Pandharpur
—  city  —
Pandharpur Location of Pandharpur in Maharashtra and India
Coordinates	17°40′30″N 75°19′36″E / 17.675128°N 75.326772°E / 17.675128; 75.326772Coordinates: 17°40′30″N 75°19′36″E / 17.675128°N 75.326772°E / 17.675128; 75.326772
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District(s)	Solapur
Population	91,381 (2001[update])
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 458 metres (1,503 ft)

Pandharpur (Marathi: पंढरपूर) is an important pilgrimage city on the banks of Bhimā river in Solāpur district, Maharashtra, India. Pandharpur is situated on the 1711 north axis and 7511 the east longitude in Solapur District. The Vithoba temple attracts about half a million Hindu pilgrims during the major yātrā (pilgrimage) in the month of Ashadh (June–July).

Geography[link]

Map of Vithoba Temple of Pandharpur and surroundings

Pandharpur has an average elevation of 458 metres (1502 feet).

Demographics[link]

According to the 2001 census of India, Pandharpur had a population of 91,381. Males constituted 52% of the population and females, 48%. 71% of the population was literate, (higher than the national average of 59.5%), 78% of males and 64% of females being literate. 12% of the population was under 6 years of age.

Religious importance[link]

The Vithoba of Pandharpur

The chief gate of Vithoba's temple

Pandharpur is one of the most prominent pilgrimage sites in Maharashtra. It is located on the banks of the Bhimā river, which is alternatively known as Chandrabhāgā because of its half-moon-like shape. The city is named after a merchant, Pandarika, who achieved self-realization there.^[1]

Pandharpur, also known as Pandhari, hosts the renowned Vitthal temple on the banks of Bhimā. "Vithoba", "Pāndurang", and "Pandharināth" are the popular alternate names of the deity, Viththal, who is regarded in Hinduism as a form of Lord Krishna, who, in turn, is considered as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Rakhumāi or Rukmini is Viththal's consort in the temple.

The worship of Vitthal in the Pandharpur temple is based mainly on the contents of the Puranas, and the contributions of the Vaishnav saints of Maharashtra and Karnataka during the 13th through the 17th centuries, namely, Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Eknath, Tukaram, Purandara Dasa, Vijaya Dasa, Gopala Dasa, and Jagannatha Dasa, have augmented the worship.

The Pandharpur temple covers a large area, and has six gates. The eastern gate is known as the "Namdev Gate".

Pandharpur hosts four annual pilgrimages ("yātrās") of Hindu devotees. Among them, the pilgrimage in the month of Āshādh (June–July) in the Hindu calendar attracts the largest number of pilgrims—around 0.5 to 0.7 million people. The pilgrimages in the months of Kārtik (October–November), Māgh(January–February) and Shrāvan(July–August) attract the second, third and fourth largest numbers of pilgrims respectively.

This has been a great place to visit for devotees all over India. There are some other important holy places around Pandharpur. The deities include Goddess Tulja Bhavani (Goddess of family - KulDevata of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj) at Tuljapur, Saint Shri Swami Samarth (God Form of Dattatreya) at Shri Kshetra Akkalkot, Lord Dattatreya at Ganagapur etc. All these places are located in or near Solapur District. Famous Devi Temples in Pandharpur include Padmavati, Emayi –Tukai, Ambabai, and Lakhubai.

Milk and all other cow products for Pooja in Pandharpur temple are supplied from Shri kesavgoshala of Pandharpur, which belongs to Nagoriya Math.

Education[link]

• Kawthekar High School, established in 1947, is run by the Pandharpur Education Society.
• D.H.Kawthekar High School
• Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil College, Pandharpur also known as Pandharpur College
• Sinhgad Technical Education Society
• Lokamanya Vidyalay High School is over 100 years old.
• Apte Uplap High school,is Run by Vidya Vikas mandal
• Uma college Pandharpur
• Sayandhri college, Korti
• MIT CBSE School, Wakhari
• Karmyogi Polytechnic & Engineering college
• New Satara Samuh, Polytechnic & management college, Atpadi Road
• Shri Vithal College Of Education, Venunagar
• Shri Vithal Education & Research Institute, College Of Engineering Pandharpur Established in 1998, is run by the SVERI Trust.

Notable People from Pandharpur[link]

|Chaitanya Maharaj Deglurkar |M F Hussain |Jabbar Patel

Transportation[link]

• Railway

Pandharpur is connected to Kurduvadi railway junction. A train runs from Pandharpur to Mumbai through Pune. Pandharpur is connected to all cities and towns in Maharashtra by bus.

