Visit to Shri Sai Baba Temple at Shirdi

Quote of the Post: "Shirdi Saibaba Temple truly attracts millions of devotees of all religions, castes and creed from all over the world and deserve to be in India's most famous shrines." - Quote about 'Saibaba Temple, Shirdi' - Sachin Kumar Gupta

If you are searching for Shirdi Sai Baba visit, what you should know about, what to keep in mind, what places to visit in Shirdi Temple, what instructions to follow, what are the Puja timings, you are at the right place. The 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 from all around the world. The temple is a beautiful shrine that was built over the Samadhi of Shri Sai Baba. Shirdi is a small village in Kopargam taluka, in Ahmadnagar District of the Maharastra State. Shirdi is located about 270 kms from Mumbai (MH) and about 190 kms from Pune (MH) in India. If you are planning to travel by train, Kopargaon (KPG), Manmad Jn (MMR), Nasik Road (NK) and Aurangabad (AWB) are 4 nearby train stations near Shirdi.

Important Instructions for Shirdi Sai devotees: These points I have collected after my visits to this place, and also includes family and friend's experiences.

- If you have not visited this place before, make sure on arrival at Shirdi, devotees should immediately get in touch with one of the Niwassthan Office for booking of their accommodation which will be made available after registration of name and other particulars. No deposit is required for accommodation.

- Sai Devotees are requested that they should not keep of their  foot wears any where except Chappal stand. it is near Darshan 'Q' entrance.

- Sai Devotees are requested not to carry their cell phones and cameras in Samadhi Mandir. Please keep it in lockers provided by Sansthan in Mandir Premises.

- All the devotees, especially women and diabetic persons, are requested to eat some food before joining the darshan queue as during heavy rush days time required for darshan will be from 2 to 3 hours.

- It would be best to keep all your belongings in your vehicle only, so you can save some time. 

- Thursday is the day Saibaba is specially worshipped. On this day devotees from all over India visit Shirdi for Darshan of Saibaba.

- For VIP pass, only one family member need to be in queue, and now cashless (card) payments are also available. It may take more than an hour on weekdays and more than 2 hours on weekend, and important dates. 

- Now Online Darshan Booking has introduced for Sai devotees which are providing them an option of not standing in a queue for several hours to have darshan of Siababa Samadhi Mandir. Refer this link https://online.sai.org.in. Devotees need to be first register themselves in the Website and create an Account, after that they can select the Online services like Darshan, Accommodations, Donation, etc and make their payments online.

- It was good to see that the devotees were being offered free tea/ water / coffee while they waited in queues.

- As the Samadhi Mandir is overcrowded at the time of Aarti, devotees should safeguard their ornaments and purses from pick-pocketers and take care their children.

- All the necessary assistance and guidance is readily available to the devotees at the Niwassthan Office of the Shri SaiBaba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi.

- As the various dealers and vendors of Pooja articles are not connected with the Shri SaiBaba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi, devotees should first fix the price before buying these articles to avoid any trouble thereafter.

- Medical facilities are available at the well-equipped  Hospital run by the Shri SaiBaba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi.

- The Laddu counter is always very crowdy. Free dry boondi also distributed in similar 50 gms packet per head.

- The three main festivals in Shirdi are of two to four days each. They are Ramnavami (March/April), Guru Purnima (July),and Vijayadashami (September). 

- There are programme running throughout the year of puja, music (bhajan) public parayana (reading of scriptures and devotional texts) and exuberant processions with the palanquin and the Rath (cart).

Make sure to visit all places within the Shirdi temple boundary. 

Sri Sai Baba Samadhi Mandir

Shri Saibaba Sansthan Temple

Dixit Wada Museum

Lendi Baug

Maruti Mandir

Dwarkamai Masjid

Baba's Chavadi

Adul Baba Cottage

Literature about Shri Sai Baba containing authentic information in various languages has been published by the Shri SaiBaba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi at reasonable prices and is readily available at its Book shops near the Samadhi Mandir.

Khandoba Mandir: Khandoba Mandir is situated on the main road. In front of this temple Baba was welcomed by Poojari Mhalsapati of this temple, who said "Aao Sai (Come Sai)", when Baba stepped in Shridi. In this temple there are icons of Khandoba, Banai and Mhalsai.

