Vitthala

Vitthala in Sanskrit glossary also known as Panduranga, Vithoba, Pandharinath, Hari, Ranga and Narayan in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Vitthala is often depicted as a dark young boy, standing arms akimbo on a brick, waiting His devotee to come.  Vithoba Temple, Pandharpur is His main temple.

In the Vaishnava tradition of spirituality, since the Almighty,the Lord is known to be without limits, ananta, there are so many names to describe Him. A person may object to assigning any single form of address to someone so great. They may disagree with the tendency towards variety, for introducing added confusion in an area which is already nearly impossible to understand.

The distinction exists because of a loving sentiment. There is a connection. Yoga is uniting the individual consciousness with the Supreme Consciousness. In the state of illusion, I am disconnected, feel alone, though I am never truly separated.

 In His avatara of Shri Krishna, God lifts the mountain known as Govardhana. This is a specific area of land which can still be found today. It is not a fictitious area, and neither is the incident a figment of the imagination or some story from mythology.

The Lord is also known as Giridhari or Girivara-dhari. Because Krishna, for the sake of His devotees, lifted Govardhana Hill, the devotees appreciate the Lord’s inconceivable strength.

Krishna holds up Govardhana Hill for seven straight days. The hill rests upon the pinky finger of His left hand. The symbolism to this amazing feat is evident. This massive collection of earth, a hill which takes a significant amount of time to simply cross in full view, by foot, rests on the weakest finger in the typically non-dominant hand. This is one indication of the limitless strength belonging to the one who is known as Bhagavan.

Krishna is Giridhari for lifting the mountain, but He is also the holder of the same. This is not some competition to determine the world’s strongest man. If there were such a contest, the same lifter of the mountain would win. This was evident in the previous avatara of Shri Rama lifting the bow of Mahadeva to win the hand in marriage of Sita Devi.


Giridhari lifts and holds Govardhana Hill to accomplish something important. The people of the area, Gokula-Vrindavana, are in trouble. They are set to be washed away by a devastating flood.

The rain was not necessarily in the forecast. It is not like the people intentionally walked into danger, inviting a calamitous situation. The rain was sudden and unexpected. The people had nowhere else to turn.

A person may say that they don’t believe in invisible figures living beyond the clouds. They do not operate off the omens of astrology, four-leaf clovers, or any other kind of superstition. They apply human effort alone and then accept the results wherever they may fall.

Except in a situation like the rain devastating the Govardhana Hill area there is literally nothing else which can be done. There is no human effort that will save the people. There is no other way except the shelter of Krishna, if He can save them.