| Temples & Legends Of
Maharastra |
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| Temples & Legends Of
India |
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PANDHARPUR - VITTHAL |
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| Here stands the
holy of holies, the famous Vitthal. It is placed on a stone pedestal about four feet in
height and is itself three and a half feet in height. Carved of black, stone it is not a
very finely polished or finished sculpture. The description of the image that comes from
the Badaves is as follows. The image has a Shiva-ling on its head, the Kaustubha mala
around the neck, and the ‘vatslanchhan' on the chest. Of this the Shiva-ling is
nothing more than a headgear or crown of a ratheruncommon shape, more like a topee than
like a crown. There are rather large makarkundalas in the ears. The image has two arms the
left hand holds the shankh and the right hand holds a lotus stem. Both rest on the hips.
The waistcloth is merely indicated. The Vitthal image stands on a squarish block, known as
the brick that Pundalik had offered him as an asana. One cannot enjoy the pleasure of the
darshan of Vitthal for more than a few seconds as the rush is always great and the queue
system is strictly enforced. But even those fleeting moments do not fail to create a
lasting impression. The exterior of the garbhagriha has much merit from the
architectural point of view. Its walls are formed by several pilasterlike projections
vertically and emphatic roll and kani mouldings horizontally. The plinth spreads a good
deal outside from the base of the walls. The cornice is of an elegant curvilinear outline
and the flrst tier of the pyramidal spire is formed by numerous elephants whose anatomy
has been wrought out with considerable skill. Then follow four tiers consisting of the
conventional Maratha motifs of niches and minarets. Various stucco figures are placed in
the niches. In the three niches in the walls facing the cardinal directions are the images
of Narasimha, Radhakrishna and Sheshashayi Vishnu. The structure probably belongs to the
sixteen century while the superstructure was erected in 1830 by the chief of Bhor State. |
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