Ashadhi Ekadashi is the eleventh day of the bright half of Ashadh and the greatest day of the Marathi year for the devotees of Vitthal. For three weeks before it, hundreds of thousands of Warkaris walk some two hundred and fifty kilometres to Pandharpur behind palanquins that carry the silver sandals of the saints: Dnyaneshwar's from Alandi, Tukaram's from Dehu. On Ekadashi they bathe in the Chandrabhaga and see the god.
The story
Vitthal stands on a brick with his hands on his hips, waiting. The story is that he came to visit his devotee Pundalik, who was busy serving his aged parents and, not wanting to break off, tossed out a brick for the god to stand on. He is waiting still.
The Wari is seven hundred years old or more. The saints who walked it, Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Eknath, Tukaram, Chokhamela, Janabai, came from every caste, and their abhangs in Marathi are what the walkers sing all the way.
पुंडलिक वरदा हरि विठ्ठल! श्री ज्ञानदेव तुकाराम! पंढरीनाथ महाराज की जय!
Hari Vitthal, who granted Pundalik his wish! Shri Dnyandev, Tukaram! Victory to the Lord of Pandhari!
The call and answer of the Warkaris
How it is kept
- The dindiPilgrims walk in organised groups, each with its flag, veena, cymbals and mridang.
- RinganAt set halts the walkers form a great ring, and a riderless horse, said to carry the saint, gallops round it.
- The fastKept across Maharashtra, on sabudana, peanuts, potato and varai.
- MahapujaBefore dawn the Chief Minister of the state performs the first worship, with a Warkari couple chosen from the queue.
- TulsiA tulsi plant is carried on the head by women pilgrims the whole way.
Why this date
Ashadhi Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the bright half of Ashadh. The fast is on the day Ekadashi is present at sunrise, placed so that it can be broken during Dwadashi.
Ashadhi Ekadashi in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Saturday | |
| 2027 | Wednesday | |
| 2028 | Sunday | |
| 2029 | Saturday | |
| 2030 | Thursday | |
| 2031 | Tuesday |
More Marathi festivals
18 JulyGuru Purnimaगुरुपौर्णिमा
17 AugustNarali Purnima and Raksha Bandhanनारळी पौर्णिमा · रक्षाबंधन
8 MayAkshaya Tritiyaअक्षय्य तृतीया
20 AprilHanuman Jayantiहनुमान जयंती
15 AprilRam Navamiश्रीराम नवमी
24 AugustGokulashtami and Dahi Handiगोकुळाष्टमी · दहीहंडी
Where to see Ashadhi Ekadashi
In Maharashtra
- Vitthal Temple, PandharpurMaharashtraThe end of the road: the town of a hundred thousand receives ten times that number.
- AlandiMaharashtraWhere Dnyaneshwar took samadhi, and from where his palkhi sets out.
- DehuMaharashtraTukaram's village on the Indrayani, the start of the other great palkhi.
- Wadala Vitthal Temple, MumbaiMaharashtraCalled the Pandharpur of Mumbai, for those who cannot make the journey.
Across India
- PuriOdishaThe deities are dressed in gold on their chariots.
- SrirangamTamil NaduThe great temple of the sleeping Vishnu, whose four-month rest begins today.
- HampiKarnatakaThe ruined Vitthala temple of Vijayanagara, with its stone chariot.