A short pilgrimage

 

I have been away from writing for nearly two weeks. Not that there wasn’t anything to write about. Just got caught up in a few pressing matters. Yesterday I had a presentation on cancer prevention to make in Baramati at a leadership conference for 1500 school and college girls from all districts of Maharashtra. Was busy preparing for that assignment. In the midst of this and other things I managed a two days outing to a few places of worship that I had wanted to visit for some time. I got an invitation from extended family in Pandharpur to attend a special event last Saturday marking the conclusion of Shakambari Devi Navratra on Paush Poornima( full moon day). Since I was going there I added a few more places into my itinerary. 

I left home in a rental car by 5 am on Friday January 2nd. First destination was Nevasa in Ahmednagar ( now renamed Ahilyanagar) district. This is the town where Sant Dnyaaneshwar did keertans and narrated his commentary on the Bhagwad Gita that came to be known as the Bhavartha Deepika or Dnyaaneshwari. The Dnyaneshwar Mandir there is a well kept site. A group of people were doing parayan ( reading) of the Dnyaaneshwari. A few visitors like me were trickling in to pay their respects. There was a small museum on the premises with some memorabilia dating back to Dnyaaneshwar’s times. The entire campus was serene and clean. It is difficult to describe the feeling that the four saintly siblings from the 13th century once lived here. The purity of their souls and the immortal work they have left behind to guide people like us comes to mind along with the awareness of all the hardships they endured in their lives. One gets a feeling like time between so many centuries has evaporated and you are in close vicinity of those great souls. 

 Earlier as I had got out of the car to enter these premises a local woman had walked up to me prodding me to buy flowers from her to offer at the shrines. I took the flowers from her. She said I could pay later before it’s time to leave. After spending time at the place just when I was preparing to exit I met another local lady who enquired where I had come from. She asked if I had seen the garden in the back side of the buildings. I hadn’t. She insisted that I go see it. So I did. The passage took me past a goshala, cow shed. Several well kept cows were seen in that enclosure, overlooking the big garden.

The garden was really a beautiful place. Well maintained trees and shrubs and in the center of the garden were two huge statues, one of Dnyaaneshwar Maharaj and other of Satchidanand, the man who transcribed the narrated notes. Dnyaneshwar is said to have revived this man from death. The pillar in the original temple against which Dnyaaneshwar leaned upon while reciting the Dnyaaneshwari is known as Pais Khamb. This stone pillar, or rather a remnant of it, is placed in the main shrine of the temple. I strolled through the garden admiring the chapha ( plumeria) trees. Then stood gazing at the imposing statues. It is hard to put into words the spiritual experience that happened in those moments. If I were to attempt in Marathi, bramhand ubha rahila ! The entire universe stood in front of me, engulfed me for several minutes.

When I returned from there the ladies were waiting for me outside the compound. How was it? One asked. She had a look of satisfaction when I told her I had liked the garden. I stopped to pay for the flowers to the other lady. She pressed me to buy her homegrown bananas. I always find delight in striking up conversations with these village folks. This time too I engaged in the chat. The woman owned an acre of land on which she was growing bananas and other crops. She seemed proud of her bananas and as I resisted buying she insisted I try one. Unable to disappoint her I ended up buying from her. Her price was higher than price of bananas in Pune. As I playfully bickered with her about it and commented that she was “ lay bhari” ( which loosely means you are fabulous) we laughed and gelled like long time friends. She gave me 14 bananas for the price of a dozen and assured me they would stay good for a week as long as I kept them face down. She asked where I was headed to and when I mentioned Aran, the home of Savata Mali, both women lamented that they haven’t been there thus far. I offered to take them along but they said they couldn’t go due to commitments. After making these new friends I took leave and got back on the road. All this time the driver was catching up with sleep in the car. 

After a short breakfast break at a roadside restaurant we were headed to Paithan in Aurangabad( renamed Sambhajinagar) district. Passing through some really narrow lanes in the old city we arrived at Eknath Maharaj Wada, the original home of Sant Eknath, fondly known as Nath Maharaj. A modest place, this old building has a central square courtyard surrounded by a patio behind which stood rooms. Directly across from the entrance into the courtyard stood the shrine. To its left was the historic Ranjan, water pumping area, which folklore says was where God himself worked in the form of a servant named Shrikhandya, and filled water for household use on top of other household jobs. 

Another local visitor at this temple told me there is new memorial built in more recent times because this original place was proving too small to accommodate crowds of devotees. So we headed to see this new place. It was about a kilometer away from the old place. Much bigger. Almost reminded me of Dnyaaneshwara Samadhi Mandir in Alandi. Outside this new temple in Paithan is a huge  shopping mall covered on top, wide open central space flanked on either side by numerous shops selling all kinds of things like traditional glass bangles, costumes jewelry, paithani sarees, housewares, pooja articles, and books. On my way out I stopped at one of the bookstores and ended up buying half a dozen books about Sant Eknath Maharaj and his writings. 

