Warkari — observances and vrat guides
The Warkari tradition is closely associated with Vitthal of Pandharpur, the abhangs of the saints and the shared discipline of pilgrimage. Ashadhi and Kartiki Ekadashi stand within the rhythm of the wari rather than being only two more dates in an anonymous list. The remembrance of saints links devotion, song and community life. Maharashtrian household foods and temple customs provide a regional setting for fasting, but individual health and family practice still matter. These pages keep pilgrimage-linked celebrations, saint commemorations and recurring vows distinguishable. Their deity, description and food guidance can therefore be read in context.
The catalog currently includes 17 distinct entries in this collection. Examples are Ashadhi Ekadashi (Devshayani); Kartiki Ekadashi (Prabodhini); Maghi Ekadashi (Jaya Ekadashi); Tukaram Beej; Dnyaneshwar Punyatithi (Sanjeevan Samadhi). Their recorded devotional focus includes Lord Vitthal (Vithoba) of Pandharpur; Lord Vitthal (Vithoba); Sant Tukaram Maharaj; Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj (Mauli). Follow the individual links below for the full description, calendar dates, mantra and allowed or avoided foods; each link leads to a dedicated observance page rather than a search result.
Calendar dates are references, not a substitute for the observance rules of your chosen city and community. Lunar days can cross civil-date boundaries, and regional practice can change which day is kept. Meal suggestions are optional ideas for an allowed meal, not instructions to eat during a complete fast. Children, pregnant people and anyone with a medical condition should seek appropriate advice before fasting. Compare the linked guides with your family or temple's practice and choose a discipline suited to your health.
All 17 observances in this collection
- Ashadhi Ekadashi (Devshayani) — July 25, 2026
Devshayani Ekadashi — the day Lord Vishnu (worshipped as Vitthal at Pandharpur) enters yoga-nidra for chaturmas. The grandest day in the Warkari calendar. Lakhs of Warkaris reach Pandharpur on this day after walking 250+ km from Alandi (Sant Dnyaneshwar's samadhi) and Dehu (Sant Tukaram's birthplace), carrying palkhis with the saints' padukas, chanting Vitthala-naam continuously for 21 days.
- Kartiki Ekadashi (Prabodhini) — November 21, 2026
Prabodhini Ekadashi — Vitthal awakens from yoga-nidra exactly four months after Ashadhi Ekadashi. The second great pilgrimage of the year arrives at Pandharpur. Tulsi Vivah (the marriage of Tulsi to Krishna-Vitthal) is performed on the following day, marking the start of the auspicious wedding season.
- Maghi Ekadashi (Jaya Ekadashi) — January 29, 2026
Magha Shukla Ekadashi (Jaya Ekadashi) — observed strictly by Warkaris alongside the regular Pandharpur and home altar abhanga sessions. Falls about a week before Tukaram Beej, when Warkari kirtans intensify around Sant Tukaram's vaikuntha-gaman.
- Tukaram Beej — March 5, 2026
Tukaram Beej — the day Sant Tukaram Maharaj ascended bodily to Vaikuntha in 1650 CE from the Inderayani riverbank at Dehu. Falls on Falgun Krishna Dwitiya. Warkaris gather at Dehu and at every Vitthal mandir to sing Tukaram's gathas through the night. The Beej procession of his bhajan-mandali walks from the river to the mandir reenacting that final morning.
- Dnyaneshwar Punyatithi (Sanjeevan Samadhi) — December 6, 2026
Sanjeevan Samadhi Sohala — Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj's living-samadhi anniversary at Alandi. Kartik Vadya Trayodashi. Lakhs of Warkaris gather at Alandi for the procession, kirtan, and reading of the Dnyaneshwari. Mauli is held to be present in his samadhi to this day, and prayers offered are answered directly.
- Sant Dnyaneshwar Jayanti (Mauli Janma) — September 4, 2026
Mauli Janma — the appearance day of Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj at Apegaon on Shravan Krishna Ashtami (1275 CE). The same tithi as Krishna Janmashtami — Mauli is held to be a direct amsha of Krishna born to lead the kali-yuga jiva back to Vitthal. Apegaon, Alandi, and every Vithoba mandir holds Haripath, Dnyaneshwari-parayan, and abhanga-kirtan through the day and night.
- Sant Tukaram Jayanti (Tukoba Janma) — January 23, 2026
Tukoba Janma — the appearance day of Sant Tukaram Maharaj at Dehu on Magha Shukla Panchami / Vasant Panchami (1608 CE). The day Saraswati arrived in Marathi-bhakti form. Dehu, near Pune, holds a grand procession from the Inderayani river to the Tukaram mandir, with continuous gatha-parayan and abhanga-kirtan through the day and night.
