Saint namdev

Pandharpur is a large town on the banks of Bhima river, or Chandrabhaga as it is locally known. It is referred to in ancient texts by various names such as Pandhari, Pandurangapur, Phaganipur, Pundarik Kshetra. It is impossible to trace the original forms from which these derivatives have been evolved. Some call it bhu-vaikuntha, “the spiritual world on earth.” Others call it Dakshina Dvaraka, the Dvaraka of the South. Because of the way the river bends as it reaches Pandharpur, it is known as the Candrabhaga (“crescent moon”). For the devotees of Vitthala, this river is as holy as the Ganges. Along the riverbank are fourteen ghatas, or bathing places. The main one is Maha Dvara Ghata. There is a short street that links this ghata to the eastern gate of the Vitthala temple. The “Vi” in Lord Vithoba’s name denotes knowledge and “Thoba” denotes shape. He is the shape of knowledge or the deity of knowledge. Another interpretation is that the word “Vitthala” is said to be derived from the Marathi word “Vit”, meaning brick. The reason behind the brick will be explained later in this article. “Ba” is used to denote “father” in Marathi. The specialty of this temple is the position in which Lord Vittal is found. His hands are placed on his hips and the expression of this posture shows that he is enjoying the bhajans of his devotees. Reconstruction of the historical development of Vithoba worship has been much debated. In particular, several alternative theories have been proposed ...

Saint Namdev Maharaj is an extraordinary and great devotee of Shri Vitthal. On the occasion of His death anniversary let us pay respects charged with spiritual emotion to the idol of Shri Vitthal in His home in Pandharpur. When Saint Namdev was a child his father told him, “Today you offer naivedya (offering of food) to God”. Namdev complied and waited for God to eat it. Pleased with the child, Deity Vitthal appeared before him and ate the naivedya offered to him. The lines from the Holy verse ‘Deity Pandurang dances gracefully as Namdev sings His glory’ expresses the state of devotion and spiritual emotion of Saint Namdev. Once as Saint Namdev Maharaj was eating, a dog snatched the chapati from His hands. The Saint ran after him with a bowl of ghee so that the dog need not have to eat it dry. Saint Namdev who remained in constant communion with God saw Deity Vitthal even in that dog ! All His life Saint Namdev Maharaj preached the Name of God. On His own He performed the act of travelling till Punjab to preach the Bhagwat Dharma. His compositions of around 2500 devotional songs (abhangs) are well-known. He has composed around 125 songs in Hindi out of which 62 have been imbibed into the Holy text of the Sikhs, the ‘Gurugrantha Sahib’ as ‘Namdevjiki Mukhabani’ in Gurumukhi. Saint Namdev is considered as the pioneer in writing His autobiography and biographies in Marathi. Through three chapters in His composition ‘Adi, Samadhi ani Tirthavali’ He has unraveled the biography ...

Shimpi is an umbrella term for the Occupation The traditional occupation of the community is tailoring or cloth printing. They are referred to as " Shimpi" in Chimpi" in Government classification The Shimpi are included in the central list of Varna As per Notables • • [ citation needed] • [ citation needed] • [ citation needed] References • ^ a b c Anne Murphy (12 March 2012). Time, History and the Religious Imaginary in South Asia. Routledge. p.122. 978-1-136-70729-2. • (PDF). • Novetzke, Christian Lee (2013). Religion and Public Memory: A Cultural History of Saint Namdev in India. Columbia University Press. p.55. 978-0-23151-256-5.