "the more or less anti-ritualistic and anti-brahmanical attitudes of Varkari sampradaya." Varkari faith in Maharashtra and the Haridasa sect established in Dvaita Vedanta in Karnataka. Vithoba Temple, Pandharpur is his main temple. Vithoba legends revolve around his devotee Pundalik who is credited for bringing the deity to Pandharpur, and around Vithoba's role as a saviour to the poet-saints of the Varkari faith. The Varkari poet-saints are known for their unique genre of devotional lyric, the abhang, dedicated to Vithoba and composed in Marathi. Other devotional literature dedicated to Vithoba includes the Kannada hymns of the Haridasa and the Marathi versions of the generic aarti songs associated with rituals of offering light to the deity. The most important festivals of Vithoba are held on Shayani Ekadashi in the month of Ashadha, and Prabodhini Ekadashi in the month of Kartika.
The historiography of Vithoba and his sect is an area of continuing debate, even regarding his name. Though the origins of both his sect and his main temple are likewise debated, there is clear evidence that they already existed by the 13th century.
Etymology and other names
Vithoba (, ) is known by many names, including: Vitthala, Panduranga, Pandharinath, Hari, Ranga and Narayan.
There are several theories about the origins and meanings of these names. Varkari tradition suggests that the name Vitthala (also spelled as Vitthal, Viththal, Vittala and Vithal; , , and ; all ) is composed of two Sanskrit-Marathi words: , which means 'brick'; and thal, which may have originated from the Sanskrit sthala, meaning 'standing'. Thus, Vitthala would mean 'one standing on a brick'.Novetzke (2005) pp. 115–16 William Crooke, orientalist, supported this explanation.Crooke (2003) pp. 607–08 The prescribed iconography of Vithoba stipulates that he be shown standing arms-akimbo upon a brick, which is associated with the legend of the devotee Pundalik. However, the Varkari poet-saint Tukaram proposed a different etymology—that Vitthala is composed of the words (ignorance) and (one who accepts), thus meaning 'one who accepts innocent people who are devoid of knowledge'.Pande (2008) p. 449 Historian Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar offers yet another possibility—that Vitthu () is a Kannada corruption of the name Vishnu adopted in Marathi. The suffixes -la and -ba (meaning 'father' in Marathi) were appended for reverence, producing the names Vitthala and Vithoba.Bhandarkar (1995) p. 124 This corruption of Vishnu to Vitthu could have been due to the tendency of Kannada people to pronounce the Sanskrit () as (), attested since the 8th century.Tagare in Mahipati: Abbott, Godbole (1988) p. xxxvi
According to research scholar M. S. Mate of the Deccan College, Pundalik—who is assumed to be a historical figure—was instrumental in persuading the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana alias Bittideva to build the Pandharpur temple dedicated to Vishnu. The deity was subsequently named as Vitthala, a derivative of Bittideva, by the builder-king.Sand (1990) p. 38 Other variants of the name include (King Vitthala), and (Mother Vitthala). The people of Gujarat add the suffix -nath (Lord) to Vitthala, which yields the name Vitthal-nath. The additional honorific suffix -ji may be added, giving the name Vitthalnathji. This name is generally used in the Pushtimarg sect.
Panduranga (, , ; all ), also spelt as Pandurang and Pandaranga, is another popular epithet for Vithoba, which means 'the white god' in Sanskrit. The Jain author-saint Hemachandra (1089–1172 AD) notes it is also used as an epithet for the god Rudra-Shiva. Even though Vithoba is depicted with dark complexion, he is called a "white god". Bhandarkar explains this paradox, proposing that Panduranga may be an epithet for the form of Shiva worshipped in Pandharpur, and whose temple still stands. Later, with the increasing popularity of Vithoba's cult, this was also transferred to Vithoba.Bhandarkar (1995) p. 125 Another theory suggests that Vithoba may initially have been a Shaiva god (related to Shiva), only later identified with Vishnu, thus explaining the usage of Panduranga for Vithoba.Eaton (2005) pp. 139–40 Crooke, however, proposed that Panduranga is a Sanskritised form of Pandaraga (belonging to Pandarga), referring to the old name of Pandharpur. Another name, Pandharinath, also refers to Vithoba as the lord of Pandhari (yet another variant for Pandharpur).
Finally, Vithoba is also addressed by the names of Vishnu like Hari and Narayana, in the Vaishnava sect.Zelliot (1988) p. 170
Origins and development
Reconstruction of the historical development of Vithoba worship has been much debated. In particular, several alternative theories have been proposed regarding the earliest stages as well as the point at which he came to be recognised as a distinct deity. The Pandurangashtakam stotra, a hymn attributed to Adi Shankara of the 8th century, indicates that Vithoba worship had already existed at an early date.Pande (2008) p. 508
According to Richard Maxwell Eaton, author of A Social History of the Deccan, Vithoba was first worshiped as the pastoral god Krishna as early as the 6th century. Vithoba's arms-akimbo iconography is similar to Bir Kuar, associated with Krishna, the cattle-god of the Ahirs of Bihar.For Bir Kuar, Tagare in Mahipati: Abbott, Godbole (1988) p. xxxiv Vithoba was probably later assimilated into the Shaiva pantheon and identified with the god Shiva, like most other pastoral gods. This is backed by because of the facts that the temple at Pandharpur is surrounded by Shaiva temples (most notably of the devotee Pundalik himself), and that Vithoba is crowned with the Linga, symbol of Shiva. However since the 13th century, the poet-saints like Namdev, Eknath and Tukaram identified Vithoba with Vishnu.