Daily Sai Darshan Puja Timing: The worship schedule at Shirdi Saibaba temple begins early in the morning that continues till late in night. (As of 2016 - It may change.)

·         4:30: Dwarkamai, Gurusthan, Chavadi open

·         5:00: Mandir opens, Bhupali, Abhishekam at Gurusthan

·         5:15: Kakad (morning) Arati, Naivedyam of butter and sugar to Baba in Samadhi Mandir, Oil offered to the lamps in Dwarkamai

·         5:40: Bhajan in Saibaba Mandir

·         6:00: Mangal Snaan (washing) of Statue and Samadhi in Samadhi Mandir

·         7:00: Darshan begins in Samadhi Mandir

·         9:00: Naivedyam in Samadhi Mandir and Dwarkamai

·         8:00 -10:30: Satyanarayana Pooja

·         11:30: Dhuni Pooja with rice and ghee in Dwarkamai

·         12:00: Mid day Arati

·         12:30: Naivedyam in Samadhi Mandir, Dwarkamai and Gurusthan

·         4:00: Pothi (Devotional reading/Study) in Samadhi Mandir Sunset: Dhoop (evening) Arati

·         6:30: Naivedyam in Samadhi Mandir, Dwarkamai and Gurusthan

·         8:00 - 9:00: Devotional Songs in Samadhi Mandir and other Cultural Programs (if any)

·         9:00: Chavadi and Gurusthan close

·         9:30: In Dwarkamai water is given to Baba, a mosquito net is hung and the hanging lamp is lit

·         9:45: Dwarkamai (the upper part) closes

·         10:30: Shejarati -Shej (night) Arati, after this , a shawl is wrapped around the statue in the Samadhi Mandir, a Rudraksha mala is put around baba's neck, Mosquito net is hung, and a glass of water kept there

·         11:30: Samadhi Mandir closes after night Arati

Apart from these there are other nearby destinations like Trimbakeshwar jyotirlinga, Shani Shingnapur, Renuka Mata Temple, Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga, Ajanta and Ellora, Vani Saptashrungi Shakti peeth devi temple, Muktidham & Panchvati Temple in Nashik are located within 150 km from Shirdi that can be visited by the tourists here.

Om Shirdi Sai.

Read More

Prati Shirdi Sai Temple, Kiwale, Shirgaon near Pune

Quote of the post: "All actions result from thoughts, so these are thoughts that matters."

Across different regions of India, there are numerous God and Goddess and their dedicated temples in Hindu religion. Everyone can't always visit the main sacred place. So some of the Indian states are building the replicas of major Hindu temples such as:
Replicas of 12 Jyotirlingas at Siddhesvara Dham, Sikkim
Replicas of Char dham at Namchi, Sikkim
Replicas of 51 Shaktipeeth at Ambaji, Gujrat.
Replica of the most famous Tirumala Venkateswara Temple (Tirupati Balaji) at Narayanpur village near Pune.
Other replicas of famous monuments and major places of pilgrimage such as the Taj Mahal and Replica of Angkor Wat Temple in Bihar are under construction.

 

Near Pune we have replica of Shirdi Sai Baba temple named "Prati Shirdi Sai Baba Temple" near Kiwale, Shirgaon. If you have limited time and still want to visit Sai temple near Pune, this could be right place. For us, It was a short and half day trip from Pune. The way to reach to temple is pretty easy, it is near to Somatane toll plaza on NH4 (Mumbai Pune old highway). From Pune, It is reachable within 1 hour and from Mumbai within 2-3 hours depending on starting point.
Address: Prati Shirdi Sai Temple, Kiwale, Shirgaon, Maharashtra

At the time when we visited, there was not much crowd at this temple unlike Sai Temple at Shirdi. Even during the weekend, there were limited people, and within 5-10 minutes we got to see the replica of the Shirdi idol inside. No photography is allowed inside the temple, though Sai Idol is pretty visible once you are inside the temple.

After the visit don't forget to have prasadam at Anna Chatralaya. It is being served around 12-3, we had the same here as well. This place in itself is beautiful, and all the color carvings are pretty amazing all around. The temple follows most of the rules and procedures like in main Sai baba temple, Shirdi.

