On the Bhima River in
Maharashtra, some 185 miles east and south of Bombay, is a city and holy place
(tirtha).
Pandharpur is well known for the Vithoba temple, which has
been a place of worship for the Varkari Panth religious group for at least 700
years.
Varkari traditions revolve upon a twice-yearly pilgrimage to
Pandharpur, where everyone arrives on the same day.
Each pilgrim procession begins in a different location and
is named for one of the poet-saints who assisted in the formation of the
community.
A palanquin (palkhi) at the head of each procession carries
the sandals of that group's patron saint, symbolically bringing them towards
Pandharpur.
G. A. Deleury, The Cult of Vithoba, 1960; I. B. Karve,
"On the Road," Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 22, No. 1, 1962; and
Digambar Balkrishna Mokashi, Palkhi, 1987 are all good sources of information.
