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. The temple
is a beautiful shrine that was built over
the Samadhi of Shri Sai Baba.
Samadhi
Mandir
Samadhi Mandir of Shri Sai Baba was actually
owned by a millionaire from Nagpur, a famous
Sai devotee Shreemant Gopalrao. |
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Gopalrao wanted to keep an idol of Murlidhar
here. However, Baba himself became Murlidhar
and the Mandir became the Samadhi Mandir of
Baba. The Mandir is built with stones and
Baba's Samadhi is built with white marble
stones.
A railing is built in marble around the Samadhi
and is full of ornamental decorations. In
front of the Samadhi are two silver pillars
full of decorative designs. Just behind the
Samadhi is Sai Baba's marvelous statue made
of Italian marble, which shows him seated
on a throne. This idol was made by the late
Shri Balaji Vasant. This statue was installed
on 7th October 1954. Above the statue is an
open, silver umbrella. The front of the Mandir
has an assembly hall where about 600 devotees
can be accomadated. Here is a showcase where
various things handled by Baba are kept. On
the first floor of the Mandir are pictures
that depict Baba’s life.
The daily routine of the temple starts at
5 o'clock in the morning with Bhoopali, a
morning song, and closes at 10 o'clock in
the night after the Shejarati is sung. Only
on three occasions the temple is kept open
overnight i.e. on Gurupoornima, Dassera, and
Ramnavmi. Every Thursday and on each festival,
a Palakhi with Baba's photo is taken out from
the temple.
Dwarkamai
Shri Sai Baba came to Shridhi with a marriage
procession. He stayed at Dwarkamai till the
very end of his life. Dwarkamai is situated
on the right of the entrance of Samadhi Mandir.
Here he solved problems of the people, cured
their sickness and worries. Before Baba's
arrival in Shridhi, Dwarkamai was an old mosque
in a dilapidated condition. Baba turned it
into Dwarkamai and proved that God is one.
The first level of Dwarkamai has a portrait
of Baba and a big stone on which Baba used
to sit. This level has two rooms. One contains
the chariot and the second a palkhi. Just
in front of the room where the chariot is
kept is a small temple. A saffron flag flies
over it. The second level of Dwarkamai has
a square stool made of stone, which Baba used
for taking a bath. The main attraction of
this place is the oil painting of Shri Sai
Baba sitting in a carved wooden shrine. This
level also has the grinding stone and the
wooden vessel called Kolamba in which Baba
used to keep the Bhiksha brought from the
village.
Trimbakeshwar
Temple
This temple situated in Trimbak, 30 km West
of Nasik, contains one of the twelve Jyotirlingas
(naturally occuring Lingas) in India. The
temple has beautiful carvings. There is a
belief that anybody who visits Trimbakeshwar
attains salvation. It is considered to be
the holiest place to perform Shraddha ceremony
as mentioned in 'Nirnaya Sindhu' - a religious
book of Hindus. Non Hindus are not allowed
inside the temple but one can get a clear
view from outside. The river Godavari rises
here from a hill called Brahmagiri. Nearby
there is the 'Gangasagar bathing tank' into
which the Godavari river dribbles in, from
its source. A bath in these waters is supposed
to wash away sins.
Pandu
Lena
About 8km south of Nasik, close to the Mumbai
road, is a group of 24 rock cut Hinayana Buddhist
caves dating from around the 1st century BC.
Some of them have excellent carvings on the
doorways. Of them, caves 3, 10 and 18 are
noteworthy. Cave 3 and cave 10 are viharas
with some interesting sculptures. There is
a carved Buddha in Cave 10. Cave 18 is a Chaitya,
well sculptured with an elaborate facade which
is particularly noteworthy.
Someshwar
On the way to Gangapur dam, there is a beautiful
nature spot called Someshwar. There is a temple
of Lord Shiva and Lord Hanuman on the banks
of the river Godavari. The area is covered
with greenery all over, with a pleasant climate.
Tourists can can enjoy swimming and boating
in the river.
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Package
Day
1: Afternoon dep. to Shirdi
by Volvo coach Overnight journey.
Day
2:
Morning arrival Shirdi, pick up and transfer
to hotel, noon visit Sri Saibaba Temple and
Shanisinganapur, night halt at Shirdi. |
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Day
3: Morning visit Shri Sai
Baba temple, Panchavati, Triambakeshwar, Nasik
and back to Shirdi, night halt.
Day
4: Morning Leisure, noon drop
at bus station to depart to Bangalore.
Day
5: Morning arrival Bangalore
Package
Cost Includes
* Transportation from Bangalore - Shirdi -
Bangalore by Volvo coach,
* Accommodation (Twin Sharing)
* Sight seeing by reserved vehicle
Package
Cost Excludes
* All meals
* Entrance fees
* Personal Expenses |
