The pauranik (mythological) relevance and importance of Pandharpur Pandharinath or Vitthal is not God of only Varkari culture in Maharashtra but is God of many Vaishnava its from places like Karnataka, Andra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Utter Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh etc, Vitthal is not confined only to the Marathi culture. Many saints around the country have mentioned the importance of devotion of this God Vitthal. The ancient tradition of Shri Vitthala’s worship could be traced back to the Hindu philosophical scripture like Upanishad. There is story of King Janshruti in 4th chapter of Chandogya Upanishad. Once he listened whisperings of swans while resting under a starry sky. These flying swans were some seers. One swan praised the beauty of moonlight while the other said the fame of king Janshruti is more comforting than the moonlight. Other swan said that there was a person greater than King Janshruti whose name was Raikava. He was an owner and driver of a bullock cart but was an enlightened person. King Janshruti after listening this fact started a search for Raikava. In the last he found Raikava in Kashmir. King Janshruti had mentioned about his visit to Pandharpur when he was on the way to search for Raikva.

' Tatto nivritta ayatah pashyanbhimarathitate| Dvibhujan vitthalam vishnum bhuktimuktipradayakam| Yatra bhimarthitire bindumadhava sandnitah| Harih sa vartate$dyapi bhuktimuktiprado nrunam ||’