Pundalik ( mr, पुंडलिक) or Pundarik is a central figure in the legends of the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
God
Vithoba
Vithoba, also known as Vi(t)thal(a) and Panduranga, is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian state of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is generally considered as a manifestation of the god Vishnu, or his avatar Krishna. Vithoba is ...
, generally considered a
Vaishnava
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
deity identified with the deities
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
and
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
. He is credited to have brought Vithoba to
Pandharpur
Pandharpur (Pronunciation: əɳɖʱəɾpuːɾ is a well known pilgrimage town, on the banks of Candrabhagā River, near Solapur city in Solapur District, Maharashtra, India. Its administrative area is one of eleven tehsils in the District, ...
, where Vithoba's central shrine stands today. Pundalik is also perceived to be the historical founder of the
Varkari
Warkari (Marathi: वारकरी; Pronunciation: aːɾkəɾiː Meaning: 'The one who performs the ''Wari) is a sampradaya (religious movement) within the bhakti spiritual tradition of Hinduism, geographically associated with the Indi ...
sect, which is centered on the worship of Lord Vithoba.
Pundalik was one of the earliest
Kundalini
In Hinduism, Kundalini ( sa, कुण्डलिनी, translit=kuṇḍalinī, translit-std=IAST, lit=coiled snake, ) is a form of divine feminine energy (or ''Shakti'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the ''muladhara'' ...
Yoga practitioners. As He was the master of Kundalini Yoga, people used to call him "Kundalik".
Later, after several years, Kundalik become Pundalik. He symbolised Kundalini energy in the form of Lord
Vitthal
Vithoba, also known as Vi(t)thal(a) and Panduranga, is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian state of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is generally considered as a manifestation of the god Vishnu, or his avatar Krishna. Vithoba is of ...
also known as Lord
Pandurang after his name Pundalik.
Pandharpur
Pandharpur (Pronunciation: əɳɖʱəɾpuːɾ is a well known pilgrimage town, on the banks of Candrabhagā River, near Solapur city in Solapur District, Maharashtra, India. Its administrative area is one of eleven tehsils in the District, ...
's Vitthal was an incarnation of
Lord Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
or
Lord Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of ...
. According to legends it also depicts the symbol of the
Kundalini
In Hinduism, Kundalini ( sa, कुण्डलिनी, translit=kuṇḍalinī, translit-std=IAST, lit=coiled snake, ) is a form of divine feminine energy (or ''Shakti'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the ''muladhara'' ...
Energy, although spiritually, the same energy dwells in all.
The brick on which Lord Vitthal is standing is the basic chakra of Kundalini energy known as
Muladhara
Muladhara ( sa, मूलाधार or मूलाधारा; IAST: , lit. ''"root of Existence." Mula'' means root and ''dhara'' means flux.) or the root chakra is one of the seven primary chakras according to Hindu tantrism. It is s ...
Chakra. Both hands, like bows, represents Ida and Pingla
nadi
Nadi (pronounced ) is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. A 2012 estimate showed that the population had ...
s which cross over at the central body of
Sushumna
( sa, नाडी, lit=tube, pipe, nerve, blood vessel, pulse) is a term for the channels through which, in traditional Indian medicine and spiritual theory, the energies such as prana of the physical body, the subtle body and the causal body a ...
or Brahma
nadi
Nadi (pronounced ) is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. A 2012 estimate showed that the population had ...
. Body represents purusha means
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
or
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
and the tilaka or the mark on the head represents
Ajna
Ajna ( sa, आज्ञा, IAST: , ), brow or third eye chakra, is the sixth primary chakra in the body according to Hindu tradition and signifies the unconscious mind, the direct link to Brahman (ultimate reality). The third eye is said to ...
Chakra or guru chakra or third-eye chakra is the subtle center of energy, believed to be located between the eyebrows, located behind it along the subtle (non-physical) spinal column, as said by
Lord Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of ...
in
Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...
.
Many Kings and other noblemen were devotees of Pundalik and they built the famous Vitthal temple at Pandharpur. The age old practice of the Kundalini Yoga converted the shrine into a holy place and truth seekers from all over the world were directed here by the divine to activate and raise their Kundalini energy by the very natural process of
Bhakti
''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...
, the highest form of Love anyone can express.
Historicity
Pundalik is commonly perceived to be a historical figure, connected with the establishment and propagation of the Vithoba-centric Varkari sect.
Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar
Sir Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar ( mr, रामकृष्ण गोपाळ भांडारकर) (6 July 1837 – 24 August 1925) was an Indian scholar, orientalist, and social reformer.
Early life
Ramakrishna Bhandarkar was b ...
considers Pundalik to be the founder of the Varkari sect and the one who promulgated the sect in Maratha country.
[Bhandarkar (1995) pp. 125–26] Frazer, Edwards and P.R. Bhandarkar (1922) all suggest that Pundalik tried to unify Shiva and Vishnu, and that this culture originated in Karnataka.
