Shriranga Vitthala

Connecting Vitthala to Shriranga suggests a migration of divinity. Legend has it that the original Ranga idol was gifted by the Sun God, Surya, to King Ikshvaku of the Solar Dynasty. Generations later, Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, worshipped this idol. After his return to Ayodhya, he gifted the idol to Vibhishana, the righteous brother of Ravana. On Vibhishana’s journey back to Lanka, he placed the idol on the banks of the Chandrabhaga (then known as the Bhima) to perform his ablutions. When he tried to pick it up, the idol refused to move. It was here that the deity chose to remain, not as a reclining Ranganatha, but as a standing Vitthala, witnessing the stage ( Ranga ) of the world. Thus, he became Shriranga Vitthala —the Lord of the Stage who stands eternally watchful.

[Text Overlay: Listen to the soul of Maharashtra.] (Visual: Aerial shot of a temple or the Wari procession) Shriranga Vitthala