- Sant Eknath Shashthi (Eknath Jal-samadhi) — March 9, 2026
Eknath Shashthi — the day Sant Eknath Maharaj entered jal-samadhi in the Godavari at Paithan on Phalgun Krishna Shashthi (1599 CE), having lived to age 67 and composed the Eknathi Bhagavata, the Bhavartha Ramayana, and ~300 abhangas. Paithan, Pratishthan in the Puranas, becomes the centre of Warkari pilgrimage on this day with continuous gatha-parayan, Bharud-singing, and Bhagavata-katha.
- Sant Namdev Punyatithi — July 27, 2026
Sant Namdev Punyatithi — the mahasamadhi day of Sant Namdev Maharaj at Pandharpur on Ashadh Shukla Trayodashi (1350 CE). The first 'mahapida' samadhi step at the Vitthal Mandir entrance is Namdev's — he prayed to remain at the threshold so that every devotee's feet would touch him on the way to Vitthal. The day comes two days after Ashadhi Ekadashi when lakhs of Warkaris are still at Pandharpur.
- Sant Janabai Punyatithi — July 27, 2026
Sant Janabai Punyatithi — Ashadh Shukla Trayodashi, 1350 CE. The first woman-sant of the Warkari corpus and the only sant in any Indic tradition to whose abhangas the Lord himself is the protagonist. Her samadhi at Pandharpur is adjacent to Namdev's. Observed on the same day as Namdev Punyatithi by all Warkaris still gathered at Pandharpur after Ashadhi Ekadashi.
- Sant Muktabai Punyatithi (Vidyut-jyoti) — May 13, 2026
Sant Muktabai Punyatithi — Vaishakh Krishna Dashami 1297 CE. Muktabai (Mauli's younger sister) was translated bodily into the form of lightning at Mehun on the banks of the Tapi during a thunderstorm — her body never recovered. Her vidyut-jyoti samadhi at Mehun is the only sant-samadhi in Warkari tradition that has no physical samadhi-marker.
- Sant Nivruttinath Punyatithi (Trimbakeshwar) — January 11, 2026
Sant Nivruttinath Punyatithi — Pausha Krishna Trayodashi 1297 CE. Nivruttinath (Mauli's elder brother and guru) entered sanjeevan samadhi at Trimbakeshwar at the source of the Godavari, beside the second Jyotirlinga of the twelve. The Trimbakeshwar samadhi is the southern terminus of the Mauli-Nivruttinath palkhi route during the Magh Wari.
- Sant Sopankaka Punyatithi (Sasvad) — December 22, 2026
Sant Sopankaka Punyatithi — Margashirsha Krishna Trayodashi 1296 CE. Sopankaka entered sanjeevan samadhi at Sasvad on the banks of the Karha river. Sasvad holds the southernmost of the four Apegaon-sibling samadhis (Mauli at Alandi, Muktabai at Mehun, Nivruttinath at Trimbakeshwar, Sopankaka at Sasvad).
- Sant Chokhamela Punyatithi (Mangalvedha) — May 8, 2026
Sant Chokhamela Punyatithi — Vaishakh Krishna Panchami 1338 CE at Mangalvedha. Chokhamela's samadhi at Pandharpur is on the threshold of the Vitthal Mandir — the second 'mahapida' step (after Namdev's) where every devotee's feet touch the bones-that-still-call-Vitthala on the way to darshan. The Chokhamela family — wife Soyrabai, son Karmamela, sister Nirmala, brother-in-law Banka Mahar — were all Warkari sants whose abhangas survive in the gatha.
- Sant Gora Kumbhar Punyatithi (Terdhoki) — May 16, 2026
Sant Gora Kumbhar Punyatithi — Vaishakh Krishna Trayodashi 1317 CE at Terdhoki. The eldest of the navasants, Gora Kumbhar (Goroba Kaka) is held to have introduced Mauli, Namdev, and the others to one another, and to have served as the elder-uncle of the Warkari movement.
- Sant Savata Mali Punyatithi (Aran) — August 11, 2026
Sant Savata Mali Punyatithi — Ashadh Krishna Chaturdashi ~1295 CE at Aran. Savata Mali is the patron-sant of every Warkari householder who cannot leave home to walk the Wari — his life proves that the daily work of growing, cooking, and offering food to Vitthal is itself the Wari.
- Ashadhi Wari Palkhi Prasthan (Alandi & Dehu departure) — July 4, 2026
Ashadhi Wari Palkhi Prasthan — the day the Dnyaneshwar Maharaj palkhi departs Alandi and the Tukaram Maharaj palkhi departs Dehu, beginning the 21-day, ~250 km foot-pilgrimage to Pandharpur. The largest religious foot-procession on Earth — 8-12 lakh Warkaris walk in dindis (groups of 50-200) along the centuries-old palkhi-marg, singing abhanga-kirtan continuously, sleeping in roadside shelters, and arriving at Pandharpur on Ashadhi Ekadashi for the Vitthal-darshan.