Mystery of Lord Vitthala solved!

But the fact remains that "Paundrank Vitthala" (who later became famous as "Pandurang Vitthala") was a historical figure belonging to the Pundra clan, which was declared by Vedics as Shudra and non-Vedik since ancient times. It is ironic that the same Vedics have become chief priests of Lord Vitthala…!

Lord Vitthala of Pandharpur has always been an enigma to scholars. The worship of Lord Vitthala dates back to a minimum of 11th century AD. It is believed that it is even more antique. The saints like Namdeo, Dnyaneshwar, and Tukaram believe that the idol of Lord Vitthala is as ancient as the universe is. The devotees of Lord Vitthala have been worshipping him as a manifestation of Lord Vishnu or Krishna. The Varkari (Devotees of Lord Vitthala) call themselves Vaishnava’s, the cult of Vishnu. Still, Lord Vitthala is an enigma because of the following reasons:

a. Lord Vitthala’s name is nowhere to be found in the list of Vishnu’s 1000 names or in his 24 reincarnations and the saints and devotees had and has this knowledge still he is called as “Vishnu who appeared on the banks of Chandrabhaga river, naked, stood arms akimbo.”. Same time Saints believe He is Krishna, in a pastoral attire, came to Pandharpur for the great devotee “Pundarik”, who was eternally busy in service of his parents. Also, there is another story told about the appearance of Krishna at Pandharpur. The story goes like this: As Rukmini, consort of Krishna saw Radha, a mythical lover of Krishna, sitting on his lap, she got angered. In a rage, she left Mathura and came in recluse at Pandharpur. To please her, Krishna, along with his pastoral mates came to Gopalpura, a village near Pandharpur, and in pastoral attire went alone to meet Rukmini. Another explanation of Krishna’s visit and his eternal abode at Pandharpur is told that Krishna visited Pandharpura to seduce a beautiful Princess named the Padma. All these stories appear to be concocted as there is no consistency in them. The real form of Vitthala remains a mystery.

b. Many scholars like Dr. Manikrao Dhanpalwar have tried to prove that this sacred place was originally Shaivait before it was converted to a Vaishnav shrine. This is because the actual temple of Devotee Pundarik is a Shiva temple. It is the belief of devotees that on the head of Lord Vitthala is Shiva linga. Many saints like even Dnyanehwar recognize Lord Vitthala as Shiva as well as Vishnu.

c. According to Dr. R.C.Dhere, Vitthala originally was a minor God of pastoral communities, named as Ital, who rose high as supreme God as his character was elevated in a Vaishnav form by the Sthalapurana’s (Local mythological scripts) According to him He was first elevated as Shaivait and in a later course, He was related with Vishnu and Krishna to adorn him a Vaishnav character.


Without going into much detail about various opinions of the scholars and imaginative forms that were seen by Saints in the intoxication of their devotion we can deduce that Lord Vitthala is the only God in Maharashtra whose origin cannot be traced in any mythological texts. There is no explanation for the word “Vitthala”. No origin of this word is found as yet. Some scholars have tried to prove that Vitthala is a local form of the Sanskrit word “Vishnu.” Some have tried to connect his name to the Kannada language word “Bittiga” or “Bittarasa.” But these explanations are lame as in Karnataka and even in Tamilnadu, there are temples those are called only aa Vitthala (or Vitthaleshvar) only, and not Bittiga.

The facts about present Pandharpura are as follows:

a. Pandharpura was known as Pundrik Kshetra since ancient times.
b. The city name Pandharpur is a corrupt form of the original Pundrikpur.
c. The mausoleum of Devotee Pundarik is in fact a Shiva temple, which can be still seen clearly. The temple was famous as “Pundrikeshwar” in the ancient past which is clearly stated in Pudma and Skanda Purana. Pundrikeshwar means “Lord of Pundrik or Pundariks”
d. The idols of so-called Krishna’s consorts are located at different temples. In fact, they have no relation with Lord Vitthal.


Looking at the above, instead of searching for Vitthal, I thought it better to find a historical link or lineage of Pundarik. This was so as the city is named after Pundarik, the Vitthala’s main and popular epithet is Panduranga which is clearly a corrupt form of Paundranka and the Shiva temple is called “Pundrikeshwar”

In Shaivait’s it is a practice that Lord Shiva is named either after a great devotee or society or builder of the temple. Lord of Asur Mahabal in Mahabaleshwar. Lord of Poona is Puneyshwar. The similar way “Pundrikeshwar” means lord of Pundrik.

