-- Samir Umarye
BICHOLIM APRIL 17: The six-day Chaitrotsav festival celebrated at Vithalapur, a hamlet of Karapur village in Bicholim taluka, is underway with various colourful cultural and religious activities. The festival which began on April 13 will conclude on April 18. The celebrations take place in the temple of Lord Vithal, an incarnation of Shrikrishna, on a hillock. The hillock and surrounding areas became known as Vithalpur after the establishment of the temple. The annual six-day festivities attract not only members of the Rane family scattered in various parts of Goa, but also other devotees of Lord Vithal<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Lord%20Vithal>make it a point to visit the temple. For five days, a folk drama based on mythological stories is performed by folk artists as soon as the bhajan or devotional songs composed by the saints are recited in the temple. On the last day, on April 18, a special folk dance of Virbhadra, a disciple of Lord Shiva<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Lord%20Shiva>, will be performed by a local folk artist in traditional costume and holding two swords in two hands. It will be followed by a chariot procession pulled by members of the Rane family which has the idol of Lord Vithal. "Though the temple of Lord Vithal is in Vithalapur of Karapur, the town of Sanquelim is traditionally associated with the celebration of Chaitra in which members of various communities have a role," said Vijaykumar Verekar<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Vijaykumar%20Verekar>, a teacher and a councillor of Sanquelim. According to tradition, the image of Lord Vithal was brought from Pandharpur in Maharashtra by Vataba Dulba Rane Morlekar along with other devotees who annually visited the temple of Lord Vithal during the occasion of Ashadi and Kartik Ekadashi fairs. The earliest reference to this temple is found in a grant of 1488 AD made by Jaitaji, Dipaji and Satroji Rane for the worship of the Lord Vithal. In 1712, Hiru Prabhu Solkar helped in the construction of the temple in fulfillment of a vow he made when his merchant fleet which was caught in a violent storm was saved by the grace of Lord Vithal. Salubai, a daughter of the house of Ranes, then married in the house of the Scindias of Gwalior and reconstructed the temple. "Ranes of Sattari, who launched repeated revolts against the Portuguese regime, strongly believed that they enjoyed the blessings of Lord Vithal," said Raosaheb Rane from Keri-Sattari. (ToI)
