Glories Of Pandaripur

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Glories Of Pandaripur

Once Suta, the prince of the Powranikas, was asked by Sownaka and other

sages to tell them of a place possessing the three qualities of " Kshetra,

Thirtha, and Godly presence." He said that the same question was put by God

Kumaraswamy to Lord Siva and then narrated the following as once told by

Lord Siva to Kumaraswamy, Agastya and Parvati.

To the south of the river Bhima, there lies the Panduranga Kshetra. Once a

Brahmin by name Pundarika lived there. He possessed all the good qualities.

Though rich, he had no glamour for worldly splendour. He was a sanyasi in

the midst of worldly life. His wife was a fitting partner to him, endowed

with all chaste qualities.

Possessed of many servants, Pundarika himself attended on his parents and

received the guests. After puja to Lord, he used to feed his parents first,

then the guests, and afterwards he would take his daily meal. His wife would

take her food last.

After some time Pundarika's parents passed away, in peace, and he was

blessed with children who enjoyed life without any want. Then he removed

himself to a hut, spent his days in deep meditation on Lord Sri Hari with

penance and austetity. Pleased with such pure devotion, Lord Sri Hari

appeared before Pundarika and asked him to name a boon that He would grant.

Pundarika was overjoyed at this and out of pure selflessness implored God to

grant that the spot on which Sri Hari was giving darsan to him should bs

sanctified with Thirtha, Moorthy and Kshethra and He would give darsan to

devotees in the very from as He then appeared to him. Lord Sri Hari was

immediately pleased with this selflessness and readily granted the boon.

Lord Sri Hari further said that the place would bear His name and henceforth

be called Pandaripur and Panduranga Kshetra, and he would be known as

Panduranga, that the river Bhima would be a sacred Thirtha, and thus the

locality would be great in having a combination of Thirta, Kshethra and

Godly presence. God is thus revealing Himself at Pandaripur as Tri-Moorthi

as Brahma in the morning, as Shiva at noon and as Vishnu in the evening.

The place has thus become great and religiously important. It is said that

Maharishis offer worship to the Trinity there. It is also a firm belief that

whoever offers worship to God Panduranga in sixteen ways is blessed with

happiness and prosperity in this life and with Moksha after death.

It is stated that the above results follow if one carefully observes the

following ways of worship. First the Tirtha, and then the Moorthy

should be worshiped. The peepul Aswattha tree on the banks of the

Padma Tirtha is sacred on account of its being worshipped by Gods as the

dwelling place of Nara Narayana and that tree should be worshipped.

Besides there are other Tirthas, known as Gundali, Narasimha,

Agastya, Ganapati, Kalafa. Senna, Brahma and Chakra. Those who take

bath in the above tirthas are said to be rid of all sins and also enable

their ancestors to attain salvation.

There are one or two stories connected with this Panduranga Kshetra, which

will illustrate the above mentioned aspects.

Once there was a Brahmin by name Nigama Sarma at Peetikapura.

He drove out his parents and wife, who sought refuge in his sister's

house. Nigama Sarma was addicted to prostitutes, who gradually knocked

out all his riches and made him a beggar. Not inclined to leave off his

evil habits he took to highway robbery and kept dancing girls. This too

could not continue for long. He had to go to his sister's house. There

he was well received by his sister and advised to behave well

towards his wife and parents. For some time everything went on well.

Sometime after, Nigama Sarma began to think of his early life at

Peetikapura, and one night he skulked away with the valuable jewellery

of his sister. But on his way he was robbed and beaten up by thieves.

He was given refuge by a cultivator who took him to his house. There he

was well looked after by the farmer and his wife. Soon he became his

former self and appeared handsome. The farmer's wife came to

entertain lively thoughts on him. Nigama Sarma came to know of this

affection and secretly loved her. In the absence of the husband in

another village, Nigama Sarma eloped with his wife, settled down in a

hunter's village and lived a hunter's life. The farmer's

wife bore him a son.

But Nigama Sarma felt remorse for his evil life. One night he ran away to

Narasimha Tirtha. There he lay dying. Yamadootas came to take his soul. But

they were prevented by Lord Narasimha's Chakra. He attained Moksha. Though

he was a great sinner, his death at the sacred place of Narasimha Tirtha

absolved him of all his sins and earned him salvation.

The sacred town lies at a distance of 32 miles from Kurduwadi

junction. It is noted for devotees like Pundarika, Janabai, Namdev,

Tukaram, Jnaneswar, Eknath and Chokamela. They dedicated

their lives to Vittoba. This is why the town has been held in great

veneration for ages.

The remarkable feature of the Vittoba temple is that all pilgrims,

irrespective of caste, creed, or sex, are permitted to touch the feet of the

image of Vittoba at the time of darsan.

It is firmly believed that God Vittoba is responsive to prayers of devotees

immediately and this accounts for thousands of pilgrims who visit the temple

in and out of season.

I have visited this holy town on nine or ten occasions. But the craving for

another visit is not diminished in me, as Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said that

"God pervades the Universe everywhere, but you cannot see him everywhere, He

manifests Himself more readily in sacred temples which are full of the

spirit of devotion, diffused by the life and spiritual practices of the

devotees of former times."

Sai Baba also often declared, " I am at Pandaripur." This was witnessed by

Tatya Patel at Pandaripur when he visited the Vittoba temple. Tatya Patel

was the chief devotee of Sri Sai Baba.

Saint Sayings

Live humbly but nobly, braving all the storms of life with implicit trust in

God and His dispensation.

H. H. SWAMI KESAVAIAHJI'S SELECTION

 

(Adopted from the Book Pearls of Wisdom by His Holiness Swami Kesavaiahji)