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Location of Shirdi
Shirdi is located in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra in Western India.
Shirdi extends latitude 19°45 N and longitude 74°25 E. This remote hamlet
has gained a massive popularity across the globe for its association with
the charismatic saint Shri Saibaba.
Shirdi is among most sacred pilgrim spots in India. Easily accessible from
all the major cities of Maharashtra by road, Shirdi is equally
approachable from across the country through rail and air network. However
Shirdi does not appear on either rail or air, still a good road network
ensures that the tourists have an easy and no-hassle travel to Shirdi by
road.
Shirdi is quite close to the holy city of Nashik with just 90kms away. It
takes about 6hrs to reach Saibaba of Shirdi from Mumbai. Pune is about
206kms from Shirdi.
Tips for Sai Devotees
Shirdi attracts thousands of pilgrims every day. Devotees as well as
simple tourists looking for spiritual gateway throng this holy land of
Shri Saibaba. With such a large number of people at this small place,
mostly ignorant of the place and culture of the region, the devotees must
know some of the tips when they are in Shirdi.
Shirdi attracts thousands of pilgrims every day. Devotees as well as
simple tourists looking for spiritual gateway throng this holy land of
Shri Saibaba.
The first 'darshan' of the day, resumes after the morning program of
worship (Morning aarti, Mangal Snan, Shodashopachar ) at around 7am.
During this Darshan you can make offerings.
Prior registration is mandatory before you make any offering at the
temple. Each gift item must be registered in the Donation Office of the
temple.
Devotees can donate cash either in the Donation Office (with due receipt)
or put it directly into one of the donation boxes, placed at all important
places of temple complex.
Photography of any kind still or moving is strictly prohibited during
Mangal Snan (Holy bath) of Baba and Aartis (all four aartis). Devotees may
take photographs during the hours of darshan only, for video recording a
prior permission of the Temple-in-charge is a must.
There is by and large no restriction on darshan during the day in
Dwarkamai masjid, Chawri, Gurusthan and Nanda deep except a few minutes
while attending to the dhuni or offering food to Shri Sai.
In Chawri ladies are not allowed to enter the section where Baba used to
retire to sleep in old times.
The main temple (Samadhi Mandir) is open from 5am to 10.30pm, where as
Dwarkamai masjid, Chawri, Gurusthan are closed around 8.30pm.
On the main day of celebrations on important occasions like Ram Navami,
Dussehra, Guru purnima the temple is open throughout the night for darshan.
On every Thursday 'Palki' procession takes place at around 9.15 p.m. from
Samadhi Mandir to Dwarkamai and then to Chawri.
All the priests and workers in the temples are employees of the Shirdi Sai
Sansthan. Therefore, no gifts or donations should be offered to them.
Be cautious about the prices while taking the garland, coconut etc (as a
package) from the nearby shops. You may avoid being overcharged by them.
Avoid the touts for getting an accommodation. It is advisable to approach
any hotel/lodge directly. There is a wide choice of hotels/lodges in
Shirdi, suiting the budget of all.
Darshan
Having a Darshan or a look at Shri Saibaba, when in Shirdi is heavenly in
itself. The sheer calmness and serenity that peeps through the white
marble statue of this saint hypnotizes you and initiates you into a
mystical and spiritual journey that imparts a new meaning to your
existence.
With thousands of devotees that queue up to have a look at this heavenly
visage, the timings for Darshan are fixed by the Sai temple authorities.
You must get acquainted with this before you go for a darshan of Shri Sai
Baba.
Samadhi Temple that houses the statue of Shri Saibaba opens for public
Darshan at 5am, when the temple opens. You need to be there well before
4am since a long queue is already there for a moment's glance of Sai Baba.
It is the time when "Utha utha Sakala Jana" a melodious prayer is played
on audio cassette. Exactly at 5.15am Kakad arati begins as a request to
Lord Sai to wake up and give His merciful glances to His devotees.
After the Kakad Aarati, the Samadhi and the Idol of Shri Sai is offered
Mangal Snan (Holy bath) with milk, curd, honey, sugar, ghe and warm
perfumed water. After this Baba is offered Shodashopachar pooja leading to
aarti. From 7.10am you can have full darshan of Shri Saibaba and also make
offerings such as flowers, garlands, coconut, sweets, etc. Saibaba darshan
continues till 11.45am.
Between 12 and 12.30pm Mahadhyan aarti or Noon arati is performed. After
this aarti, once again Sai darshan begins and devotees line to have a
glance of Sai Baba. Darshan continues through Dhup aarti or Sunset aarti.
