Palkhis of saints reach Pandharpur for Ashadi Ekadashi
Shortly after their arrival, the warkaris took a holy dip in the Chandrabhaga and queued under the sheds set up by the administration for a darshan of the deities on Ashadi Ekadashi.
One warkari said darshan did not necessarily entail charansparsh (touching the feet) of the deities. "Even the sight of their faces makes us feel blessed. Thousands of warkaris return from Pandharpur only seeing the kalas (gopur) of the temple."
Temple authorities said over 20 lakh devotees thronged the temple town of Pandharpur for Ashadi Ekadashi. The increase in the number of devotees was attributed to the early arrival of the monsoon.
Chief minister
Devendra Fadnavis
and his wife also reached Pandharpur on Saturday noon for the Mahapuja to be performed at the Vitthal-Rukmini temple early on Sunday morning. On Saturday, Fadnavis inaugurated the CCTV camera integrated control room, the 'Harit Wari' app, the Krishi Pandhari agricultural exhibition, and launched the Bhaktirath (electric vehicle).
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Ministers Manikrao Kokate, Jaykumar Gore, Jaykumar Rawal, MLA Gopichand Padalkar, and other senior administrative officials were present.
Fadnavis said, "This year the warkaris have thronged Pandharpur in record-breaking numbers. Serving at the feet of those walking with devotion towards Lord Vitthal is, in itself, service at the feet of Lord Vitthal. All our saints have given the message of love for nature and cleanliness. They have also taught us to love rivers. We are working to implement this message of Dnyaneshwar Mauli through the 'Nirmal Wari' initiative.
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