LoP Rahul Gandhi to take part in Pandharpur pilgrimage in Maharashtra ahead of Ashadhi Ekadasi

Mumbai: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is expected to join the annual pilgrimage of Pandharpur War in the Solapur district of Maharashtra ahead of the Ashadhi Ekadasi festivities.

In New Delhi, last month, a delegation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) invited Gandhi to join the celebrations.

According to sources in the Congress, Gandhi, expected to join the Wari on 14 July. Details of the programme, however, are not yet available.

Lakhs of devotees, who march long distances, would perform pooja and rituals at the temple of Lord Vitthal on the auspicious occasion of Ashadhi Ekadasi, which falls on 17 July this year.

Pandharpur houses the Vithoba Temple, known as Shri Vitthal-Rukmini Mandir - dedicated to God Vithoba - a form/incarnation of Lord Vishnu or Lord Krishna and his consort Goddess Rakhumai.

The idol is called by different names Vithoba, Pandurang, Pandhari, Vithal, Vithalnath. The temple is located on the banks of Chandrabhaga River.

There are hundreds of other temples in Pandharpur, which is often referred to as the Dakshin Kashi - which shows the importance and significance of the place.

The nearly three-week-long annual pilgrimage or ‘wari’ - one of the most important traditions of the Warkari sampradaya - ends in Pandharpur on the auspicious occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi.

Not only people from Maharashtra but devotees from other states too come to Pandharpur.

As per a practice dating back to several centuries, pilgrims called as 'warkaris', along with over 250 ‘palki’, undertake the pilgrimage by foot from their respective native places to the temple of Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur in Solapur district.

The two important ‘palkis’ (palanquins) carry the ‘paduka’ (revered symbolic footwear) of Sant Tukaram Maharaj (Dehu) and Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj (Alandi) in Pune district.