The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hindusim vol 2
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Varkari<br />
less severe than the last stage, the<br />
Sanyasi—the texts are very clear that he<br />
should remain with his wife and that he<br />
should continue to perform the prescribed<br />
daily domestic sacrifices.<br />
Although in contemporary times it is<br />
fairly common for older people to live a<br />
more retired life, bequeathing the bulk<br />
<strong>of</strong> the family affairs to their children, few<br />
people live by the strict prescriptions for<br />
the vanaprastha. <strong>The</strong> prescription for<br />
this third stage <strong>of</strong> life is generally considered<br />
to be a reaction to the growth <strong>of</strong><br />
asceticism in the centuries before the<br />
turn <strong>of</strong> the common era, particularly the<br />
monastic asceticism <strong>of</strong> the Buddhists<br />
and Jains, which they claimed was religiously<br />
superior to the life <strong>of</strong> a householder.<br />
<strong>The</strong> vanaprastha is a transitional<br />
stage that paves the way for an ascetic<br />
life, but it is set in one’s old age and thus<br />
allows for the fulfilling <strong>of</strong> one’s duties to<br />
family and society.<br />
Varada Hasta<br />
In Indian dance, sculpture, and ritual, a<br />
particular hand gesture (hasta), in<br />
which the left hand is held with the fingers<br />
pointing downward and the palm<br />
exposed to the viewer, with the fingers<br />
either fully extended or slightly curled.<br />
<strong>The</strong> word varada means “boon-granting,”<br />
and the gesture is meant to indicate<br />
beneficence and generosity.<br />
Varaha Avatar<br />
<strong>The</strong> third avatar or incarnation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
god Vishnu, in the form <strong>of</strong> a boar. See<br />
Boar avatar.<br />
Varanasi<br />
Traditional name for the sacred city <strong>of</strong><br />
Benares. <strong>The</strong> name Varanasi may be<br />
generally used to denote the whole city,<br />
but in a more specific context this refers<br />
to one <strong>of</strong> the concentric sacred zones<br />
surrounding the Vishvanath temple, the<br />
city’s ritual center. <strong>The</strong> smallest <strong>of</strong> these<br />
zones is called Avimukta, the second is<br />
Varanasi, and the largest is named<br />
Kashi. <strong>The</strong> sacred zone <strong>of</strong> Varanasi is<br />
conceived as the area between the<br />
Varana and the Asi rivers—the traditional<br />
boundaries <strong>of</strong> the city <strong>of</strong> Benares—but<br />
Varanasi’s boundaries do not stretch<br />
inland as far as those <strong>of</strong> Kashi.<br />
Varkari<br />
Religious community <strong>of</strong> devotees<br />
(bhakta) <strong>of</strong> the god Vishnu, in his manifestation<br />
as Vithoba. Varkari worship<br />
has centered on Vithoba’s temple at<br />
Pandharpur in the southern part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
state <strong>of</strong> Maharashtra. <strong>The</strong> community’s<br />
history begins with a series <strong>of</strong> extraordinary<br />
devotional (bhakti) poet-saints,<br />
dating from the twelfth to the seventeenth<br />
century: Jnaneshvar, Namdev,<br />
Eknath, Tukaram, Chokamela, Gora,<br />
Janabai, Bahina Bai, and many others.<br />
One <strong>of</strong> the ways that these saints<br />
expressed their devotion was in pilgrimage<br />
to Pandharpur, and this pilgrimage<br />
is still the major ritual act in the Varkari<br />
community. Twice a year Varkaris come<br />
on pilgrimage to Pandharpur and time<br />
their travel so that all the pilgrims arrive<br />
on the same day—the eleventh day<br />
(ekadashi) in the bright half <strong>of</strong> Ashadh<br />
(June–July) in the summer, and the<br />
eleventh day in the bright half <strong>of</strong><br />
Kartik (October–November) in the fall.<br />
Individual pilgrims travel in small<br />
groups called dindis, <strong>of</strong>ten made up <strong>of</strong><br />
people from the same neighborhood or<br />
locality. <strong>The</strong> dindis are organized into<br />
larger groups known as palkhis, each <strong>of</strong><br />
which is associated with one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Varkari poet-saints and is led by a<br />
palanquin (palkhi, an enclosed singleperson<br />
litter borne on the shoulders <strong>of</strong><br />
bearers by means <strong>of</strong> poles) bearing the<br />
sandals <strong>of</strong> that saint. Each palkhi<br />
departs from a place associated with its<br />
particular saint—for example, the<br />
palkhi <strong>of</strong> Jnaneshvar leaves from the<br />
town <strong>of</strong> Alandi in which he lived—and<br />
thus he and all the other saints are still<br />
symbolically journeying to Pandharpur<br />
twice a year. During their journey pilgrims<br />
sing the devotional songs composed<br />
by these poet-saints. In this way,<br />
the pilgrims are emulating the saints<br />
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