Shirdi Saibaba Temple, located at Shirdi, Maharashtra, India attracts millions of devotees of all religions, castes and creed who come to pay homage to Shri Sai Baba. The temple is a beautiful shrine that was built over the Samadhi of Shri Sai Baba.
Shrine’s History
According to the Sai Satcharitra, the young Sai Baba led an ascetic life, stayed aloof from the people, and meditated under a neem tree day and night. When he returned in 1858, he took on his now famous dress of a one-piece kafni robe and cloth cap, both normally associated with Muslims and interacted more with the local people, some of whom considered him mad. Those who came to revere him convinced the sadhu to move into an abandoned mosque. He continued to live on alms and, in the manner of Hindu sadhus, kept a constantly burning dhuni, or sacred fire. He would give ash to devotees from this fire for use in healing.
That fire still burns today in Shirdi. From 1910, his popularity spread outside Shirdi to Mumbai, and many people started to visit him. He was known for performing miracles, including lighting lamps fueled with water, restoring a blind mans sight and having the wounds of anothers beating appear on his own body. He observed both Muslim and Hindu forms of worship and taught the importance of charity, devotion, the guru and the dangers of atheism.
Legends Associated with This Shrine
Chandbhai, the headman of a village called Dhoopkhede, once lost his horse and was looking for it. Suddenly he heard a voice say “You look tired. come here and rest a while”. He turned around and saw a young Fakir . The fakir smiled at him and said: “What are you looking for in this jungle, Chandbhai”. Chandbhai was surprised and he wondered how the fakir knew his name. Slowly, he said “I have lost my horse. I have looked for it everywhere but cannot seem to find it”. The fakir told him to look behind a clump of trees. Chandbhai was pleasantly surprised to find his horse grazing peacefully behind those trees. He thanked the fakir and asked his name. The fakir said, “some people call me Sai Baba.” Sai Baba then invited Chandbhai to have a smoke with him.
He got the pipe ready, but there was no fire to light it with. Sai Baba thrust a pair of tongs into the ground and brought out a burning coal. Chandbhai was wonderstruck. He thought “this is no ordinary person” and invited Baba to come to his house and be his guest for a few days. Next day Baba went to Chandbhai’s house and found everybody in a very joyful mood and festivities going on all around. He found that Chandbhai’s wife’s nephew was getting married. The bride was from Shirdi and the marriage party was going to Shirdi. Chandbhai invited Baba to accompany the marriage party to Shirdi. At Shirdi, they camped in a field next to Khandoba’s temple. After the wedding, Saibaba stayed on at Shirdi.
At first, he lived under a neem tree and begged for food whenever he needed it. He then went to Khandoba’s temple, intending to stay there, but the temple priest met him at the entrance and told him to go to the mosque. That is how Baba, started staying at the Mosque which was later called Dwarkamayi. Baba preached at Shirdi all his life and performed numerous miracles to convince people that God exists. He healed people’s diseases, provided moral and material comfort to his devotees. Baba helped bring Unity and Harmony between all communities. He said that God is one, but called by different names.
He said follow your own religion and seek the truth. One day a rich millionaire named Booty came to Sai Baba and said he was going to construct a stone building for Shri Krishna. Baba helped him plan the building. Before the building was completed Baba fell very ill. On the 15th of October 1918, he breathed his last. His last wish was to be buried in Booty’s building. Booty’s stone building came to be known as the Samadhi Mandir. Shri Sai Baba was buried here and a beautiful shrine was built over it. To this day, people flock to Shirdi to pay homage to Shri Sai Baba
Shrine’s Map Location and How to Go There
By Road
Maharashtra State Transport buses are available from major cities like Nashik, Mumbai, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Pune and Kopargaon to Shirdi. Private air-conditioned buses also ply from various cities of Maharashtra to Shirdi.
By Rail
Kopergaon Railway Station, 16 kilometres away, is the nearest railway station to Shirdi. Kopergaon is well-connected to major cities of India through the rail. State-run buses, cabs, taxis and private buses are available from the station for Shirdi.
By Air
The nearest airport to Shirdi is the Aurangabad Airport which is 130 kilometres away from Shirdi. The airport is well-connected to major cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad. You can board a taxi or a cab or a bus to reach Shirdi from Aurangabad.
Shrine Timings
4 A.M To 11.15 P.M
Events Celebrated at This Shrine
The three main festivals are celebrated in Shirdi. They are Ramnavami , Guru Purnima ,and Vijayadashami . These festivals are celebrated with great passion, verve and heartfulness. There is a programme of puja, music public parayana and exuberant processions with the palanquin and the Rath . The Samadhi Mandir remains open all night during one of these days with Dwarkamai being open the previous night and there are all night bhajan and qawali sessions at various locations in the village. Printed programmes with full details are available at the Sansthan Office.
Extra Information About this Shrine
The three temples in Shirdi temple complex Lord Ganesh Temple Shirdi, Shani Temple Shirdi and Shiva Temple Shirdi very near to Samadhi Temple. Sai Baba often gave money for repairs of these temples. Khandoba Temple Shirdi Mahalaxmi Temple Shirdi Hanuman Temple Shirdi Narshima Temple Shirdi Jain Temple Shirdi