Context: Prime Minister will inaugurate the Sant Tukaram Shila Mandir in the temple town of Dehu in Pune district.

Key Points

• The Shila Mandir is a temple dedicated to a slab of stone (shila) on which Bhakti saint Tukaram had meditated for 13 days, when the authenticity of the Abhyangs he had written was challenged.
• Prior to this, he had immersed his entire work in the Indrayani River; the work miraculously reappeared after 13 days, proving their authenticity.
• The very rock where Sant Tukaram Maharaj sat for 13 days is pious and a place of pilgrimage for the Warkari sect.
• The Shila is currently on the Dehu Sansthan temple premises, and that for centuries has been the starting point of Wari, the annual pilgrimage to Pandharpur.
• The Sansthan decided to replace the silver cast covering with an image of Sant Tukaram Maharaj on the Shila, with a temple housing both.

Warkari Sect

• Sant Tukaram and his work are central to the Warkari sect spread across Maharashtra.
• His message about a casteless society and his denial of rituals had led to a social movement.
• Sant Tukaram is credited with starting the Wari pilgrimage.
• During the Wari, devotees congregate in the temple towns of Dehu and Alandi to accompany the padukas of Sant Tukaram and Sant Dyaneshwar respectively as they start for Pandharpur.
• Participants finish their sowing before they set off.
• The pilgrims reach Pandharpur on the day of Ekadashi.