Varkari

{{Short description|Krishnaite Vaishnava Spiritual Sect}} {{refimprove|date=November 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}} {{Use Indian English|date=June 2025}}

{{Infobox religious group |group = Vārkari Vaishnavism |image = File:Pandharpur 2013 Aashad - panoramio (10) (cropped).jpg |caption = The Vithoba Temple one of the 108 Abhimana Kshethram of Vaishnavate tradition | scriptures = Bhagavad Gita, Dnyaneshwari, Eknathi Bhagwat, Brahma Sutra, Pancharatra, Vedas, Upanishads |regions = India | religions = Vaishnavism (Hinduism) |languages = Marathi, Sanskrit, Konkani }}

'''Vārkari''' ({{IPAc-en|w|ɑːr|k|ər|i}} {{respell|VAR|kə|ree}}; Marathi: {{lang|mr|वारकरी}}; Pronunciation: {{IPA|mr|ʋaːɾkəɾiː}}) meaning: 'The one who performs the ''Vari''' is a sampradaya (religious movement) within the Bhakti spiritual tradition of Hinduism, geographically associated with the Indian state of Maharashtra. Varkaris worship Krishna as Vitthal (also known as Vithoba), the presiding deity of Pandharpur, regarded as a form of Vishnu, and his consort Rukmini as Rakhumai (also known as Rahi), regarded as a form of Lakshmi. Saints and gurus of the bhakti movement associated with the tradition include Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Chokhamela, Eknath, and Tukaram, all of whom are accorded the title of Sant.<ref>{{cite book|title=Maharashtra State Gazetteers: General Series, Volume 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e0FuAAAAMAAJ|page=19|publisher=Maharashtra (India), Directorate of Government Printing, Stationery and Publications|year=1971|quote=The Vaishnavism developed in Maharashtra as a special form which goes under the name of the Varkari sampradaya.}}</ref> The Varkaris acknowledge and accept the oneness of Vishnu with other deities like Shiva, Shakti, and Ganesha, building upon the principles of Advaita Vedanta.

== Influence == The Vārkari 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. Vārkari recognize around fifty poet-saints (''Sants'') whose works over a period of 500 years were documented in an eighteenth-century hagiography by Mahipati. The Vārkari tradition regards these sants to have a common spiritual line of descent.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Sants: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of Pakistan |editor1-first=Karine |editor1-last=Schomer |editor2-first=W. H. |editor2-last=McLeod |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1987 |isbn=9788120802773 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OkKhOivXrhgC |pages=3–4}}</ref>

== Practices == thumb|left|Thousands taking part in'' Ashadhi Vari ''(vārkari) an annual religious padayatra at Dive Ghat, Maharashtra, 2022 The Vārkari movement includes the worship of Krishna as Vitthal and a duty-based approach towards life emphasising moral behavior and strict avoidance of alcohol and tobacco, the adoption of sattvic diet, a modified lacto-vegetarian diet that excludes onion and garlic and fasting on ''Ekadashi'' day (twice a month), self-restraint (''celibacy'') during student life, equality and humanity for all rejecting discrimination based on the caste system, gender or wealth, the reading of Hindu texts, the recitation of the ''Haripath'' every day and the regular practice of ''Bhajan'' and ''Kirtan''.<ref name="Reference is in Marathi language">{{cite book|last1=Dikshit|first1=S H|title=Varkari|date=1971|publisher=Marathi Vishwakosh|location=Wai Maharashtra|url=http://marathivishwakosh.maharashtra.gov.in/khandas/khand16/index.php/23-2015-01-15-05-35-16/9948-2012-12-05-07-28-23?showall=1&limitstart=|access-date=3 April 2015}}</ref>{{sfn|Glushkova|2000|pp=47–58}} The Varkaris wear tulashi-mala, a rosary made from the wood of the sacred Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum L.) plant. The Varkari 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.<ref>{{cite book|title=Maharashtra State Gazetteers, Volume 23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0hFuAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Directorate of Government Print., Stationery and Publications, Maharashtra State|year=1977|page=947|quote=The Vaishnav Varkaris may be known by their three upright brow lines, a black between two white gopichandan or white clay and sandal-paste lines.}}</ref> Varkaris look upon God as the Ultimate Truth and ascertained grades of values in social life but accept ultimate equality among men. Varkaris bow to each other because "Everyone has God's soul in them" and stress individual sacrifice, forgiveness, simplicity, peaceful co-existence, compassion, non-violence, love and humility in social life.<ref name="Kosambi2000">{{cite book|editor=Meera Kosambi |author-first=Irene |author-last=Glushkova |title=Intersections: Socio-cultural Trends in Maharashtra|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XU8dmAiaZSgC&pg=PA47|year=2000|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-250-1878-0|page=53|chapter=Norms and values in Varkari tradition}}</ref> The vārkari 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 gurus of the vārkaris include Jñāneśvar, Namdev, Chokhamela, Eknath, and Tukaram, all of whom are accorded the title of Sant.

