Kurmadas: The Man Who Could Not Walk to Pandharpur

Three things, and the third one is the one that has to be said out loud.

One. The barrier was the road, not the man.

Read the story carefully and notice what it does not say.

It does not say Kurmadas was healed so that he could complete the pilgrimage. It does not say his body was corrected. It does not say he was made able to walk.

It says the deity moved.

Which locates the problem precisely. The obstacle in the story is a distance and a road, and the resolution addresses the distance, not the devotee.

Two. Access is not a favour.

In the story, Vitthal does not grant an exception because Kurmadas earned one through exceptional effort.

The theology of the Varkari tradition does not work that way and this series has recorded it repeatedly. Chokhamela did not earn entry. Janabai did not earn attention. Savata Mali did not earn a visit. The claim throughout is that the deity's availability does not depend on the devotee's qualification, which is the whole reason the sants of this tradition are a barber, a potter, a gardener, a maid, a Mahar and a goldsmith.

Three. And this is the one that matters.

Disability is not a punishment, and anybody who tells a disabled person that it is has left the tradition they claim to be speaking for.

Because this gets said, and it does real damage, and it needs answering from inside rather than around.

The karma argument and why it does not do what people use it for

The doctrine of karma exists in the tradition and this entry is not going to pretend otherwise.

And the tradition's own handling of it forbids exactly the use being made of it.

Three reasons, all internal.

One. You cannot know anybody's karma, including your own. The texts are explicit that its workings are beyond ordinary calculation. A person who looks at a disabled body and reads a moral history off it is claiming a knowledge the tradition says nobody has.

Two. The tradition treats contempt for the suffering as itself a moral failure. Using a doctrine about consequences to justify treating somebody badly generates the exact thing it claims to be explaining.

Three. And the tradition's own examples destroy the argument.

Ashtavakra was born, the story says, bent in eight places. He is a rishi. He is the teacher of King Janaka. The Ashtavakra Gita, one of the most uncompromising non dual texts in the language, is spoken by him. And its frame story is precisely about a court laughing at his body, and about his reply, which is that they had mistaken the shape of the vessel for what was in it.

Surdas was blind, and he is one of the four or five greatest devotional poets India has produced.

And Kurmadas is in the Bhaktavijaya, which is the Varkari tradition's own record of who counts.

A tradition that puts a man bent in eight places in the seat of the teacher, a blind man at the head of its poetry, and a man who could not walk into its list of saints is not a tradition that regards disability as disqualification.

What to say to somebody who says otherwise

Not an argument, if you can avoid it.

Say the names. Ashtavakra. Surdas. Kurmadas. They are in the tradition and the person making the karma argument almost certainly reveres all three.

And the harder version

If you are the disabled person and the argument is being made at you, by family, by a priest, by somebody at a temple, you are not obliged to win the debate.

The tradition's position is already on your side and you do not have to prove it to be entitled to your own practice.

And nobody has to be cured to be a devotee.

Which is worth saying plainly because a great deal of pressure in Indian religious life runs the other way: the visits to this shrine and that one, the promises, the person who knows somebody who was cured, the implication that continued disability means insufficient faith.

That implication is cruel and the tradition does not support it. Kurmadas was not cured. He is a saint.

The practical section, because a story about a man who could not reach a temple should end with how a person reaches one today.

The law

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 replaced the 1995 Act and is the governing statute. It recognises twenty one disabilities, it prohibits discrimination, and it requires that public buildings and services be made accessible, with standards laid down and timelines for existing buildings.

Places of worship open to the public fall within its scope.

The Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan, the Accessible India Campaign, launched in 2015, is the programme under which built environment, transport and information access have been retrofitted, and it is why the ramps and lifts you now see at major temples exist.

The UDID card

The Unique Disability ID.

Apply through the swavlambancard portal. It is a single national document that establishes disability status and percentage, and it is what most concessions, quotas and facilities ask for.

Get it even if you think you will not need it, because it removes an argument at every counter.

Temples

Most major Indian temples now have far more than people assume, and the facilities are frequently not advertised.

Ask, at the temple office, before you queue.

What is commonly available:

• Wheelchairs, often free, at the entrance or the office
• A separate darshan queue for divyangjan and senior citizens, which is usually much shorter
• Ramps and lifts, at most large temples now
• Attendant entry, so that one person can accompany you
• Battery operated vehicles on long approaches

And at specific major sites: Vaishno Devi has battery operated vehicles, a ropeway and helicopter services; Tirumala has dedicated arrangements; Shirdi, Siddhivinayak, Somnath, Puri and Pandharpur itself all have divyang provision.

Call ahead. Temple offices answer the phone and the information is rarely on the website.

Trains

• Free wheelchair assistance at stations, which you can book by calling 139 or through the railway app
• A reserved quota in most trains for persons with disabilities
• Concessional fares, which require a valid disability certificate or the UDID
• Book the lower berth, and say so at booking

Flights

Airlines are required by civil aviation rules to carry passengers with disabilities and to provide assistance without charge.

Notify the airline at booking and again forty eight hours before. Refusal to board on the ground of disability is not permitted, and if it happens, complain to the airline in writing and escalate to the aviation regulator.

If a place refuses you

• The Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, which is the statutory grievance body under the 2016 Act and accepts complaints directly
• The State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in your state
• Free legal aid 15100 through the District Legal Services Authority
• Police 112 if you are physically obstructed or abused

The thing this entry will not do

Promise a cure.

And it will name the harm that comes from that promise, because it is documented and lethal.

