About Waari Tradition
About Pandharpur
Pandharpur is a pilgrimage city in Solapur district of Maharashtra. It is located on the banks of River Bhima. It is located on the banks of the Bhimā river, which is alternatively known as Chandrabhāgā because of its half-moon-like shape. Pandharpur is one of the most prominent pilgrimage places in India.

Pandharpur is well-known for the Vithoba temple which gathers millions of devotees throughout the year. Pandharpur hosts four annual “yatras” including the most important one on Ashadhi Eakadashi. On this day both the palakhi’s (Sri Sant Dnyaneshwar and Sri Tukaram Maharaj) reach Pandharpur with millions of waarkaries. The pilgrimage in the month of Kārtik (October-November) attracts the next largest number of pilgrims.

Pandharpur, alternately known as Pandhari, hosts the renowned Vitthal temple on the banks of Bhimā. "Vithoba", "Pāndurang", and "Pandharināth" are the popular alternate names of the deity, Viththal, who is regarded in Hinduism as a God form of Lord Krishna, who, in turn, is considered as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Rakhumāi or Rukmini is Viththal's consort in Hinduism.

The Pandharpur temple covers a large area, and has six gates. The gate on the east side is known as the "Namdev Payari". This has been a great place to visit for devotees all over India. There are some other important holy places around Pandharpur including Tuljapur (100km from Pandharpur by road), Akkalkot (65km from Pandharpur) and Solapur (55km). Devotees from all over Maharashtra and surrounding states visit all these places at least once per year.

Pandharpur is connected to Kurduwadi railway junction by a 52km broad gauge track that was converted from narrow gauge in 2001 under project Unigauge. A train runs from Pandharpur to Mumbai through Pune. On the other side, the track remains narrow gauge to Miraj. This track has been closed for gauge conversion which is planned for completion in 2011. Pandharpur is connected to every district and major talukas in Maharashtra including Pune, Mumbai, Solapur and Sangli by bus and trains.

Solapur railway station, 72km away, is linked with almost all the metros by railway. Other religious places like Tuljapur, Akkalkot, Ganagapur can also be visited with Solapur as the base station.