• Sangola (32.0 km)
• Kurduwadi (52.0 km)
• Mohol (40.0 km)
• Solapur (72.0 km)
• Miraj (128.0 km
• Ahmednagar (196.0 km)

• By Road

Pandharpur is well connected to all the major cities in Maharashtra by state transport buses. Also it is connected to major cities/places in North karnataka & North-West Andra Pradesh.

Proposal for a Pandharpur district[link]

The Solapur District is under proposal to be divided and a separate Pandharpur District be carved out of existing Solapur district, comprising talukas of Pandharpur, Sangola, Karmala, Mangalwedha, Malshiras and Madha in Solapur District and also talukas of Jath and Atpadi from neighbouring Sangli district, to create a new Pandharpur district.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• G.A.Deleury, The cult of Vithoba (Pune: Deccan College, 1960)
• M.S.Mate, Temples and legends of Maharashtra (Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1988), pp188–220
• D.B.Mokashi, Palkhi: a pilgrimage to Pandharpur (translated from the Marathi)(Albany, NY: State University of New York Press; Hyderabad: Orient Longman, 1990)

External links[link]

• PANDHARPUR by Gazetteer's Dept
• Shri Keshavgoshala

v t e Solapur district topics History Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri Geography Bhima River Tehsils Akkalkot Barshi Karmala Madha Malshiras Mangalvedhe Mohol Pandharpur Sangola Solapur North Solapur South Cities and towns Akkalkot Barshi Karmala Madha Malshiras Mangalwedha Mohol Pandharpur Sangole Solapur Education University of Solapur Lok Sabha constituencies Madha Osmanabad Solapur Vidhan Sabha constituencies Madha

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Mahesh Kale
Background information
Born	12 January 1976
Origin	Pune, Maharashtra, India
Genres	Indian Classical Music, Hindustani Classical Music, Semi-Classical, Devotional, Natya Sangeet
Occupations	Singer, music teacher
Website	Official site

Mahesh Kale (Devanagari: महेश काळे) (Born: 1976, Pune, India) is a San Francisco Bay Area (United States) based Indian Classical vocalist renowned for his specialization in Indian Classical (Hindustani), Semi-Classical and Devotional Music including Natya Sangeet.^[1]

Early life and background[link]

Mahesh was born and raised in a musical family in Pune, Maharashtra, India. He began his early music education under the guidance of his mother Smt. Meenal Kale. She had Masters in Indian Classical Music and was a disciple of Veena Sahasrabuddhe.

Mahesh gave his first solo performance at the age of 3 at Gondavale, with the rendition of a devotional song he mesmerized an audience of over 5000 . At the age of 6 he started learning music formally from Shri Purushottam Gangurde. Despite of his young age, Mahesh was chosen as the disciple of legendary Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki in 1991. Under his guidance in a gurukul-like setting, Mahesh was extensively trained in classical and semi-classical forms like thumri, dadra, tappa, bhajans, and marathi natya sangeet for over 8 years.^[2] During that time, he accompanied his guru Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki as a vocal support in prestigious concerts all across India. Currently he is receiving vocal guidance from Shri Shounak Abhisheki (son of Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki).^[3]

Mahesh holds a Bachelors in Electronics Engineering from University of Pune (India) and a Masters degree in Engineering Management from Santa Clara University (United States).^[2]

Career[link]

Mahesh has performed in over 1000 concerts of Indian Classical and Semi-Classical Vocal in India, US, UAE and UK. He has performed in Fusion concerts with famous percussionists like Sivamani and Trilok Gurtu, and instrumentalists like Pedro Eustache and Frank Martin.

Since early 2010, Mahesh has been playing the central character in Katyar Kaljat Ghusli, the evergreen Sangeet Natak (musical).^[4] He has been honored with Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Natya Parishad Award for his role in this play.

Mahesh is determined to spread awareness and education about Indian classical music in the western world. He has given lecture-demonstrations in various US universities including Stanford and Harvard University and was also profiled as Artist of the Month by Harvard Sangeet in March 2008.^[5]

Currently Mahesh is teaching music actively to over 100 students in the San Francisco Bay Area.^[1]

Discography[link]

• Prarambh, the beginning
• NatyaSaurabh
• Adhvan

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Artist website