Talk:Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa Blesses his Bhakta Puṇḍalika:Kūrmadāsa – the Physically Challenged Bhakta of Bhagavān

By Vishal Agarwal

In the thirteenth century, in the city of Paithan on the river Godāvarī, lived a brāhmaṇa named Kūrmadāsa. Unfortunately, he was born with a great physical handicap – he had no hands and feet. His arms and legs ended in rounded stubs. Due to this, he could not walk or do things that normal humans do with their hands. He lived entirely on the mercy of others. People called him Kūrma, which means a tortoise.

Kurma Avatar of Lord Vishnu

One day, he heard some bhaktas singing bhajanas for Bhagavān Viṭhobā on their way to Pandharpur to visit His shrine. Viṭhobā is a form of Viṣṇu, and a famous temple is dedicated to Him in Pandharpur. Kūrmadāsa was greatly moved by the bhajanas and in his heart arose love for Bhagavān Viṣṇu. He begged the bhaktas to take him to Pandharpur along with them. But they refused, saying that Pandharpur was a long way from there, and since he could not walk, he would slow them down.

Kūrmadāsa was disappointed. He decided to drag his body from Paithan to Pandharpur until he had a darśana of Bhagavān Viṭhobā. But on the first day, he could drag himself only 2 miles. That night, he took shelter in a maṇḍir on the way and prayed to Viṭhobā, saying that he knew it would take him months to visit the maṇḍir, as he had no hands to carry food or water and no feet to walk. Yet he placed himself in Bhagavān’s hands, asking Him to ensure that he reached the temple for His darśana and not to give up on the way.

A few minutes later, a rich merchant appeared in front of Kūrmadāsa. He said that he too was going to Pandharpur and suggested they cover the journey together. His name, he said, was Vithoba. Kūrmadāsa was surprised and said that he could travel only two miles every day and was dependent on others for food and water.

The merchant smiled and replied that he had to stop every two miles to sell his goods, meet other merchants, and collect payments for goods sold. He said he needed a friend for the journey and that Kūrmadāsa would be a perfect companion.

So day after day, the merchant patiently covered a short distance of two miles with Kūrmadāsa. He took care to feed him lovingly and made sure they both had a place to spend the night each day.

Four months passed in this way. It was the month of Kārttika and the day of Ekādaśī when a grand gathering of Viṭhobā’s devotees took place at Pandharpur. But Kūrmadāsa and his merchant friend had reached only a place called Lāhul, which was 14 miles from Pandharpur. Now Kūrmadāsa despaired and cried out to Bhagavān that it would take him a week to reach Pandharpur, but the festival was that very day. He prayed that Bhagavān take pity on His devotee and fulfill his desire there in Lāhul itself.

The merchant Vithoba took leave of Kūrmadāsa to proceed to Pandharpur. Kūrmadāsa requested some other bhaktas on their way to Pandharpur to pass on a message to Bhagavān at the maṇḍir that His devotee was still 14 miles away but wished to see Him.

Meanwhile, the great sants Jñāneśvara and Nāmadeva had joined other bhaktas in Pandharpur for the festival. Suddenly, Bhagavān Viṭhobā appeared in front of the two sants and said that His dear devotee Kūrmadāsa awaited Him in Lāhul and that He could not let him down. He asked them to come so the three of them could walk to meet him. The sants followed Bhagavān and on their way met another sant named Sāmvata, a gardener. The four of them then reached Kūrmadāsa in Lāhul.

When Bhagavān Viṭhobā appeared in front of Kūrmadāsa with the three sants, Kūrmadāsa wept with joy. Bhagavān said to him that He was the merchant who had taken care of him these last four months and that He was very pleased with his bhakti. He offered him a boon.

Kūrmadāsa could have asked Bhagavān Viṣṇu Viṭhobā to give him a perfect body. Instead, he prayed that since Bhagavān had appeared before His humble devotee, he had nothing more to ask, except that Bhagavān should bless him and always stay there in Lāhul so that disabled people like him who could not travel to Pandharpur could have His darśana there itself.

Bhagavān Viṭhobā smiled and transformed Himself into a mūrti there. A maṇḍir was constructed at Lāhul around the mūrti. Even today, on their way to Pandharpur, the bhaktas always stop at Lāhul to worship the gracious Lord of Kūrmadāsa.