The timings of Dhup aarti changes as per the orientation of Sun and thus
it changes through different seasons.
After Dhup aarti, at around 10am Shej aarti is done, which is the
preparation for Saibaba to retire for the day. The temple is closed by
10.20pm. You can have regal darshan of Saibaba's padukas or sacred
footwear on Thursdays and on special days. During these times a majestic
procession is held in all pomp and show with Saibaba's padukas kept along
with his portrait is carried in a royal palanquin from Samadhi Mandir to
DwarkaMai and Chawri.
Best Time to Visit Shirdi
Monsoons : June to August
Ramnavami : March/April
Guru Purnima : July
Vijayadashmi (Sri Sai Punyatithi) : October
Shirdi is the holy abode of Shri Sai Baba and thousands of pilgrims throng
the town each day from across India and beyond. You can visit the Shri
Saibaba temple at anytime you wish, however Monsoons i.e., between June
and August are the period considered to be the best time to be here.
Reason being the weather, which is simply so pleasant and inviting. You
don't need to bother about sweat and heat; with drizzling and cool breeze
all around your mystical journey to Shirdi becomes heavenly. Winters are
also quite a good time to visit Shirdi. Winters are not harsh in here and
temperature can dip to 7 degree Celsius.
However, you can plan your trip or pilgrimage to Shirdi during one of the
three major festivals that are celebrated here with great fervor and
excitement. These three festivals are Ram Navami, Guru Purnima and
Vijayadashamai. During these festivals thousands of devotees flock in here
and the whole atmosphere of the Shirdi becomes vibrant with puja, bhajan
(music), rath yatra (processions with palanquin) and many more events.
You can come to participate in Ramanavami at Shirdi, celebrated every year
in March or April. It is also the time when Saibaba's urus is held. Urus
is a muslim festival that is celebrated to honor a saint. This shows the
kind of communal harmony that weaves people of different faiths at Shirdi.
This year that is in 2007, Shirdi is celebrating the Ramnavami from 26th
to 28th of March.
Gurupurnima or Full Moon is also a wonderful time to visit Shirdi. In
2007, Shirdi is celebrating Guru Purnima from 28th to 30th July. This is
the time devotees all across the world converge in Shirdi to seek
Saibaba's blessings. There is also Vyasa Puja that is held during Guru
Purnima, in honor of Ved Vyasa who wrote the epic Mahabharata.
Vijayadashmi is a big festival in Shirdi, venerated as a holy day when
Shri Saibaba left his mortal body for heavenly abode. The festival is
celebrated as Shri Sai Punyathithi in Shirdi attracting great number of
devotees from all over the world. This year the festival is celebrated
from 20th to 23rd October.
You can choose any of the festive seasons to make a spiritual journey to
Shirdi and of course any other time is equally fulfilling.
How to Reach Shirdi Saibaba
The sacred abode of Shri Sai Baba at Shirdi is easily accessible from all
the corners of India and even from all the major cities of the world. You
can reach this pilgrim center by air, train and road, which ever medium
that suits you.
By Air
The nearest airport to Shirdi is at Nashik, 75kms away, Aurangabad is at a
distance of 150kms, which is connected by all the major towns of India.
You can also come till Mumbai by air and travel down to 296kms to reach
Shirdi. Mumbai has both international and domestic airports that grant
connectivity to the world. Domestic airport in Pune is about 231kms from
Shirdi. There are regular public and private transport operators that
ensure your easy access to the sanctum of Saibaba.
By Rail/Train
Kopergaon on Daund-Manmad Line is an important railway station about 16kms
from Shirdi. This station is on the route of the Karnataka Express from
New Delhi to Bangalore. Manmad is another important station about 58kms
from Shirdi which carries a number trains from Mumbai and Delhi. Shirdi
has a computerized Railway Ticket Booking Center within the temple
premises. From here you can have railway tickets of whichever destination
all through India.
By Road
Shirdi can be reached by taking a Bus from almost all major cities of
Maharashtra. Shirdi is on the Ahmednagar-Manmad Highway, 250 km from
Mumbai and 75 km from Nashik. MTDC runs buses from all major destinations.
Distance From Shirdi:
Mumbai 266 kms
Nasik 90 kms
Hyderabad 610 kms
Surat 373 kms
Nagpur 618 kms
Jalgaon 233 kms
Ahmednagar 83 kms
Aurangabad 144 kms
Delhi 1166 kms
Pune 207 kms
Sholapur 312 kms |