Christian Lee Novetzke of the University of Washington suggests that Vithoba's worship migrated from Karnataka to the formerly Shaiva city of Pandharpur some time before 1000 CE; but under the possible influence of a Krishna-worshipping Mahanubhava sect, the town was transformed into a Vaishnava center of pilgrimage. This proposal is consistent with contemporary remnants of Shaiva worship in the town.Novetzke (2005) p. 116
The religious historian R.C. Dhere, winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award for his book Sri Vitthal: Ek Mahasamanvaya, opines that Vithoba worship may be even older—"Vedic or pre-Vedic", hence pre-dating the worship of Krishna.Dhere p. 62 According to this theory, Vithoba is an amalgam of various local heroes, who gave their lives to save their cattle. He was first worshipped by the Dhangar, the cattle-owning caste of Maharashtra. The rise of the Yadava dynasty, which had cowherd ancestry, could have led to the glorification of Vithoba as Krishna, who is often depicted as a cowherd. This Vaishnavization of Vithoba also led to conversion of the Shaiva Pundarika shrine to the Vaishnava shrine of the devotee Pundalik, who—according to legend—brought Vithoba to Pandharpur.Sand (1990) p. 40 There may have been an attempt to assimilate Vithoba into Buddhism; today, both are viewed as a form of Vishnu in Hinduism.Kelkar (2001) p. 4179
Vithoba is associated more with "compassion, an infinite love and tenderness for his bhaktas (devotees) that can be compared to the love of the mother for her children pining for the presence of his devotees the way a cow pines for her far-away calf."Vaudeville (1987) pp. 223–24
G. A. Deleury, author of The cult of Vithoba, proposes that the image of Vithoba is a viragal (hero stone), which was later identified with Vishnu in his form as Krishna, and that Pundalik transformed the Puranic, ritualistic puja worship into more idealised bhakti worship—"interiorized adoration prescinding caste distinction and institutional priesthood .."Deleury as quoted in Sand (1990) p. 38 Indologist Dr. Tilak suggests that Vithoba emerged as "an alternative to the existing pantheon" of brahminical deities (related to classical, ritualistic Hinduism). The emergence of Vithoba was concurrent with the rise of a "new type of lay devotee", the Varkari. While Vishnu and Shiva were bound in rigid ritualistic worship and Brahmin (priestly) control, Vithoba, "the God of the subaltern, became increasingly human." Vithoba is often praised as the protector of the poor and needy.Tilak (2006) pp. 243–46 Stevenson (1843) suggests that Vithoba could have been a Jain saint, as the Vithoba images were similar to Jain images.Stevenson (1843) pp. 5–6 "The want of suitable costume in the images (of Vithoba and Rakhumai) as originally carved, in this agreeing exactly with images the Jains at present worship."
Pandharpur temple and inscriptions
Scholastic investigation of Vithoba's history often begins with consideration of the dating of the chief temple at Pandharpur, which is believed to be the earliest Vithoba temple.Karve (1968) pp. 188–89 The oldest part of the temple dates to the Yadava period of the 12th and 13th centuries. Most of the temple is believed to have been built in the 17th century, though addition to the temple has never ceased.Zelliot, Eleanor in Mokashi (1987) p. 35 The date the temple was first established is unclear to Bhandarkar, but he insists there is clear evidence to suggest it existed by the 13th century. According to S. G. Tulpule, the temple stood as early as 1189. In fact, a monument dated 1189 records establishment of a small Vithoba shrine at the present location of the temple; thus, Tulpule concludes, the worship of Vithoba predates 1189.Shima (1988) p. 184
A stone inscription dated 1237, found on an overhead beam of the present Vithoba temple, mentions that the Hoysala king Someshvara donated a village for the expense of the bhoga (food offering) for "Vitthala".Gokhale (1985) pp. 42–52 An inscription on a copper plate, dated 1249, records the Yadava king Krishna granting to one of his generals the village Paundrikakshetra (kshetra of Pundarik), on the river Bhimarathi, in the presence of the god Vishnu. Another stone inscription in Pandharpur narrates a sacrifice at Pandurangapura due to which "people and Vitthal along with the gods were gratified". Thus from the 13th century, the city is known as the city of Panduranga. Inside the temple, a stone inscription records gifts to the temple between 1272 and 1277 from various donors, notably the Yadava king Ramachandra's minister Hemadri.
Ranade believes that an inscription, found in Alandi and referring to Vitthala and Rakhumai, is the oldest related to Vithoba, and dates it to 1209.Ranade (1933) p. 183
Central image