The historians were busy finding historical Pundarik. There are various individuals named "Pundarik" in Hindu mythologies, but they could relate no one with Devotee Pundarik of Pandharpur.

Also, it is clear that there never was a devotee named Pundarik in any era for whom Lord Krishna appeared at Pandharpur. Historians completely agree with this fact. Also, they cannot explain why Krishna’s name was changed to Vitthala (as it would be impossible) and by which process, and why it could be so when Krishna is Krishna everywhere in India.

The Historians were misled because they didn’t see what was just standing before them. Or they didn’t want to see it for the reasons best known to them.

However, we can safely assume now that the place Pandharpur was historically known as Pundrikpur. (Kannada form "Pandarage" is clearly corrupted from the Kannad expression "Pudarike")The area was known as Pundrika Kshetra (region). Vitthala’s main epithet is "Paundrank"… for the sake of simplicity was converted to "Pandurang". This threefold labyrinth makes the whole thing clear.

HISTORICAL PUNDRA’S

Among many societies in ancient India were Pundras. The first reference to Pundra can be traced in Aitereya Brahmin, a sacred text explaining Rig Veda. There is a story of sage Vishwamitra. King Harishandra of his time had no child. He worshipped Lord Asura Varuna and begot a boon and in turn, he promised Varuna that he will sacrifice his son to him. He had a son, named Rohit. As his son, Rohit became younger, Harichandra started postponing Rohit's sacrifice for his love for Rohit. On this Varuna got angry and punished Harischandra with severe pains in the stomach. When Rohit came to know the reason, Rohit went to the sage Ajeegarta and bought his son Shunahshep as an alternate sacrifice. When Vishwamitra saw Shunahshep bound to the sacrificial pillar in a pitiable condition, Vishwamitra took mercy upon him and freed him. He named him as Devrata and asked his 101 sons to treat and respect him as their elder brother. The elder 50 sons denied accepting Devrata as their elder brother. On this Vishwamitra got enraged and cursed his fifty sons that “They shall become shudra and shall seek the shelter of Pundra’s, Aundra’s, Shabar and Mutibs, the shudra kings of southern India. In an alternative version, it is stated that his son went to the south and formed Pundra, Aundra, and other dynasties.

Another reference to Pundra we can find in Ramayana, in which, Bhargava Rama had subjugated Pundra.

In Jain Ramayana, the story goes like this. When Rama deserted Seeta, she was taken to the shelter by Pundrik king of Pundrapur, where Seeta delivered Luv & Kush.

Another ancient story tells us that Aundra’s and Pundra along with other clans belonged to the Lord of Asura, King Bali.

In Mahabharata, there are several stories related to Pundra. The kingdom of Pundra was located in the Northern part of Bengal and was powerful. They were allies of Emperor Jarasangha, an Asura King, to whom Krishna got crookedly killed at the hands of Bheema.

That time there ruled a king who called himself “Purushottama” and was said to be copied the attire of Krishna. People of his kingdom would call him “ Paundrank Vassudeo”. He opposed Krishna’s claim that He was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. In later times, in a battle, Paundrank Vasudeo was killed at the hands of Krishna.

In the Mahabharat battle, Pundras were united to fight against Pandavas. After that annihilating war, many Pundras migrated toward the south and formed their kingdoms. Mahabharata too calls them Shudra’s, non-Vedik’s. Originally Pundra, Aundra, Vanga, Shabar, and Kalinga were sons of Great Asur King Bali, who is still worshipped throughout India. This does mean that the Pundra clan originated from Asur Bali. No wonder Pundra's were despised by the Vedik Brahmins.

Aundra established their kingdom in Odisha and Andhra. The nouns Odisha and Andhra are the later transformations of the original Aundra. Pundras were closely related to them. Pundras first capital was Pundranagara in the Pundrikvardhan kingdom, in North Bengal. At Mahasthangarh ruins of that ancient city have been found. Several branches of Pundra’s migrated to the south.

There are at least three known Pundrikpur’s in the south. Pandharpur (Originally Pundrikpur or Pundrapur) could be first settlement/kingdom of Pundra in south India, as this is a bordering city of Karnataka and is in Maharashtra. The ancient name of the city of Tiruvarur and Chidambaram too was known as Pundrikpur and they too are famous Shaivait pilgrimages. This does prove that the Pundras ruled some parts of the south as well along with their alleys Aundra. Satvahana’s, the first known dynasty of Maharashtra, that ruled from 2nd century BC till 3rd century AD belonged to the Aundra (Andhra) clan. Aundra’s too were Shiva worshippers and this fact is evident from the fact that Andhra Pradesh and even Maharashtra are crowded with ancient Shiva shrines.

