Abhangs on Pandhrapur , divine abode of Vittal.

                                           Majhe maher Pandhari

Sant Eknath :

maajhe maaher Pandharee, aahe Bhivarichya thiri

baap aani aai, maajhee Vittala Rakhumaai 

Pundaleek raahe bndhoo, tyaachee khyaatee kaay saango 

 maajhee baheen chndrabhaaga, kareetase paapabhnga

eka janaardane sharan, kare maaherache aathhawan 

Meaning: Sant Eknath singing that his 'mother's house' (parent's house)

is Pandharee , in the banks of Bhima river,also famously known as 

chandrabhaga which means 'crescent moon' is referenced as sister who wash 

away sins.Vittal and Rakumayi are father and mother respectively , while 

Pundalika is the only real relative (because of whom Vishnu came down as Vittal)

and Vittal is the final and only refuge.

                
                                                 Kaya hi Pandhari    

Sant Eknath:

Kaya hi pandhari atma ha Vittal

nadato kewal Pandurang

bhav bhakti Bhima udak te wahe
barwa shobhathe Pandurang

daya kshama shanti hechi waluwant
milalase that vaishnwancha

gnana dhyana pooja viveka ananda
hachi venunaad shobatase

dasha indriyancha ik mel kela
aisa gopalkala hota ase

dekhili pandhari dehi jani wani
ika Janardani wari kari

 Meaning: Body is Pandharee soul is Vittal. Only Panduranga dwells inside. The flow of devotion for Panduranga  is Bhima river. Compassion, forgiveness and peace is gathering of vaishnavets on the banks of Bhima (Chandrabhaaga). Knowledge , meditation , worship , conscience ,happiness are the musical sound emanating from the flute of Vittal. I offer/surrender  the ten sense organs to Vittal. I see Pandhari and Vittal in myself , in people and everywhere.

                                            Dhanya Dhanya Ha Nagara

Sant Banudas: {grandfather of Eknath)
Dhanya dhanya ha nagara bhu vaikunta pandarapura
Dhanya dhanya Chandrabhaga  madhye pundalika ubha
Dhanya dhanya venunaada  kreeda karitho govinda
Dhanya dhanya padmalayache pali  gayichari vanamalee
Dhanya dhanya pandaricha vaasa devagaye Banudasa

The abhanga itself speaks ..how divine Pandharapur is..

                                            Jaaya Jaaya Tu Pandhari
Sant Tukaram:
Jaaya  Jaaya tu Pandhari
Hoya Hoya Thu Varakari

Saandoniya Vahavantha
Haya Ejisi Vaikunta

Khandya Patha Kanche Bhara
Tulasi Mala Aapi Avira

Sadhu Santhancha Datani
Tukha Jaya Lotangani

                                           Chala Pandharisi jau
                                        
Sant Tukaram:

Chala Pandharisi jau

Rakuma devi vara pavu 

Dole nivateel kaan

mana tete samadhan

santa mahanta hoteel bheti

anande nache valavandi

te teertanche maher

sarva sukhanche bhandar

janma nahire aanik

Tukha mhane majhe bhak

Radhakalyanam , Vittal Rakumayi Bhajan Sampradayam.

What is RadhaKalyanam ? I had heard of Rukmani kalyanam , Seeta kalyanam , Gauri kalyanam , Valli kalyanam ..but does ever Radha get married to Krishna ? what is this marriage ritual all about ?
 I guess the first Radhakalyana I ever attended was the one conducted by Guru Vittal Das in Indiranagar Sangeeta Sabha 2009 I guess. It started with discourse of the Maha Bhakata Vijaya , stories of  the saints of India during Bhakti movement period , Divyanamam and then the last day he explained Jayadeva's Ashtapadi , all 24 chapters and concluded the Radha kalyanam , perfect. This was my first experience and I am mesmerized till date. The experience I had cannot be explained in words , I have been attending many Radhkalyanam's till date what made me wonder is the people conducting , the manner in which it is being done and  the content.
           Majorly the people who conduct this are Tamil Brahmins I guess mostly Smarthites i.e. Iyers , its conducted for two days and they sing songs form all language , whatever concerns Krishna!!
We all know the names of saint , but learning their life , doing extensive studies on their Kritis ,to sing them to perfection to the ragas they were composed many years ago is a challenge..Amazing! I always thought that Tamilians would not learn another language at any cost ! I am mistaken here , how many Kannadigas know PurandaraDasa , his life history or the meaning of his Kritis ?? how many telugu people know Bhadrachala Ramadas or Tyagaraja or Annamaya's life history  or the meaning to their kritis ? leave alone meaning can they identify the kritis when sung ? how many Maharastrians know all the saints who were ardent devotees of Vittal , their biography , or the meaning to those Abhangs along with the enchanting hindustani raags they are composed in. How many Eastern Indians know Ashtapadis all 24 by heart ? or the bhajans of Tulasi das or Kabir das ?
How manay Malayalees know Jnapanam composed by Poonthanam ? or the story of the Guruvayoor temple and Narayana Bhattathiri ? How many know Narayana theertha's Krithis or Sadashiva Brahmendra ?
 All of these are know in detail and sung in the matter of two days :) its not just the feast to the ears but so divine ? this is such a wonderful culture singing songs that originated from different corners of country all covered under one ritual ie Radhakalyanam. Its like plucking flower from different gardens making a garland of variety of flowers and decorating Lord Vittal's feet. I am still mesmerized waiting to attend the next Radhakalyana event.
     The origin of Radhakalayana is from the Rass leela of Maha Bhagavat , that which inspired Sadguru Jayadeva to write Ashtapadi , Gita Govindam..which is majorly sung to wed Radha and Krishna during this ritual.