| Festival | When | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Ashadhi Ekadashi (Shayani Ekadashi) | Ashadha month, June to July (2025 fell on 29 June; 2026 approx late July) | The single biggest day. Around a million pilgrims converge as the Sant Dnyaneshwar palkhi from Alandi and Sant Tukaram palkhi from Dehu complete their roughly 250 km, three-week foot march. The Chief Minister traditionally performs the government mahapuja. Peak |
| Kartiki Ekadashi (Prabodhini Ekadashi) | Kartik month, October to November (2025 fell on 13 November; 2026 approx early November) | The second great wari, marking Vishnu's awakening from cosmic sleep. Enormous crowds and another palkhi convergence, second only to Ashadhi. |
| Chaitri Ekadashi | Chaitra month, March to April | A smaller spring wari that still draws large numbers of Warkaris to Pandharpur. |
| Maghi Ekadashi | Magha month, January to February | The fourth annual wari, in the pleasant winter season; lighter crowds than the two main Ekadashis. |
The calendar here turns on Ekadashi, and four of them define the year. Ashadhi Ekadashi in the monsoon month of Ashadha (June to July; 2025 fell on 29 June, 2026 falls approximately in late July) is the summit of the whole Warkari tradition: around a million pilgrims arrive as the palkhis of Sant Dnyaneshwar from Alandi and Sant Tukaram from Dehu complete a roughly 250 km, three-week march on foot, and the state's Chief Minister traditionally offers the government mahapuja.
Kartiki Ekadashi in Kartik (October to November; 2025 fell on 13 November, 2026 approximately early November) is the second great gathering, marking Vishnu's awakening from cosmic sleep, and draws crowds close behind Ashadhi. The smaller Chaitri (March to April) and Maghi (January to February) waris complete the quartet and are gentler in scale.
If your aim is a deep, unhurried darshan rather than the roar of the crowd, avoid the Ekadashis and come on a plain weekday between November and February, when the weather is coolest and the feet-touching queue is at its most manageable. If, instead, you want to feel the living pulse of the bhakti movement, nothing matches standing on the Chandrabhaga ghats as the dindis pour in for Ashadhi.
← Back to the full Vitthal Rukmini darshan guideCompiled from public sources including Wikipedia: Vithoba Temple, Pandharpur · Wikipedia: Pandharpur · Shri Vitthal Rukmini Mandir Samiti (official) · Wikimedia Commons: Pandharpur Vithoba temple.jpg. Timings and seasonal closures change; confirm with the temple trust before travelling.