It can be safely deduced that Pundra’s first settlement was at Pundrikpur (Pundrapur) alias Pandharpur. Pundras too were Shaivik, like most of Asura’s in mythological India. They established a temple and lingam of Shiva which naturally was called “Pundrikeshwara” (Lord of Pundrika’s.)

Hence it is clear that there was never existed an individual Brahmin devotee called Pundarik for whom Krishna or Vishnu rushed to this place. This is not at all a historical figure. In fact, Pundrika was an independent society, that worshipped Lord Shiva, and thus erected the Shiva temple calling it “Pundrikeshwar”, Lord of Pundras.

Now it will become clear, who Lord Vitthala is.

The main epithet of Vitthala is Pandurang. To date, the meaning of Pandurang was taken verbatim…Fair/white complexioned. Also, it was another name for Lord Shiva too. This baffled scholars as if Vitthala is a manifestation of Krishna, who is black in color and so Vishnu too is and as Vitthala is called as black, how come that he is called Pandurang (fair-complexioned) from ancient times? In fact, the old Puranik texts are known as “Pandurang Mahatmya” (Glory of Pandurang), not as Vitthal Mahatmya!

But now we know that the root of the noun Pandurang lay elsewhere. We now know that Pundra people referred to themselves as “Paundrank” (Pundra people) at least from Epical times. This solves the mystery of why Vitthal is called Pandurang (Root “Paundrank”). This only means that Vitthal himself was from the Pundra clan, a great devotee, and most probably the founder of Pundrikpur. Vitthal was his name; hence there is no need to find its origin elsewhere. Paundrank Vitthal remained Pandurang Vitthal throughout. The Vitthal idol must have been laid by his successors in his memories. There was a custom among Aundra Satvahana’s as well as in many other dynasties to have erected idols of their predecessor kings. Hence there is no wonder why the idol of Paundrank Vitthal was erected near the Pundrikeshwar Shiva temple.

It is told by the scholars that the first temple around the Vitthal idol was built during the 12th century when the Yadava dynasty ruled Maharashtra from Devgiri. Till then the idol stood in the wilderness of nature. Vitthal till then was a secondary God at Pandharpur. The main worshipping place still was famous as Pundrik kshetra or Pundrikeshwar.

How the idol of Pandrank king Vitthala could have been elevated as a manifestation of Vishnu or Krishna is another story. We should keep in mind that the Yadava dynasty related their bloodline to Lord Krishna. Pundras too were noted herdsmen from ancient times. The ancient enmity between Pundra’s and Yadava’s must have been forgotten by then or it was a distant, vague memory. The idol of Vitthala was and is dark black, head attire of a herdsman, and though not exactly the same but partially similar attributes of Krishna and Vishnu, such as conch and flower, in Vitthala’s hands, making it suitable to correlate Vitthala with Krishna and the same time with Vishnu. It suited the purpose of Yadava kings as the sanctity of the place was already known and was a pilgrimage. In all probability, to get huge donations from Yadava kings, the Brahmin community created a mythical God from a historical persona. They composed verses creating various stories to elevate Vitthala as a Vaishnav God. Yadava kings helped build the first temple. Later on, many southern kings donated villages as well as money to this temple. We can see that from known history and many inscriptions found at Pandharpur.

It is fact that in 12th-century memories of Pundra itself had become distant as they were seized to be rulers and had degraded to a pastoral, fishermen, and other shudra community. Still, they maintained their right to Puja of Pundrikeshwar. This fact is evident that till this date Mahadev Koli (Fishermen) community has the right to perform sacred rituals at Pundrikeshwar temple though Vitthala has been kidnapped by Vedics for the last 8 centuries.

Gradually by the 13th century, people started accepting a Vaishnav form of Vitthala. The Saints like Namdeo, Dnyaneshwar to Tukaram wove their life around Vitthala and saw in Vitthala a brother, father, friend, and a compassionate Lord who could bless them with ultimate salvation. Thus the cult of Vitthala spread so much so that He has become the main god in the pantheon of Hindu gods in Maharashtra.

But the fact remains that "Paundrank Vitthala" was a historical figure belonging to the Pundra clan, who was declared by Vedics as Shudra and non-Vedik in ancient history. It is ironic that the same Vedics have become chief priests of Lord Vitthala…!