Pandharpur
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| ?Pandharpur Maharashtra • India |
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| Coordinates: | |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Area • Elevation |
• 458 m (1,503 ft) |
| District(s) | Solapur |
| Population | 91,381 (2001) |
The city of Pandharpur is located in Solāpur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
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[edit] Geography
Pandharpur is located at [1]. It has an average elevation of 458 metres (1502 feet).
[edit] Demographics
According to the 2001 census of India, Pandharpur had then a population of 91,381. Males constituted 52% of the population and females, 48%. 71% of the population was literate, (higher than the national average of 59.5%), 78% of males and 64% of females being literate. 12% of the population was under 6 years of age.
[edit] Religious Importance
Pandharpur is one of the most prominent pilgrimage sites in Maharashtra. It is located on the banks of the Bhimā river, which is alternatively known as Chandrabhāgā because of its half-moon-like shape.
Pandharpur, alternately known as Pandhari, hosts the renowned Vitthal temple on the banks of Bhimā. "Vithoba", "Pāndurang", and "Pandharināth" are the popular alternate names of the deity, Viththal, who is regarded in Hinduism as a God form of Lord Krishna, who, in turn, is considered as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Rakhumāi or Rukmini is Viththal's consort in Hinduism.
The worship of Vitthal in the Pandharpur temple is based mainly on the contents of the Puranas, and the contributions of the Vaishnav saints of Maharashtra and Karnataka during the the 13th through the 17th centuries, namely, Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Eknath, Tukaram, Purandar Das, Vijay Dās, Gopāl Dās, and Jagannāth Dās, have augmented the worship.
The Pandharpur temple covers a large area, and has six gates. The eastern gate is known as the "Namdev Gate".
Pandharpur hosts four annual pilgrimages ("yātrās") of Hindu devotees. Among them, the pilgrimage in the month of Āshādh in the Hindu Shāliwāhan Shak calendar attracts the largest number of pilgrims --around 0.5 to 0.7 million people. The pilgrimage in the month of Kārtik attracts the next largest number of pilgrims.
[edit] Education Insititues
Pandharpur is home of College of Engineering Pandharpur run by SVERI
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
- G.A.Deleury, The cult of Vithoba (Pune: Deccan College, 1960)
- M.S.Mate, Temples and legends of Maharashtra (Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1988), pp188-220
- D.B.Mokashi, Palkhi: a pilgrimage to Pandharpur (translated from the Marathi)(Albany, NY: State University of New York Press; Hyderabad: Orient Longman, 1990)
