Vithoba is a Hindu god, worshipped predominantly in the Indian states
of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. While generally
considered a manifestation of the Hindu god Vishnu or his avatar
Krishna, he is sometimes associated with the god Shiva, the Buddha or
both. Vithoba is often depicted as a dark young boy, standing
arms-akimbo on a brick, sometimes accompanied by his main consort
Rakhumai (Rukmini). Vithoba is the focus of the monotheistic,
non-brahminical Varkari sect of Maharashtra and the Haridasa sect of
Karnataka. Vithoba's main temple stands at Pandharpur in Maharashtra,
close to the Karnataka border. Vithoba legends revolve around his
devotee Pundalik, who is credited with bringing the deity to
Pandharpur, and around Vithoba's role as a saviour to the poet-saints
of the Varkari faith. The Varkari poet-saints are known for their
unique genre of devotional lyric, the abhanga, dedicated to Vithoba and
composed in Marathi. Other devotional literature dedicated to Vithoba
includes the Kannada hymns of the Haridasa, and Marathi versions of the
generic Hindu arati songs, associated with rituals of offering light to
the deity. Though the origins of both his cult and his main temple
remain subjects of debate, there is clear evidence that they already
existed by the 13th century.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vithoba>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1776:
American Revolutionary War: Samuel Nicholas and the Continental Marines
successfully landed on New Providence and captured Nassau in the
Bahamas.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Nicholas>
1875:
The first recorded organized indoor ice hockey game was played at the
Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal by James George Aylwin Creighton and
McGill University students.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ice_hockey>
1878:
The signing of the Treaty of San Stefano, ending the Russo-Turkish War,
established Bulgaria as an autonomous principality in the Ottoman
Empire.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_San_Stefano>
1997:
The Sky Tower in Auckland, the tallest free-standing structure in the
Southern Hemisphere at 328 metres (1,080 ft), opened.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Tower>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
esprit de corps (n):
A shared spirit of comradeship, enthusiasm, and devotion to a cause
among the members of a group
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/esprit_de_corps>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Consent in virtue knit your hearts so fast,
That still the knot, in spite of death, does last;
For as your
tears, and sorrow-wounded soul,
Prove well that on your part this bond is whole,
So all we know of
what they do above,
Is that they happy are, and that they love.
Let dark oblivion, and
the hollow grave,
Content themselves our frailer thoughts to have;
Well-chosen love
is never taught to die,
But with our nobler part invades the sky.
--Edmund Waller
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Waller>
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