Warkari ( Marathi: वारकरी; Pronunciation: �aːɾkəɾiː Meaning: 'The one who performs the ''Wari''') is a

sampradaya ''Sampradaya'' ( sa, सम्प्रदाय; ), in Indian origin religions, namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, can be translated as 'tradition', 'spiritual lineage', 'sect', or 'religious system'. To ensure continuity and ...

(religious movement) within the bhakti spiritual tradition of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

, geographically associated with the Indian state of Maharashtra. Warkaris worship Vitthal (also known as

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 ...

), the presiding deity of Pandharpur, regarded as a form of

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 ...

. Saints and

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

s of the bhakti movement associated with the Warkaris include

Dnyaneshwar Sant Dnyaneshwar (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ɲaːn̪eʃʋəɾ, also referred to as Jnaneshwar, Jnanadeva, Dnyandev or Mauli or Dnyaneshwar Vitthal Kulkarni (1275–1296), was a 13th-century Indian Marathi saint, poet, philosopher and yogi ...

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 li ...

Chokhamela Chokhamela was a Hindu saint in Maharashtra, India in the 14th century. He belonged to the Mahar caste, present day, which is considered one of the untouchable castes in India. He was born at Mehuna Raja, a village in Deulgaon Raja Taluka of B ...

Eknath Eknath (IAST: Eka-nātha, Marathi pronunciation: knath (1533–1599), commonly known as Sant Eknath was an Indian Hindu saint, philosopher and poet. He was a devotee of the Hindu deity Vitthal and is a major figure of the Warkari movement ...

, and

Tukaram Sant Tukaram Maharaj (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ukaːɾam was a 17th-century Marathi poet, Hindu ''sant'' (saint), popularly known as Tuka, Tukobaraya, Tukoba in Maharashtra. He was a Sant of Varkari sampradaya (Marathi-Vaishnav tradition) ...

, Gadge Maharaj all of whom are accorded the title of Sant. Recent research has suggested that the Varkaris were historically the followers of VITHHAL & RAKHUMAI(विठ्ठल आणि रखुमाई).

Influence

The Warkari tradition has been part of Hindu culture in Maharashtra since the thirteenth-century CE, when it formed as a ''panth'' (community of people with shared spiritual beliefs and practices) during the Bhakti movement. Warkaris recognise around fifty poet-saints ('' sants'') whose works over a period of 500 years were documented in an eighteenth-century hagiography 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 ...

. The Warkari tradition regards these sants to have a common spiritual line of descent.

Practices

The Warkari movement includes the worship of Vithoba and a duty-based approach towards life emphasising moral behavior and strict avoidance of alcohol and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

, the adoption of sattvic diet, a modified

lacto-vegetarian A lacto-vegetarian (sometimes referred to as a lactarian; from the Latin root lact-, ''milk'') diet is a diet that abstains from the consumption of meat as well as eggs, while still consuming dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, ...

diet that excludes onion and garlic and fasting on ''

Ekadashi Ekadashi () is the eleventh lunar day (''tithi'') of each of the two lunar phases which occur in an Vedic calendar month - the '' Shukla Pakṣa'' (the period of the brightening moon also known as the waxing phase) and the ''Kṛṣṇa Pakṣ ...

'' day (twice a month), self-restraint ('' celibacy'') during student life, equality and humanity for all rejecting discrimination based on the caste system or wealth, the reading of Hindu texts, the recitation of the ''

Haripath The Haripath is a collection of twenty-eight ''abhangas'' (poems) revealed to the thirteenth-century Marathi Saint, Dnyaneshwar. It is recited by Varkaris each day. The Haripath consists of a series of 28 ecstatic musical poems or Abhangs which re ...

'' every day and the regular practice of '' bhajan'' and '' kirtan''. The Warkaris wear tulashi-mala, a rosary made from the wood of the sacred Tulsi ( Ocimum sanctum L.) plant. The Warkari men may be known by their three upright brow lines, a black between two white gopichandan or white clay and sandal-paste lines which is also popular with other Vaishnavaite devotees. Varkaris look upon God as the Ultimate Truth and ascertained grades of values in social life but accept ultimate equality among men. Varkaris bow in front of each other because "everybody is Brahma" and stressed individual sacrifice, forgiveness, simplicity, peaceful co-existence, compassion, non-violence, love and humility in social life. The Warkari poet-saints are known for their devotional lyrics, the abhang, dedicated to Vithoba and composed in Marathi. Other devotional literature includes the Kannada hymns of the Haridasa, and Marathi versions of the generic aarti songs associated with rituals of offering light to the deity. Notable saints and

s of the Warkaris include

Jñāneśvar Sant Dnyaneshwar (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ̪ɲaːn̪eʃʋəɾ, also referred to as Jnaneshwar, Jnanadeva, Dnyandev or Mauli or Dnyaneshwar Vitthal Kulkarni (1275–1296), was a 13th-century Indian people, Indian Marathi pe ...

, and

, all of whom are accorded the title of Sant.

Pilgrimages

Warkari people undertake an annual pilgrimage called ''wari'', to Pandharpur, gathering there on ''Ekadashi'' (the 11th day) of the Hindu

lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, t ...

month of Ashadha, corresponding to a date falling sometime between late June to July in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

. Pilgrims carry

Palkhi The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the el ...

of the saints from their places of '' Samadhi'' (Enlightenment or "spiritual birth"). The tradition of carrying the ''paduka'' (sandals) of the sants in a Palkhi was started by the youngest son of

, Narayan Maharaj, in 1685. Further changes were brought to the pilgrimage by descendants of Tukaram in the 1820s and by Haibatravbaba, a courtier of the

Scindia The Scindia dynasty (anglicized from Shinde) is a Hindu Maratha dynasty of maratha origin that ruled the erstwhile State of Gwalior. It had the Patil-ship of Kumberkerrab in Wai. It was founded by Ranoji Scindia, who started as a personal serva ...

s and devotee of Dnyaneshwar. Devotees of Vitthal were holding pilgrimages prior to the 14th century. In the present day, about 40 palkhis and their devotees from all over Maharashtra do so. Another pilgrimage is celebrated on the ''Ekadashi'' of the month of Kartika, which falls in November of the Gregorian Calendar. Events such as ''Ringan'' and ''Dhava'' are held during the pilgrimage. During the ''Ringan'', an unmounted sacred horse called Maulincha Ashva, who is believed to be the soul of the saint whose idol is being carried in the litter, runs through the rows of pilgrims, who try catching the dust particles kicked off and smear their head with the same. ''Dhava'' is another kind of race where everyone wins and it is held to commemorate the manner in which Tukaram first saw the temple at Pandharpur and started running in sheer exhilaration.

Influence

Practices

Pilgrimages

References

Further reading