People with disabilities and with mental illness are taken to shrines instead of to treatment. They are kept there for weeks. They are told the cure depends on their faith, and when it does not come, the failure is placed on them.

At Erwadi in Tamil Nadu in 2001, twenty eight people with mental illness who had been chained at a shrine died in a fire because they could not run.

The Mental Healthcare Act 2017 makes chaining and confinement of that kind unlawful, and it establishes a right to treatment.

So, plainly:

• Go to the shrine if it helps you, and keep the treatment. They are not alternatives.
• Nobody may be chained, confined or held anywhere against their will as a cure. That is a crime.
• Tele MANAS 14416 for mental health support, free, in many Indian languages
• Police 112 if somebody is being held

Where to go

• Pandharpur, and the Vitthal Rukmini temple, which is the destination in this story
• The wari, in Ashadh and Kartik, where the dindi organisations increasingly make provision, and which you can ask about in advance
• The Kurmadas association near Pandharpur, which local Varkaris will point out

A daily practice from this entry

• Vitthal Vitthal, from wherever you are, which is the entire point of the story
• The Haripath, which requires nothing physical
• And the line to keep, which is this tradition's actual position: the distance is not your responsibility to close alone

Who: Kurmadas, a Varkari devotee of the region around Pandharpur, remembered in Mahipati's Bhaktavijaya and in the wider Varkari tradition. The tradition says he was born without usable hands and feet; the accounts vary in how they put it and no clinical description can be established from a devotional text written centuries later, but what is consistent is that he could not walk and could not propel himself in any ordinary way. His name comes from it, since kurma is the tortoise and the tradition connects the name to how he moved, flat to the ground and slowly.

The story: he wanted to reach Pandharpur and see Vitthal, which for a Varkari is the centre of the entire practice, and the wari is a walk, with hundreds of thousands of people walking there in Ashadh over many days. That put the most important thing in his religious life behind a physical requirement he could not meet. He set out anyway, on the ground, over the road, in the dust, pushing himself forward by whatever he could use, and the tradition does not soften the description. And he did not arrive, which is the part people leave out when they retell it as a story about persistence. The tradition says Vitthal came out to the road and met him where he was. Versions differ on who witnessed it; the core is stable, that the distance was closed from the other end.

What it claims: first, that the barrier was the road and not the man, since the story does not say he was healed so that he could complete the pilgrimage or that his body was corrected, it says the deity moved, which locates the obstacle as a distance and addresses the distance rather than the devotee. Second, that access is not a favour, since Vitthal does not grant an exception earned through exceptional effort, and the Varkari claim throughout is that the deity's availability does not depend on the devotee's qualification, which is why the sants of this tradition are a barber, a potter, a gardener, a maid, a Mahar and a goldsmith. Third, that disability is not a punishment, and anybody who tells a disabled person that it is has left the tradition they claim to speak for.

The karma argument: the doctrine exists and this entry does not pretend otherwise, but the tradition's own handling forbids the use being made of it. You cannot know anybody's karma including your own, since the texts are explicit that its workings are beyond ordinary calculation, so a person reading a moral history off a disabled body is claiming knowledge the tradition says nobody has. The tradition treats contempt for the suffering as itself a moral failure. And its own examples destroy the argument: Ashtavakra was born bent in eight places and is a rishi, the teacher of King Janaka, and the speaker of the Ashtavakra Gita, whose frame story is precisely about a court laughing at his body and his reply that they had mistaken the shape of the vessel for what was in it; Surdas was blind and is one of the greatest devotional poets India has produced; and Kurmadas is in the Bhaktavijaya, the tradition's own record of who counts. Say the names rather than argue. And if the argument is being made at you, you are not obliged to win it, the tradition's position is already on your side, and nobody has to be cured to be a devotee: Kurmadas was not cured, and he is a saint.

Getting there now: the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 recognises twenty one disabilities, prohibits discrimination and requires public buildings and services to be made accessible, and places of worship open to the public fall within its scope; the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan of 2015 is why the ramps and lifts at major temples exist. Get the UDID card through the swavlambancard portal even if you think you will not need it, since it removes an argument at every counter. Most major temples now have wheelchairs, often free; a separate and much shorter darshan queue for divyangjan and senior citizens; ramps and lifts; attendant entry; and battery operated vehicles on long approaches, with dedicated arrangements at Vaishno Devi, Tirumala, Shirdi, Siddhivinayak, Somnath, Puri and Pandharpur. Call the temple office ahead, because the information is rarely on the website. On the railways, free wheelchair assistance is bookable on 139 or the app, there is a reserved quota, concessional fares need a certificate or UDID, and you should ask for the lower berth at booking. Airlines are required to carry passengers with disabilities and assist without charge, refusal to board on that ground is not permitted, and you should notify at booking and again forty eight hours before. If refused: the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, the State Commissioner, free legal aid 15100, and police 112 if obstructed or abused.

And no cure is promised here: people with disabilities and mental illness are taken to shrines instead of treatment, kept for weeks, told the cure depends on their faith, and blamed when it does not come. At Erwadi in Tamil Nadu in 2001, twenty eight people with mental illness who had been chained at a shrine died in a fire because they could not run, and the Mental Healthcare Act 2017 makes chaining and confinement of that kind unlawful while establishing a right to treatment. Go to the shrine if it helps and keep the treatment, since they are not alternatives; nobody may be chained, confined or held anywhere against their will as a cure, which is a crime; Tele MANAS 14416 is free mental health support in many Indian languages; and police 112 if somebody is being held.