Exploring the pilgrim place of Pandharpur on a horse carriage
It was before the stroke of dawn that we two ladies, landed boldly at the completely new place of Pandharpur … But we were not alone, we had the grace of the compassionate and loving Lord Vithoba with us!
The first thing that struck me was the cute old world charm about this place. We settled in a decent AC room, got ready early, and we were thrilled to walk on empty roads to an almost empty temple. As we stood for almost half an hour in front of the Lord, soaking in his benevolence, we just smiled at an angelic feather that danced around us.
In the same temple complex we also had to visit the temple of Goddess Rukmini who is the consort of Lord Vithoba. The beauty of this and other temples in the city is that the dieties seem approachable as we are able to touch them directly.
Next we went to the Gondeja Mutt and I admired the simplicity and cleanliness of the whole complex. As the sun rays started to beat stronger, it was time to do the rest of the city sightseeing in the traditional way…by the good old horse carriage.
My friend just expressed a desire to see the Jyothirlinga at Rameshwaram and there we were are the next temple that gave us a unique symbolic darshan of all the 12 jyothirlingas of India.
In the heat if the day, we just had to pause and savour the cool taste of local watermelons off the street vendor. The next holy Mutt that we visited was like a maze of sorts with countless Gods, Goddesses, and saints being depicted, through an unending circuitous route of winding staircases going up and down countless number of times. A non Hindu would surely be surprised and confused at the plethora of spiritual symbolism and religious figures that we worship in sheer faith
We even went to a mini depiction of the Vaishnodevi temple and another wish of my friend that came true today.
The simple faith of staunch devotees of Lord Vithoba like his potter, or the son Pundalik all have given rise to separate temples for the devotees also.
I indulged in a solo boat ride in the Chandrabhaga river with a friendly boatman cum personal photographer!
And the best part of the trip was my realisation that for years I have been praying to an idol from my mother in laws shrine, not realising all along that it was our very own Vithoba Lord smiling with compassion at my ignorance!
So in 2018, do notice these simple smiling moments.Have a smiling year!
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