We were with Amit and Paresh's family during this trip, We had few photographs during the 'Parikarma Marg' & children also enjoyed this place. We relaxed here for an hour. Near the back door of the temple, there are few shops, where one can buy souvneirs and also have snacks. Just outside of the temple, and near to main entrance there are quite many shops, and small market, that make this place more lively. As per current situtation, parking space seems to be good enough. After that we proceed to "Birla Ganpati Temple" which was pretty visible from the NH4 expressway toll.

Other World Famous Replica Visit: We have visited "Mini Siam" - "The miniature world", place with most of the wonders at one place named "Mini Siam" in Pattaya, Thailand. We had a couple of hours around Mini Siam with a quick tour of most of the landmarks of Thailand and replicas around the world.

Read More

Prati Balaji Temple Ketkawale near Narayanpur, Pune

Across different regions of India, there are numerous God and Goddess and their dedicated temples in Hindu religion. Everyone can't always visit the main sacred place. So some of the Indian states are building the replicas of major Hindu temples such as:

Replicas of 12 Jyotirlingas at Siddhesvara Dham, Sikkim

Replicas of Char dham at Namchi, Sikkim

Replicas of 51 Shaktipeeth at Ambaji, Gujrat.

Replica of the most famous Shirdi Sai Baba Temple (Prati Shirdi) at Shirgaon village near Pune.

Other replicas of famous monuments and major places of pilgrimage such as the Taj Mahal and Replica of Angkor Wat Temple in Bihar were under construction at the time of writing. 

Near Pune we have replica of most famous Tirumala Venkateswara Temple (Tirupati Balaji) named "Prati Balaji Temple" near Ketkawale-Narayanpur. If you have limited time and want to visit Balaji temple near Pune, this could be right place. For us, It was a short and half day trip from Pune. I have visited this place twice so far. There are multiple routes to reach this place. If you can come early, you can also trek for nearby Purandar Fort on same day. 

Address: Prati Balaji Temple, Saswad-Kapurhol-Bhor Road, Ketkawale, near Narayanpur, Pune, Maharashtra

It was built by the V.H.Group at a cost of 27 crores. It is located outskirts of Pune and also known as Shri Venkateshwara Temple. The priests of this temple have come from Tirupati Temple in Andhra Pradesh. Balaji temple at Pune is constructed under the guidance of Tirumala Tirupati Temple Devasthan. It took almost 7 years to built this temple during 1996 to 2003 and it is one of the best religious places in Maharashtra. The temple premises is quite clean and very well maintained. 

Prati Balaji Temple Ketkawale Timings: Daily 5:00 am to 8:00 pm. At the time when we visited, there was not much crowd at this temple. Even during the weekend, there were limited people, and within 5-10 minutes we got to see the replica of the Balaji idol inside. This place also has timings and Pooja details alongwith Darshan (visit) closing timings. 

No photography is allowed inside the temple, though Balaji Idol is pretty visible once you are inside the temple. They do not allow mobiles, cameras, leather waist belts and wrist watches inside the temple for security reasons. The lockers are available to deposit all these things. However, visitors can take photographs outside the main temple. We had few photographs during the 'Parikarma Marg' & Pathik also enjoyed this place during my second visit. This place in itself is beautiful amidst lush green hills, and all the color carvings are pretty amazing all around, which depicts lots of stories of Hindu Gods. After the visit don't forget to have Prasadam near exit. 

During both the visits, We relaxed here for an hour. Near the parking area of the temple, there are few shops, where one can buy souvneirs and also have snacks. Just outside of the temple, and near to main entrance there are quite many shops, and small market, that make this place more lively. As per current situtation, parking space seems to be good enough. Do visit this place, If you are in Pune or nearby. 

Other Famous Replicas Visit: 

We had visited "Prati Shirdi" at Shirgaon village near Pune as well. 

We had also visited "Mini Siam" - "The miniature world", place with most of the wonders at one place named "Mini Siam" in Pattaya, Thailand. We had a couple of hours around Mini Siam with a quick tour of most of the landmarks of Thailand and replicas around the world. 