[Sand (1990) p. 37] Ranade (1933) thinks that Pundalik, a Kannada saint, was not only the founder of the Varkari culture but also the first great devotee or first high priest of the Pandharpur temple. Upadhyaya supports the priest theory but declines the Kannada origin theory.
Tulpule also accepted the theory that Pundalik was the historical founder of the Varkari sect, though declines to fix a date for him due to "lack of authentic evidence".
According to M. S. Mate, Pundalik was instrumental in coaxing the
Hoysala
The Hoysala Empire was a Kannada people, Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, India, Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially loca ...
king
Vishnuvardhana
Vishnuvardhana (r. 1108–1152 CE) was a king of the Hoysala Empire in what is today the modern state of Karnataka, India. He ascended the Hoysala throne after the death of his elder brother Veera Ballala I in c.1108. Originally a followe ...
to build the Pandharpur temple to Vishnu, placing him in the early 12th century.
[Sand (1990) p. 38] Deleury (1960) believes Pundalik was a mystic, influenced by the Vaishnava
Haridasa
The Haridasa Bhakti Sahitya devotional movement (sampradaya) originated in Karnataka, India, after Madhvacharya, and spread to eastern states such as Bengal and Assam of medieval India. Over a span of nearly six centuries, several saints and ...
sect of
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
, who brought a drastic change in the worship of Vithoba. Pundalik not only founded the Varkari sect, but also was the first to identify Vithoba with the god
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
. Pundalik's fame also led to naming of Pandharpur to ''Paundrika-kshetra'' - the sacred place of Pundalik.
Other scholars like Raeside (1965), Dhanpalvar (1972), and Vaudeville (1974) have questioned the historicity of Pundalik altogether, and dismissed him as a mythical figure. In his analysis of the text ''Panduranga mahatmya'' by Sridhar (discussed in "Legend" section ahead), Raeside says that the legend of devotee Pundalik could have been nothing more a derivative of
Puranic
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
legend. Dhanpalvar strongly agreed with this possibility. Vaudeville found the legend of the Pundalik of Pandharpur was very similar to the legend of Pundarik, the devotee of Vishnu, in the Hindu epic
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
. The religious historian
R.C. Dhere, winner of the
Sahitya Akademi Award
The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...
for his book ''Sri Vitthal: Ek Mahasamanvaya'', opines that identification of Vithoba with Vishnu led to conversion of the Shaiva (related to god
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
) Pundarika shrine to the Vaishnava shrine of the devotee Pundalik. The main argument of the hypothesis is that the memorial shrine of Pundalik is a Shaiva shrine, rather than a Vaishnava one, compromising of a Shiva-
linga
A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...
, the symbol of god Shiva.
Legends
![Vithoba Pundalik](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Vithoba_Pundalik.jpg)
Texts, that narrate the legend of Pundalik and Vithoba, can be categorised into the Varkari tradition, the Brahmin tradition and what Raeside calls a "third tradition", that includes both Varkari and Brahmin elements. The Varkari texts are written in
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
, the Brahmin texts in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
, and the "third tradition" are Marathi texts written by Brahmins.
The Varkari texts are: ''Bhaktalilamrita'' and ''Bhaktavijaya'' by
Mahipati
Mahipati (1715 - 1790) was an 18th century Marathi language hagiographer who wrote biographies of prominent Hindu Vaishnava sants who had lived between the 13th and the 17th centuries in Maharashtra and other regions of India.
Early life
Mahip ...
, ''Pundalika-Mahatmya'' by
Bahinabai
Bahinabai (1628–1700 AD) or Bahina or Bahini is a Varkari female-saint from Maharashtra, India. She is considered as a disciple of another Varkari poet-saint Tukaram. Having been born in a Brahmin family, Bahinabai was married to a widower a ...
, and a long ''abhanga'' by
Namdev
Shri Sant Namdev Maharaj (Pronunciation: aːmdeʋ, also transliterated as Nam Dayv, Namdeo, Namadeva, (traditionally, ) was a Marathi Bahujan saint from Narsi, Hingoli, Maharashtra, India within the Varkari tradition of Hinduism. He lived a ...
. All these texts describe the legend of Pundalik. The Brahmin texts include: two versions of ''Panduranga-Mahatmya'' from the
Skanda Purana
The ''Skanda Purana'' (IAST: Skanda Purāṇa) is the largest ''Puranas#Mahapuranas, Mukyapurana'', a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is of Kaumaram, Kaumara literature, titled after Kartikeya ...
(consisting of 900 verses); ''Panduranga-Mahatmya'' from the
Padma Purana
The ''Padma Purana'' ( sa, पद्मपुराण or पाद्मपुराण, or ) is one of the eighteen Major Puranas, a genre of texts in Hinduism. It is an encyclopedic text, named after the lotus in which creator god Bra ...
