SHREE VITTHALNATHJI

being left in control of the same under the primogeniture rules These seven Swarupas came to be known in the Sampradaya as the seven Nidhis. Separate houses for all the seven sons as given below

The last years of Vitthaleshwara were passed very happily at Gokula. One Murari Pandit wrote to him to give him a work which would explain to him the fundamental principles of Pushti-m:trga in such a way that he could silence all his opponents on his side of the country. For him Vitthales'vara wrote out the Bhakti-hansa and sent it to him. On receipt of the same the Pandit was much delighted and asked for a further explanation of the root cause of Bhakti. Thereupon Vitthales'vara' wrote out the Bhakti hetu. Both these works together in a nutshell explain that the cause of bhakti is God's Grace - alone and that the Supreme Purushottama plays among his select devotees, unapproached by mantra tantra etc.

Good comes out of evil is well illustrated in an incident in the life of Vitthaleshwara. Krishnadasa was appointed as the Adhikari in the temple of Shreenathji on Govardhana hill by Vallabhacharya On account of some disagreement with Vitthaleshwara, Krishnadasa prohibited his access into the temple. Vitthaleshwara submitted one 0f the order of the Adhikari, and lived at Chand Sarovara, Parasoli, for about six months of the exile. During the period he has penned some of the finest Vijnaptis-prayers. It is said that one such Vijnapti was written per day and the same was taken to Shreenathaji by Ramdasa. These Vijnaptis reveal the depths of Vitthaleshwara's heart. In them there is a harmonious blending of thought and expre$sion. A perusal of these Vijnaptis leaves a lasting impression on our mind. They are the outcome of a burning heart yearning passionately to meet the object of its intense love. A veil has been drawn as to the reason which led to the exile of Vitthales'vara by KrishQadasa. However, ultimately Krishnadasa came round, begged Vitthaleshwara's pardon and requested him to return to the temple. In these Vijnaptis each verse stands by itself. One publisher grouped them together into a collection of 25 each, but there seems to be little warrant for the same. It would not be out of place to record our own view as to the origin of these Vijnaptis. Vitthales'vara was a great letterwriter. He used to send and receive letters from a good many Vaishnavas. These letters were in Sanskrit prose, but in the beginning and end of each letter a verse or two were written by Vitthaleshwara to remind his pupils of their sublime mission. In course of time, the uninteresting matter of the letters came to be neglected, but the verses were collected and preserved. This being the origin of these Vijnaptis, we can well understand why these verses are unconnected. Unconnected as they are, they do breathe the fervent devotion of the great author. In some of them the highest and .noblest sentiments find expression. Vitthaleshwara's family.life was exteremely happy. He himself was blessed by God with a big family. By his first wife Rukmiji lie had seven sons and four daughters. Shobha, Yamuna, Kamala and Devaka were his daughters by the first wife. They were all married, and they lived with their husbands in Vitthaleshwara's house. Giridhara, Govinda, Balkrishna, Vallabha, Raghunatha and Yadunatha were six sons by his first wife Rukmiji.Ghanashyama was the seventh and the only son of Vitthales'vara by his second wife Padmavati. The first child of Vitthales'vara was Shohha, and after her Giridhara the eldest son was born. Purushottama the only son of his brother Gopinatha had passed away, but his two sisters Lakshmji and Satyabhama. lived with Vitthaleshvara. They passed their widowhood in the service of Shri Navanitapriya, the family deity, in perfect happiness. In spite of his being a big family man, he had freed his house from the shortcomings of the Sansarika miseries. In short there was no touch of Sansara in his family-life. One Devakinandana, a grandson of his, son of Raghunatha the fifth son, records the mode in which he was fondled by Vitthales”vara in his childhood in a poetical work Rasabdhi composed by him.

This would show that while fondling his children Vitthaleshwara would not forget his Lord Krishna himself, but would leave a lasting impression on the tender minds of his children that primarily their duty was to serve Lord Krishna. A Kirtana attributed to his another grandson Kalyanaraya gives an exquisitely delicate expression to his unwillingness to leave Vitthales’vara’s house, at the time when Vitthaleshwara’s uncle who was childless came to ask him to give him any one of his male childrem. At this time Kalyanaraya was afraid that he, being the first-born grandson, would be fiven away. The idea of remaining at the gate of Vitthales’vara abd thereby singing praises of Lord Krishna was a thing which appealed to Kalyanaraya more than anything else in the world howsoever attractive. Vitthales’vara understood all his children and he knew very well that none of then would be willing to leave his house, so he asked his uncle to take away any of them who would be willing to go with him. The uncle was baffled by this reply and went away disappointed. The Sampradayika Gatha relates that the uncle administered three curses to Vitthaleshwara’s progeny. These three are ( I ) maintenance of daughters, husbands, ( 2 ) debts, and ( 3 ) traveling. HOW FAR AND HOW MUCH TRUTH THERE IS IN THIS Gatha, it is difficult for us to determine, but so far as the first charge is concerned. It is literally true. Even to this day the Bhattas, the so-called husbands of the daughters of a Goswami’s family, are maintained in Goswami’s house with almost all the members of their family. So far as the second charge is concerned, we find some evidence for accepting the truth of the same. In a letter written by Vitthales’vara himself he asks his sons to wipe out the debts. As regards the third, it is a blessing in disguise, it would add to the number of ( vaishnav),s and the religion would prosper. Whatever that may be, vitthales’vara’s attitude seems clear. He had accepted the second alternative of Atyaga. He did not want his daughters to plunge into Sansara. So he kept them in his house, so that they could also serve Lord Krishna with the same facilities as his same would do. They were married of course, but their husbands the Bhattas had no access into the Sevaprakara of Lord Krishna in the family of Vitthales’vara. Even to this day no Bhatta is admitted in the inner worship in a temple owned by a Goswami. Debts for the Seva of Lord Krishna were never considered objectionable. They are not for the Sansara and as such, the evil influences are few. Thus these curses had no evil effect on the descendents of Vitthaleshvara. Familylife led by them was happy. The wives of Giridhra and Raghunathat weretwo sisters, so also those of Yadunatha and Ghanashyama were sisters. Not only were members of the family happy but even those who came in vitthales’vara’s contact were extremely happy and contented. One Mahadeva Dwivedi gives expression to this fact in the following verse the Girinara and Sachora Brahmins who early joined the faith and were taken by Vitthaleshwara in the inner worship did so without any monetary remuneration. Their duty was to serve Lord Krishna according to the directions of Vitthales’vara. All their other wants were looked after by Vitthales’vara. How much he cared for the comforts of his Sevakas could be well seen from the following. In the daily worship, water was to be brought from the Jamuna river by Sevakas, but writes Vitthales’vara in his letter, that if it was found troublesome to them, it should not be done because his Swami---Lord Kriwshna was delicate, and the inference was that he would not accept anything which arose out of Klesha. Endowed as he was with such tender feelings for his devotees, it is no wonder that the hearts of his devotees should reciprocate the same sentiments in greater degrees. It is in fitness of things that poet Gopaladasa after describing all the details of Vitthaleshwara’s family should describe the same as Kalpa Vriksha.

Shree Vitthaleshwara lived for over 70 years. His life was of perfection of the theory and practice of the Sampradaya. On Megha Krishna seventh, Samvat in I642, Shri Vitthalnathji gave his eldest son, Girdharji, his shawl with which to perform the last rites and then he walked into a cave on the Govardhan hill with his disciple Govinda Swami. He then entered into Shri Krishna's eternal lila with his body. His descendants maintain the spiritual glory and diginity of his Path of Grace till this day.