Shri Sai Baba Samadhi Mandir — Attraction in Maharashtra

Shirdi (pronunciationⓘ; also known as Sainagar) is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located in the Rahata taluka of Ahmednagar District. It is accessible via the Ahmednagar–Malegaon State Highway No.10, approximately 83 km (52 mi) from Ahmednagar and 15 km (9.3 mi) from Kopargaon. It is located 185 km (115 mi) east of the Western Seashore line (the Ahmednagar–Manmad road), a very busy route. Shirdi is famously known as the home of the late 19th century saint Shri Sai Baba.1] The Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust located in Shirdi is one of the richest temple organisations.[2] One of the most famous pilgrim centres of India, Shirdi is where Shri Sai Baba, the saint known for his divine powers, lived and preached for over five decades. Samadhi Temple, where he lived, has a room that depicts articles and things used by Shri Sai during his lifetime, and is therefore quite significant for his disciples, who follow his teachings and rever him till date. The temple also houses his mortal remains.

Every day, over 60,000 tourists and devotees from all faiths and religions throng to the temple, and this number increases during festive seasons. The temple opens at 4:45 am[3] and one has to wait in a queue to get a glimpse of the idol and worship him. Other places related to the life of Shri Sai in Shirdi include Dwarkamai Mandir, Chavadi and Gurusthan.

Dwarkamai Mandir, where Baba lived, with a temple inside, is the only one of its kind and importance in India. Another interesting aspect of the dwarkamai mandir is that the dhuni, or holy fire that Sai Baba lit here has been always kept burning to this day. The ash that falls from the dhuni called Udi is considered to have healing powers.

Baba used to spend a lot of time sitting under the Neem tree, and the amazing thing is that the leaves of this neem tree is sweet:This is considered to be one of the greatest miracles of Baba. And There is a Gurusthan under the Neem tree where, according to Baba, the Samadhi of his own guru is located and Where Baba was found during his Balyog or Yuva avastha.This place is considered to be a very important because of this reason. [4]

The Sainagar Shirdi Railway station became operational in March 2009. As of 2011, there are trains from Chennai,[6 Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Mysore[8] and other cities/states that have Shirdi railway station as their terminal stop.

Airedit

Shirdi Airport was inaugurated by the President of India, Ramnath Kovind, on 1 October 2017. There are major destinations from Shirdi airport, viz. the airports of Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai. The airport is located at Kakadi in Kopargaon tahsil area, 14 km south-west of Shirdi.[9] The construction, according to the original plans, was completed in February 2016, and the first trial flight landed on 2 March 2016.[10] There are plans to lengthen the runway from 2,200 metres to 3,200 metres. The target completion date is 2017 or 2018.[11]

The nearest major airports are at Aurangabad and Pune, 115 km (71 mi) and 186 km (116 mi) respectively from Shirdi.

By caredit

Shirdi is accessible via the Ahmednagar-Manmad State Highway No.10, approximately 83 km (52 mi) from Ahmednagar and 15 km (9.3 mi) from Kopargaon. It is approximately 240 km (150 mi) from Mumbai on the Eastern...

Pros:

Beautiful temple with a spiritual atmosphere

Darshan of Sai Baba is a blessing

Cons:

Long queues and crowds, especially during peak season

Forceful and aggressive vendors and guides

Expensive and unreliable transportation options outside the temple

Detailed review:

I visited Shirdi Sai Baba Temple in 2014 and had a positive experience. The temple visit was simple and quick, and the vendors and baggers outside were relatively unobtrusive. However, when I visited again in 2023, the experience was much worse.

The queues for free entry were very long, even though there were only about 100 people in the temple at the time. I had to walk at least 1 km inside the temple to get darshan of Sai Baba.

Outside the temple, there were many vendors and guides who were overly aggressive and pushy. They tried to sell me everything from flowers and prasad to transportation and accommodation. One guide even followed me around after I refused to book his services.

I also had a very negative experience with the transportation options outside the temple. I booked a shared ride to Shani Shingnapur on a Force tempo traveller operated by a bunch of goons. They wasted my family's time by making two round trips between the depot and the Sai Baba Temple, asking people on the road for rides to Shingnapur. They refused to take us to Shingnapur until all 19 seats were full. When one seat was still empty at the end of the day, they shifted us to a small 8-seater car. When we left their car after an hour of frustration, they followed us around and tried to prevent us from getting another car. Even the police knew about this scam but were taking no action.

Overall, I was very disappointed with my experience at Shirdi Sai Baba Temple in 2023. The long queues, aggressive vendors and guides, and unreliable transportation options made the visit a hassle. I would not recommend visiting the temple during peak season, and I would advise visitors to be aware of the scams outside the temple.

Recommendations for the temple management:

Take steps to reduce the length of the queues for free entry.

Implement stricter regulations to control the behavior of vendors and guides outside the temple.

Partner with reliable transportation companies to provide affordable and reliable transportation options for visitors.

Work with the police to crack down on scams...

Shirdi Temple is famous all over India and it is one of the top10 richest temples of world. Shirdi is a small rural town in the Rahata Taluka of Ahmednagar district in the Maharashtra state of India. Shirdi temple is maintained by Shri Saibaba Sansthan trust which is authorized body to manage and control the day to day activities at the temple. Interesting facts about Shirdi temple and Saibaba: The temple complex is spread over a total area of around 200 Square Meters and it located in the heart of Shirdi Town. Temple premises were renovated in the year 1998 and now equipped with all basic facilities such as Darshan complex, Canteen, Prasad counter, Reservation counter and also accommodation facility to the devotees who all are coming from out station. At present around 25,000 to 30,000 people visits daily on average basis. On Special days it will raise to 1,00,000 devotees per day. Today Shirdi will come in mind when we are thinking about Saibaba, The reason being Saibaba came to Shirdi as Young Boy and he remained here all through his life. Saibaba is considered to be a saint who has devotion from both Hindu and Muslim devotees during and after his life time. Till today both Hindu devotees and Muslim devotees praise him and believes him a lot. Dwarkamai which is adjacent to the main temple is the place where he lived most of the time and he only gave the Dwarkamai to the mask in which he lived. Saibaba stayed most of his life span in Shirdi. However Saibaba's Birth place and date are unknown even today. Some indicates that he was born in Pathri village of Maharashtra and some indicates he was born in Tamil Nadu. Saibaba's real name remains unknown. The name Sai was given to him by the Khandoba temple priest Mahalsapati when he came to Shirdi. Sai refers to a religious also mean God. Baba is believed to have tended a Garden called as Lendi Baug, names after a riverlet called Lendi which flows nearby. The Garden still exists which is adjacent to one of the main entrance of the temple. Saibaba told to his followers that he would soon be leaving his mortal body and finally he died on 15th Oct1918 which was Vijayadashami of that year. His remains were interred at Buti Wada in Shirdi, which become a place of worship that is known today as Shirdi Saibaba Temple which is also known as Shri...