(consisting of 1,200 verses); ''Bhima-Mahatmya'', also from the Padma Purana; and a third devotional work, yet again called ''Panduranga-Mahatmya'', which is found in the
Vishnu Purana
The Vishnu Purana (IAST:, sa, विष्णुपुराण) is one of the eighteen Puranas#Mahapuranas, Mahapuranas, a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism. It is an important Pancharatra text in the Vaishnavism literature c ...
.
[Sand (1990) p. 56] The "third tradition" is found in two works: ''Panduranga-Mahatmya'' by the Brahmin Sridhara (consisting of 750 verses), and another work of the same name written by Prahlada Maharaj (consisting of 181 verses).
[For a complete Marathi text and English translation of ''Panduranga-Mahatmya'' by Sridhara see Raeside (1965) pp. 81-100]
There are three versions of the Pundalik legend, two of which are attested as textual variants of the Skanda Purana (1.34–67). According to the first, the ascetic Pundarika (Pundalik) is described as a devotee of god Vishnu and dedicated to the service of his parents. The god
Gopala
Gopala (Bangla: গোপাল) (ruled c. 750s–770s CE) was the founder of the Pala dynasty of Bihar and Bengal regions of the Indian Subcontinent. The last morpheme of his name ''Pala'' means "protector" and was used as an ending for the name ...
-Krishna, a form of Vishnu, comes from
Govardhan
Govardhan also called Giriraj, is a key pilgrimage centre in India and a municipal town; a nagar panchayat; seat of a MLA Member of the Legislative Assembly (India), Member of Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, Uttar Pr ...
a as a cowherd, accompanied by his grazing cows, to meet Pundarika. Krishna is described as in ''digambar'' form, wearing ''makara-kundala'', the ''srivatsa'' mark, a head-dress of peacock feathers, resting his hands on his hips and keeping his cow-stick between his thighs. Pundarika asks Krishna to remain in this form on the banks of the river Chandrabhaga. He believes that Krishna's presence will make the site a ''
tirtha'' (a holy place near a water body) and a ''
kshetra
Tirtha ( sa, तीर्थ, ) is a Sanskrit word that means "crossing place, ford", and refers to any place, text or person that is holy. It particularly refers to pilgrimage sites and holy places in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
The proc ...
'' (a holy place near a temple).
[Sand (1990) pp. 41–42] The location is identified with modern-day Pandharpur, which is situated on the banks of the Chandrabhaga. The description of Krishna resembles the characteristics of the Pandharpur image of Vithoba.
The second version of the legend depicts Vithoba appearing before Pundalik as the five-year-old
Bala Krishna
Bala Krishna ( sa, बाल कृष्ण, lit=child Krishna/divine child Krishna, translit=Bālakṛṣṇa). Present day Krishna worship is an amalgam of various elements. According to historical testimonies Krishna-Vasudeva worship alread ...
(infant Krishna). This version is found in manuscripts of both Puranas, Prahlada Maharaj, and the poet-saints, notably Tukaram. The remaining version of the Pundalik legend appears in Sridhara and as a variant in the Padma Purana. Pundalik, a Brahmin madly in love with his wife, neglected his aged parents as a result. Later, on meeting sage Kukkuta, Pundalik underwent a transformation and devoted his life to the service of his aged parents. Meanwhile, one day, Krishna comes to the forest Dandivana, near Pundalik's house, in search of his angry wife
Rukmini
Rukmini ( sa, रुक्मिणी, , ) is a Hindu goddess and the first queen and chief wife of Krishna. In Vaishnava tradition, she is described as Krishna's principal queen in Dvaraka, as well as the chief of his wives. She is an inc ...
, who has left him. After some coaxing, Rukmini was pacified. Then Krishna visited Pundalik and found Pundalik serving his parents. Pundalik threw a brick outside for Krishna to stand on. Krishna stood on the brick and waited for Pundalik. After completing his services, Pundalik asked that his Lord, in the Vithoba form - waiting arms-akimbo on the brick, remain on the brick with Rukmini, in Rakhumai form, and bless his devotees forever.
[Pande (2008) p. 508]
See also
*
Panduranga Mahatyam
''Panduranga Mahatyam'' () is a 1957 Indian Telugu-language biographical film, based on the life of Pundarika, produced by N. Trivikrama Rao under the National Art Theatres banner and directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. It stars N. T. Rama Ra ...
, 1957 Telugu film based on his life story.
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
* {{cite journal, url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Wq4IAAAAQAAJ&dq=Vitthal&pg=PA64, title= On the Intermixture of Buddhism with Brahmanism in the religion of the Hindus of the Dekhan, journal = The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, volume = 7, access-date= 2008-11-04 , author = Stevenson, Rev. J, year= 1843, publisher = periodical
Royal Asiatic Society
The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...
of Great Britain and Ireland, pages= 1–8, issn = 1356-1863, location = London , doi=10.1017/s0035869x00155625
Warkari
Characters in Hindu mythology