{{Vaishnavism}}

==Pilgrimages== Vārkaris undertake an annual pilgrimage called v''ari'', to Pandharpur, gathering there on ''Ekadashi'' (the 11th day) of the Hindu lunar calendar month of Ashadha, corresponding to a date falling sometime between late June to July in the Gregorian calendar. Pilgrims carry Palkhi 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 Tukaram, 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 Scindias and devotee of god Vitthal.<ref>{{cite web|title=The wari tradition|url=http://www.warisantanchi.com/english/parampara2.html|website=Wari Santanchi|access-date=8 September 2014|archive-date=8 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908230750/http://www.warisantanchi.com/english/parampara2.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Mokashi|first1=Digambar Balkrishna |translator-last=Engblom |translator-first=Philip C |title=Palkhi: An Indian Pilgrimage|date=1987|publisher=State University of New York Press |location=Albany |isbn=0-88706-461-2|page=18|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-5vIv4oxeh4C&pg=PA1}}</ref>

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.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071001031921/http://www.hindu.com/mag/2005/07/31/stories/2005073100130200.htm Hindu.com] and page 21 of [http://www.vidyaonline.net/arvindgupta/introhisddk.pdf VidyaOnline.net] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927010609/http://www.vidyaonline.net/arvindgupta/introhisddk.pdf |date=2007-09-27 }}</ref> Another pilgrimage is celebrated on the ''Ekadashi'' of the month of Kartika, which falls in November of the Gregorian Calendar.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vishwavarakarisamsthan |url=https://www.vishwavarakarisamsthan.com/varkari-sampraday |access-date=2025-10-04 |website=www.vishwavarakarisamsthan.com}}</ref>

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.{{sfn|Mokashi|1987|page=264|}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

== Further reading == *{{cite journal |url= http://www.ic.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/pdf/276.pdf |title= The Vithoba Faith of Maharashtra: The Vithoba Temple of Pandharpur and Its Mythological Structure | journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies |volume=15 |issue=2–3 |first=Shima |last=Iwao |date=June–September 1988 |publisher=Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture |pages=183–197 |issn=0304-1042 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326062749/http://www.ic.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/pdf/276.pdf |archive-date=2009-03-26}} *Turner, Victor. "The Center out There: Pilgrim’s Goal." ''History of Religions'', vol. 12, no. 3, 1973, pp. 191–230. ''JSTOR'', {{JSTOR|1062024}}. Accessed 23 Oct. 2022. ==External links== {{commonscat|Varkari}}

Category:Warkari Category:13th-century establishments in India Category:Anti-caste movements Category:Bhakti-era Hindu sects Category:Hinduism in Maharashtra Category:Krishnaite Vaishnava denominations Category:Sects that require vegetarianism Category:Sant Mat Category:Vaishnava sects