Varkari tradition

History glossary

Also called: Pandharpur wari, Sants of Pandharpur · Topic: Bhakti and Sufi Traditions · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Bhakti-Sufi Traditions"

Meaning

The Varkari tradition is a Marathi bhakti (loving devotion to God) movement in Maharashtra. It grew from the 13th century around the god Vitthala (a form of Vishnu) at his temple in Pandharpur. Its saint-poets, called sants, sang devotional songs called abhangs in Marathi.

It matters because it carried bhakti from the south into western India. It also attacked caste ranking and empty ritual, and it used the people's own language, not Sanskrit.

Explanation

Background: how bhakti reached Maharashtra

  • Bhakti began in the south. Ramanuja gave Vaishnava devotion a philosophy of its own. Basavanna's Virashaiva movement in Karnataka challenged caste.
  • Tamil Vaishnava bhakti then entered the Sanskrit tradition. Its high point was the Bhagavata Purana, a Sanskrit text full of stories of Krishna's love.
  • Next it moved north-west. From the 13th century a strong bhakti tradition grew in Maharashtra, with Pandharpur at its centre.

Main features

  • One god, close to the heart: Vitthala (also called Vithoba) is a form of Vishnu. The sants taught that God lives in the heart of every person.
  • Sants, not priests: the saint-poets were called sants. Some were born into high castes and some into low castes. Women sants were part of the tradition too.
  • Abhangs: short devotional songs in Marathi, sung together by groups of devotees.
  • Against ritual and caste:
  • They rejected ritualism and showy displays of piety.

  • They rejected social differences based on birth.

  • No need to renounce the world:

  • Most sants did not become wandering monks. They lived with their families.
  • They earned a living like ordinary people and served others in need.
  • So for them, family life and devotion went together.

How it worked: the wari

  • Varkari means "one who goes on the wari". The wari is a regular pilgrimage on foot to Pandharpur.
  • Devotees walk in groups. They carry palanquins (palkhis) holding the sandals of the great sants and sing abhangs on the road.
  • This tradition still continues every year. That is why the movement is also called the Pandharpur wari.

Results

  • Religion in the people's language:
  • Jnanadeva (Jnaneshwar) wrote the Jnaneshwari, a Marathi commentary on the Bhagavad Gita.

  • Ordinary people could now hear a key Hindu text in their own tongue.

  • Influence beyond Maharashtra: verses of Namdev are included in the Guru Granth Sahib of the Sikhs.

  • Influence on sufi poetry: according to NCERT, sufis in the Deccan (around Bijapur, Karnataka) were probably inspired by the Marathi abhangs of the Pandharpur sants and by the Kannada vachanas of the Lingayats.
  • Living heritage: abhangs and the wari are still central to Marathi culture.

Time, place and evidence

  • Period: it grows from the 13th century. The great saint-poets lived roughly between the 13th and 17th centuries.
  • Place: Maharashtra. The main centre is the Vitthala temple at Pandharpur.
  • Key people:
  • Jnanadeva / Jnaneshwar: author of the Jnaneshwari.
  • Namdev: some of his verses are in the Guru Granth Sahib.
  • Eknath
  • Tukaram: the best-known writer of abhangs.
  • Women sants such as Sakhubai.

  • Chokhamela and his family, who belonged to the Mahar caste, which was treated as "untouchable".

  • How we know:

  • The sants' own abhangs in Marathi.
  • The Jnaneshwari.
  • Namdev's verses preserved in the Guru Granth Sahib.
  • The wari pilgrimage, which still continues today.

Don't confuse with

  • Vachanas (Virashaiva / Lingayat): vachanas are Kannada sayings from Basavanna's movement in Karnataka (12th century). Abhangs are Marathi songs of the Pandharpur sants (from the 13th century).
  • Vitthala temple, Hampi: a Vijayanagara temple in Karnataka, famous for its stone chariot. The Varkari shrine of Vitthala is at Pandharpur, Maharashtra.
  • Alvars and Nayanars: the early Tamil bhakti saints of the south (Alvars worshipped Vishnu, Nayanars worshipped Shiva). The Varkari sants came later and sang in Marathi.
  • Ramanuja's Shrivaishnavism: it worked inside the temple and Sanskrit tradition and rested on a formal philosophy (vishishtadvaita, "qualified non-dualism"). The Varkari sants worked through Marathi songs for ordinary people and rejected outward ritual.

Prelims Hooks

  • Pandharpur: shrine of Vitthala (a form of Vishnu). It is the centre of Maharashtra bhakti from the 13th century.
  • Abhangs = Marathi (Pandharpur sants). Vachanas = Kannada (Virashaivas).
  • Jnaneshwari: a Marathi commentary on the Bhagavad Gita by Jnanadeva (Jnaneshwar).
  • Namdev: a Varkari sant whose verses appear in the Guru Granth Sahib.
  • Chokhamela: a sant from the Mahar caste, which was treated as "untouchable". He is common proof that the movement was open to all castes.
  • Trap: the Varkari sants did not preach renunciation. They lived with their families and earned a living.

Mains Points

  • Social protest through devotion:
  • The sants came from many castes and included women and "untouchables" such as Chokhamela.
  • They rejected birth-based ranking and empty ritual.

  • This makes the Varkari tradition a standard example of bhakti challenging the Brahmanical order.

  • Language and access:

  • The Jnaneshwari and the abhangs put religious teaching into Marathi.

  • Like the Kannada vachanas, this moved religious authority away from Sanskrit and the Brahmana monopoly.

  • Movement and exchange:

  • Bhakti moved from Tamil Nadu (Ramanuja) to Karnataka (Basavanna) to Maharashtra (Pandharpur sants).
  • The Varkari tradition shows this north-west spread.
  • Namdev's verses in the Guru Granth Sahib show it reaching north India.
  • NCERT notes that Deccan sufi poets were probably inspired by the abhangs. This shows bhakti and sufi traditions shaping each other.

Related concepts

Read more

Sources

  1. 1Class 12, Ch 2 "Bhakti-Sufi Traditions" (primary)