NAME: BHARAT MUDALIAR

STD:F.Y.B.A DIV: B
ROLL NO:1343
SHIRDI: SRI SAIBABA
SAMADHI MANDIR.
Shirdi:
Shirdi is among the most popular religious places in India. It is a small town situated in
Kopergaon, district Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. Located around 250 km from Mumbai, the
humble abode of Sai Baba attracts lakhs of pilgrims every year.

It was a small village but when baba came to this place it was converted in a small town. Sai
Baba, as believed came to Shridi at the age of 16 and remained there for life. Initially he wanted
to stay at Khandoba’s Temple but temple’s priest did not allow him to stay there and eventually
he stayed at a mosque, and gave it name as Dwarkamayi. He spent most his time under a Neem
Tree, which can be found in the temple complex. Sai Baba breathed his last on 15 October 1918
and was buried there. Today, Shirdi has a well laid out temple complex and a beautiful shrine
dedicated to Sai Baba.
How to reach Shirdi?
Shirdi can easily be reached by rail, road and air. Mumbai is the major nearest airport to Shirdi,
which is 250 km away. Pune, 200 km and Aurangabad, 140 km are other airports near Shirdi.The
temple town of Shirdi has recently been linked by train to other parts of India. Sainagar (SNSI) is
the closest railway station, which is just 10 km away from Sai Temple. As there are only few
trains for Sainagar, your second best bet is Kopargaon (KPG), 14 km away. Manmad (MMR), 55
km away and Nasik Road (NK), 85 km away are other railway stations that you can get down at
and reach Shirdi.
Stay option:

Though there is no dearth of hotels in Shirdi but if you are looking for neat and economical stay

options in Shirdi, the Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan (Shirdi Sai Baba Trust) offer clean, comfortable

and economical accommodation options in Shirdi. Shirdi Sai Baba Trust runs three well known

ashrams. All these three ashrams are within close vicinity of Sai Baba Temple. Accommodation in

these ashrams is comfortable and peaceful. Moreover the accommodation offered is hygienic and

safe. The three ashrams have a combine inventory of more than 2500 rooms and both AC and non

AC rooms are available. A room can accommodate anywhere between 2 to 6 persons. The trust has

three stay options in Shirdi viz. Sai Ashram, Dwarawati and New Bhakta Niwas.
Accommodation in Dwarawati, Shirdi

Built in 2008, Dwarawati is close to the Bus stand. It is approximately 300 meter away from Sai

Baba Temple. Dwarawati has 320 rooms, dormitories and large rooms to accommodate small

groups or families of six to ten people. There are 80 air-conditioned rooms as well. Dwarawati is

also well equipped with the facilities like 24 hr. water supply, electricity supply (with power back-

up), parking and security. You can get a basic room for as little as Rs. 125. Air-conditioned room

can be booked for Rs. 800 – 1000.

Accommodation in Sai Bhakta Niwas, Shirdi

The New Bhakta Niwas has 542 rooms of various categories. This complex is located on the

highway and the trust runs round the clock shuttle service between temple complex and New

Bhakta Niwas to ferry the devotees. It is about half a kilometer from Sai Baba Temple towards

Ahmednagar. This complex is well equipped with canteen facility, parking space, 24-hr water

supply, electricity supply (with power back-up) and security.

Accommodation in Sai Ashram, Shirdi
It (Sai Ashram Phase 1) is the newest of all and has 1536 rooms, which can accommodate up to
9000 devotees. Of 1536 rooms 1152 are common rooms with attached bath room and 384 air-
conditioned rooms. Besides, the ashram has a common services block where you have restaurant
for Sai devotees. The Sai Ashram also has an Open Air Theatre (OAT), which can accommodate
up to 2000 devotees for Sai Kirtans, Bhajans and other cultural programs.

Accommodation in any of the above ashrams can be booked online. Rooms online
booking purely depend on availability of rooms. Sai Baba Trust online room booking is very
easy. All you need to do is register/sign up on http://online.sai.org.in/.
What is the best time to visit Shirdi?

Keeping in mind the weather of the region, October to March is the best time to visit Shirdi. The

temple gets really crowded during summer vacations in May-June and during festivals especially

on Ramnavmi, Gurupurnima and Vijayadashmi. Besides, a large number of devotees also visit on

Thursdays, which is considered Sai Baba’s day. A procession of Sai Baba is taken on every

Thursday at 9:15 p.m. If you prefer to visit during lean season, August and September are good

months. Monday and Friday are lean days when temple is not too crowded.
 Fact File

Approximate budget: Rs. 5,000 per person (includes hotel stay and meals)

Traveller Type: Family

Distance to Shirdi:

 Distance from Aurangabad Airport: 114 km (roughly 3 hours)

 Distance from Pune Airport: 188 km (roughly 5.5 hours)

 Distance from Mumbai Airport: 242 km (roughly 7 to 8 hours)

 Things to do in shirdi

Visit the Main Sai Baba Temple Complex

The complex includes all places of spiritual importance: the Samadhi Mandir (when the main
idol and the samadhi or burial site of Sai Baba is), Gurusthan (where Sai Baba was spotted
first), Samadhis of villagers of that time, a museum where Baba’s belongings are displayed, and
donation, parsaad rooms etc. All these places are marked with blackboards where their
significance is written in English, Hindi and Marathi for devotees to learn about Baba’s life.

Temple’s daily schedule, directions of temples and other important details are also mentioned at
various places in the complex on prominent boards.

The temple opens at 4 am for the morning aarti called Kakad aarti) and the doors are closed at
10:45 pm (post the night-time aarti called the Shejaarti).

Visit Dwarkamai and Chwadi: Located right behind the Samadhi Mandir, are two places of
spiritual importance related to Sai Baba’s life. One is Dwarkamaii—known to be a mosque—
where Sai Baba spent most of his life. This is where the pious fire is lit from which comes the
ash powder called Vibhuti, which the followers believe to be very powerful in treating their
wounds, illnesses etc. The other one is Chawdi, where also Baba spent a lot of time, and it is
located right beside the Dwarkama
Shopping in Shirdi, Shirdi Overview
One of most important pilgrimage centers of the country, Shirdi is frequented by thousands of
devotees almost daily. A devout worshipper will also be the happiest shopper as Shirdi has
markets with the largest collection of Sai Baba effigies and pictures. Rows of shops line up the
streets that lead to the temple serving as great places to also shop for gifts. Starting from marble
and fiber statues, one can find laminated portraits, key rings, rosaries, garlands made with fresh
flowers and with plastic/cloth flowers, all kinds of dry fruits, etc.

Apart from the statues, devotees can also shop from an extensive collection of religious books
about the life of Sai Baba and his philosophies. Available in English and other vernacular
languages, these books can be sanctified by following a ritual too. In the garment shopping
department, Shirdi is unlike other cities. Being a religious site, it has many shops selling shawls
to be used as offering in Baba's Temple or even as headband during meditation.

Shops sell a wide variety of sweets from laddoos to pedas which are mostly dry in nature and
hence can be preserved longer. The Sai Complex Mall is at a walking distance from the temple
for shoppers not into religious shopping. However, it is to be noted that the mall is still in its
development phase.
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