Keri: Lord Vitthal, the presiding deity of Pandharpur in Maharashtra, has been worshipped in Goa for more than 500 years. Laxman Pitre, former director of Museum, states that archival records available with the priests associated with the Vitthal temple at Vitthalapur in Karapur indicate that the idol was brought to Goa in 1418, first to the forested village of Caranzol in Sattari.According to Pitre, the idol was brought from Bhimgad fort in Karnataka, where it had been kept in 1412. Before its installation at Vitthalapur in 1488 in the present temple, devotees worshipped the idol at Morle and Padoshe in Sattari, as noted in Pitre’s book on Shrivitthal.Local belief links the idol’s arrival to Vataba Dulba Rane Morlekar, who would annually visit fairs of Ashadhi and Kartiki Ekadashi at Pandharpur.
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As the legend goes, when age prevented Morlekar from going on a pilgrimage to Pandharpur, lord Vitthal arrived in human form and brought the idol that is now worshipped at Vitthalapur.Evidence of Vitthal worship in Goa also appears in Shrikrishnacharitra, written by the poet Krishnadas Shama in 1526. A letter dated Nov 26, 1566, from Father Sebastao Gonsalves to Brother Lorenzo Mexico, describes devotees in Old Goa moving along the roads while singing lord Vitthal’s devotional songs.Amey Kinjawadekar, a student of archaeology, said, “The tradition of Vitthal worship in Goa carries a heritage of more than 500 years. Most towns that were once connected to the old ghat routes have Vitthal temples with a history of more than 200 years.”Even today, annually, Goan devotees visit Pandharpur in large numbers on Ashadhi and Kartiki Ekadashi.