It was a long drive from Paithan to Aran. Our journey was interrupted only briefly for lunch. Took us nearly 5-6 hours on the road. It was past 8 pm when we reached the Savata Mali samadhi Mandir in this small town, about 30 miles from Pandharpur. The contemporary of Sant Namdev and Sant Dnyaaneshwar, Savata Mali was recognized for his deep devotion to Vitthala that blended seamlessly with his sense of duty. The name of Vitthala remained on his lips interwoven with the names of the flowers and plants he tended as a gardener. The shrine at the temple houses his samadhi. Descendants of Savata’s only child, a daughter, maintain this temple. A lady who belongs to the 18th or 19th generation of the family greeted me and gifted me a coconut, flowers and Prasad. A team of keertankars were making a live presentation inside the temple even that time of the day. The temple remains open for 24 hours throughout the year.

We were there for about half an hour and made the last leg of our drive to reach Pandharpur past 9 pm. My nephew Niraj had reserved a room for me at the lodge where I have stayed in the past. He met me briefly when we got there before taking leave. It had been a very long day for me. I just retired into my room and fell asleep in no time.

Early morning Saturday I was ready to check out of the hotel by 8:00 AM. Niraj’s parents and uncle’s home is adjoining the lodge. The family welcomed me with great enthusiasm. Shakambari Devi is their family deity and the original temple is at Badami in Karnataka. Legend has it that one rakshas ( demon) had stolen the Vedas. Due to lack of yadnyas being performed, there followed a drought that lasted for several years. Birds, animals and people were dying due to famine. The desperate people began to pray for mercy. They were instructed to invoke the goddess Shakambari. When she saw what was happening she was moved. A hundred eyes appeared all over her body and wept seeing the suffering. The water that poured out in the form of tears brought all the plants to life. Thousands of variety of vegetables grew and people found food at last. The goddess acquired the name Shak-ambari, the bestower of vegetables, and also Shatakshi, one with hundred eyes. In her honor a nine day period of fasting is observed preceding the full moon day in the month of paush. On Poornima day the family takes up cooking a special meal of hundreds of seasonal vegetables,starting at midnight and completing by early morning. Eleven married women, called savashani, are invited as honored guests, to enjoy this meal. The host gives them gifts before they take leave. Needless to say I had the privilege of being one of those guests that day and witnessed this puja as well as tasted a truly unique and delicious meal. The highlights were the mixed green vegetables, bitter gourd panchamrut and puranpoli. 

I took leave of the gracious hosts. Niraj accompanied me for a walking tour around the city, specifically to visit various shrines of saints. We went to Namdev wada, Parbhanikar Maharaj ashram, old Sant Tukaram Mandir, Sant Gora Kumbhar mandir ( muth), Sant Chokha Mela samadhi and Namdev Payari out side the Vitthal Mandir. Also had the good fortune to meet the current senior Haridasa Maharaj who was relaxing outside his home. Niraj took me inside the home too to see the sacred paduka that this holy man carries on his head in a trance during the famous event of Kaalaa that occurs a few days after Ashadhi Ekadashi, at the end of the annual Pandharpur yatra/ wari. This kaalaa has great significance in the warkari tradition. It is said that only true devotees of God, the warkaris who have surrendered their ego are entitled to partake in the kaalaa. Even Gods can’t get it. Niraj wants me to come during the month of Ashadh this year to participate in the kaalaa. Let’s see if this is in store for me. 

Having concluded this rather hectic but fulfilling pilgrimage I took leave of Niraj and returned to Pune by late evening. Took a few brief stops on the way. First one to buy fresh locally grown vegetables from women sitting roadside with their goodies. Again enjoyed a delightful conversation with them. Then stopped at Jejuri in the hopes of getting Darshan of Khandoba. But it was a steep climb up hundreds of steps and I was too tired by that time. Paid my respects from a distance and proceeded onwards. Took another stop in the next town of Saswad. During the wari in 2023 I had made a friend there. A young man , 26 at the time, and father of one, now 28 and father of two. Akshay Gondhali. He worked as a caretaker/ watchman at the municipal garden in the city. He was getting ready to leave for the day when we were approaching his city. Met him, exchanged greetings. He kept urging me to come for the wari this year. Let’s see. Last stop on the way was to eat misal at a restaurant known to the driver. It was around 4:30 pm there. 7:30 pm when we got home.

These two days are going to be some of the most memorable days in my lifetime. I can’t believe my fortune that I could be there. God is indeed gracious. The saints are merciful.