Read More

Mahaganapati Ashtavinayak Temple - Ranjangaon

After Alibaag our monsoon express visited the nearby places of Shirur located between Pune and Ahmednagar. It was a day long drive with occasional monsoon drizzles. Four of us started the journey on two bikes, Tarachand & Komal on one and Meenal & myself on the other. We traversed through the below route:

View Mahaganapati Temple in a larger map

Pune - Lonikand - Koregaon Bhima - "Sanaswadi" - Shikrapur - "Ranjangaon" - Shirur - "Ramling" Old Shirur - Annapur - Takli Haji - "Nighoj Potholes" - Malthan - Chincholi Morachi - Ganegaon - Shikrapur - Pune

Shri Bhairavnath Temple, Sanaswadi

This was our unplanned stoppage, but the temple is on the roadside and quite colorful to attract the people passing-by. The temple is located between Koregaon Bhima and Shikrapur on the way to Shirur. Shri Bhairavnath is village deity. This village celebrate annual village fair in the name said deity on 2nd day of Chaitra Krishna Pakshya. All villagers celebrate the said fate with enthusiasm. On the first day of fair there are bullock cart races and on the second day, wrestling competitions are arranged. 

Within the same premises, we have Jogeshwari Prasanna and Shani Dev temples. Unlike other states, females are prohibited to go to Shani Dev temple in Maharashtra. We got the "Jalebi" as the prasad to visit this place. We wish, we could get this even more! You can visit this place while going to Shirdi, Shani Shingnapur or Aurangabad from Pune. 

Ranjangaon Mahaganpati Devasthan:

Ranjangaon village is located about 50 km from Pune on the way to Shirdi, enroute to Aurangabad. While going from Pune - Nagar highway, the route is Pune - Koregaon Bhima - then via Shikrapur Rajangaon is 21 km before Shirur. 

Ranjangaon Mahaganpati is one among the Ashtavinayak shrines of Maharashtra, celebrating eight instances of legends related to Ganesha. Outside the temple, there is small market, offering prasad, garlands, coconuts and other holy offerings for Mahaganpati. This cute idol of Lord Ganesh is also named as 'Mahotkat'; portrayed on a lotus, flanked by his consorts Riddhi and Siddhi. 

The temple is quite crowded on weekends and holy festivals, and you may have to wait for more than 30 mins for paying a visit. One also has an option of fast darshan by paying INR 50; however, the local villagers are previleged for having a direct entry to the main temple. There are a few colorful paintings on the walls depicting stories of Indian Gods & Goddesses.

Just near the parking lot, there are two decorated idols of elephants adding beauty to this holy place. While we were busy admiring these beautiful creations touching their neck bells and capturing photos, we noticed a giraffe peeping from behind. In anxiety, we headed to explore more, and found sculptures of rhino, zebra, lion, tiger in the garden. Best was the tiger whose eyes were quite frightening. This park serves not only as a picnic spot to the localities (you can easily spot people relishing home made snacks), but also a place for relaxation for workers (catching an afternoon nap in the calm & serene environment). 

Further more a huge entrance is under construction, which will make the place, easy to be identified for the tourists. Photography and videography inside the temple is not allowed. Ganesha Chaturti is celebrated in great splendor and thousands of devotees come over to pay their regards. We had our breakfast in the temple restaurant, wheeled ahead in search of "natural potholes near Takli Haji".

Read More

Bibi Ka Maqbara (Tomb of the Lady) in Aurangabad

Bibi Ka Maqbara (Tomb of the Lady) is a tomb located in Aurangabad, Maharashtra also known as Tomb of Rabia Durani. Due to the strong resemblance, it is also called 'The Mini Taj of India' - the Dakkhani Taj (Taj of the Deccan). The layout and surrounding of the tomb is very much similar to Taj Mahal in Agra (UP). Bibi Ka Maqbara has four towering minarets like Taj Mahal. It was built by Azam Shah, son of Aurangzeb, in 1678 in memory of his wife, Dilras Banu Begum (known as Rabia-ud-Daurani). It is about 110 km from Shirdi, about 210 km from Nasik, about 230 km from Pune and about 280 km from Mumbai.

Panoramic views of the site are simply amazing. After passing through the entrance a small tank is provided and a low profile screen wall leads to the main structure. The screened pathway has a series of fountains at its center. After climbing few stairs we reach the upper level. Soothing sunset can be enjoyed here. At the main place, there is a sanctum with the tomb of Dilras Banu Begum. An octagonal lattice-screen of white marble surrounds the raised plinth supporting Rabia Daurani's grave inside the tomb. The tips of its pillars are made of red stone.

