Warkari

Vārkari ( ; Marathi: ; Pronunciation: ) meaning: 'The one who performs the Vari' is an Advaita Vaishnavsampradaya (religious movement) within the Bhakti spiritual tradition of Hinduism, geographically associated with the Indian state of Maharashtra. Varkaris worship Shri Krishna as Vitthal (also known as Vithoba), the presiding deity of Pandharpur, regarded as a form of Vishnu, and his consort Rakhumai (also known as Rahi), regarded as a form of Lakshmi. Saints and gurus of the bhakti movement associated with the Warkaris include Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Chokhamela, Eknath, and Tukaram all of whom are accorded the title of Sant. Recent research has suggested that the Varkaris were historically the followers of Krishna. Vittala is also another name for Krishna. The Varkaris acknowledge and accept the oneness of Vishnu with other deities like Shiva, Shakti and Ganpati, building upon the core principles of Advaita Vedanta. Krishna is referenced as Vitthal in most Bhakti songs of Purandara Dasa and other Bhakti Saints.

== Influence == The Vārkari tradition has been part of Hindu culture in Maharashtra since the thirteenth-century CE, when it formed as a panth (community of people with shared spiritual beliefs and practices) during the Bhakti movement. Vārkari recognize around fifty poet-saints (Sants) whose works over a period of 500 years were documented in an eighteenth-century hagiography by Mahipati. The Vārkari tradition regards these sants to have a common spiritual line of descent.