A part of the song 'Jab Tak' from the movie 'M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story' was shot in Bibi Ka Maqbara and surrounding hills. Bibi Ka Maqbara has featured in a number of documentaries and short films, and movies. MTDC also organizes a fair every October as the 'Bibi Ka Maqbara festival'. For people who cannot visit Taj Mahal, this looks to be an decent replica of same. I loved the time with mom and Tanuj throughout the day. For sure, This is a nice place for taking photographs and selfie as well. :)

Recommendation: Certainly a must and worth visit for all tourists visiting Aurangabad. You can even adore the beauty of the place again and again. It was my second visit to this place. I have also added a memory 5 years back when this site was renovating. In my opinion if anybody wants to enjoy its magnificent view, spend 1-2 hours in the evening. Don't go with too much expectations with the Taj Mahal in mind, then you will not be disappointed. There is safe parking available near the attraction and its open until 9:30 pm. Good thing is it is opened till 9:30 pm, so while coming back from Aurangabad Fort, Ellora or Ajanta you can visit this place. Try to avoid visiting on weekends, as there is quite long queue even for tickets. 

Near by places of interest: 

Ellora Caves, Aurangabad 

Ajanta Caves, Aurangabad 

Grishneshwar Jyotirling and Temple, Verul 

Daulatabad fort (Devagiri fort)

Sai Baba temple, Shirdi 

Read More

Grishneshwar Temple and Jyotirlinga Aurangabad

Grishneshwar temple, sometimes referred to as the Ghrushmeshwar Jyotirlinga (linga of light) or Dhushmeshwar temple, is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines mentioned in the Shiva Purana. This is the smallest Jyotirlinga temple in India. Ghrishneshwar Temple is one out of five Jyotirlingas situated in the state of Maharashtra. This pilgrimage site is located in Ellora (also called Verul), less than a kilometer from Ellora Caves – a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is about 30 km from the city of Aurangabad, about 250 km from Pune and about 300 km from Mumbai. Enjoy the drive from whatever way you are reaching Aurangabad. 

We got up at early morning 5:30 AM since we had to reach Aurangabad as per plan, and first in the list was to visit Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga temple visit with Tanuj and maa. Tanuj also had fun while driving our new Dzire. Here we reached entrance of Grishneshwar temple at around 12 at noon. This temple is presently an important and active pilgrimage site of the Hindus and attracts long lines of devotees daily. Anyone can enter the temple premises and its inner chambers, but to enter the sanctum sanctorum core (garbha-ghrya) of the temple, the local Hindu tradition demands that men must go bare chested. We were quite surprise to see it, and respected that. One can touch the jyotirlinga here and perform abhishek through Pandits/Purohits.

The Grishneshwar Temple was constructed by Ahilyabhai Holkar who also re-constructed the Kashi Vishwanath Temple at Varanasi, UP and the Vishnu Paada Temple at Gaya Bihar. There is a court hall inside which is built on 24 pillars. We watched few carvings summarizing various legends and mythologies of Shiva on these pillars. The feeling inside the Garbhagriha is simply amazing. The temple was quite peaceful and calm with very less crowd. As we visited on a weekday, so we had ample time inside Garbhagriha. There is a Nandikeshwara (Nandi bull) in the court hall. The temple houses carvings and sculptures of many Hindu gods and goddesses. 

The temple is made up of Red stone and looks artistic. Photography is not allowed inside temple premises, so we took few photographs from back side and outside areas. You need to keep all your belongings outside only. Better keep your mobile/cameras in your hotel room or vehicle or deposit in the locker which is at the side of the temple gates. We also had a glance at Shahaji Raje Samadhi which is located just besides the Temple. There is small market outside which sells items for worship and handicrafts at very nominal costs. It was one of most peaceful and less crowded jyotirlinga I have ever seen and know. After that we headed for Daulatabad Fort and then Bibi ka Makbara (Mini Tajmahal).

Near by places of interest: 

Ellora Caves, Aurangabad

Ajanta Caves, Aurangabad

Sai Baba temple, Shirdi

Daulatabad Fort, Aurangzeb Tomb, 

Bibika Makbara (Mini Tajmahal)

Read More