SHRI SHIRDI SAIBABA SAMADHI MANDIR

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he shrine which houses Baba’s tomb was originally constructed as a wada (large private house) during Baba’s last years of physical presence. It is built on the same land that Baba had tended as a garden. The shrine was built by a wealthy devotee from Nagpur, Gopalrao Booty. The wada was originally intended as a rest house and temple for Muralidhar. The inspiration for the building came to Booty in a dream, when he was sleeping beside his friend and fellow devotee, Shama. Baba appeared and told him to build a house and temple. It is a perfect sai-incidence that Shama had the same dream as Booty had. Deeply touched, they commenced the activities for constructing the wada, took the sketches to Dixit for approval and then went to Baba for blessings. Baba responded warmly and gave His blessing to the project. The work commenced around 1915. It was built in stone and was therefore known as dagadi (stone) wada. Shama supervised the construction of the basement, ground floor and well. Later, Bapusaheb took over job of supervising the work. On Oct 15, 1918 Baba lay with His body fading fast. His last words were,”I am not feeling well in the masjid. Carry me to the dagadi wada”. Baba was indeed carried to the wada, and was buried in the place where the image of Muralidhar was to have been placed: an edifice was later raised over the tomb. The burial was completed by early Thursday morning. A photograph of Sai Baba was placed on a throne on the platform of the tomb. It remained there until the statue was installed in 1954. That picture is now kept in the recess of the Samadhi Mandir for display.

The statue, which has become such a famous and well-loved image of Baba, was not installed until 1954, thirty-six years after His mahasamadhi, and there is an intriguing story behind it. Some white marble arrived from Italy at the Bombay docks, but nobody seemed to know anything about it or who it was for, or why it had come. In the absence of a claimant, the dockyard auctioned it and the purchaser offered it to the Shirdi Sansthan (temple authorities). Impressed by the quality of the marble, they wanted to use it for an idol of Baba and gave the commission to a sculpture from Bombay, Balaji Vasant Talim. However, the latter had only one black and white photo of Baba as his model, and was struggling to get the likeness. One night Baba came to him in a dream, remarked on his difficulties and then showed him His face from various angles, encouraging Talim to study it thoroughly and remember it well. This gave Talim the fillip he needed and after that the work flowed easily and the result exceeded all expectations. The statue was installed on Oct 7, 1954, on the auspicious day of Vijayadasami. As the main object of adoration in Shirdi, the idol is accorded all due honors. Out of their love for Baba, devotees wish to provide every comfort and respect they can. Baba sits relaxed, natural and majestic, gazing benignly on the millions of diverse visitors who flock to him for succor. The lifelike quality of the eyes really does seem to be looking at us and responding! The feeling and experience that Baba is still alive and present pervades all the Sansthan facilities and activities of His devotees. The same sentiment is seen in entire Shirdi and contributes to the mystique and magic of what we call Shirdi.

The temple premise of Shri Saibaba Sansthan is spread in approximately in 2150sq.ft. It is situated in the heart of Shirdi village and is a major center of pilgrims from all over the world. Along with the Samadhi Mandir, the temple complex also has Khandoba Temple, Gurusthan, Dwarakamai, Chavadi, Lendi Gardens and other temples like Hanuman Mandir, Mahalakshmi Temple, Narasimha Temple and Jain Temple. On an average, daily 25,000 devotees visit Shirdi village, to have the Darshan of Shri Sai Baba. In the festival season, more than 1,00,000 devotees visit the Temple every day. The Temple premise is renovated in the year 1998-99 and is now equipped with all necessary facilities like Darshan Lane, Prasadalay (Lunch and Dinner), Donation Counters, Prasad Counters, Canteen, Railway Reservation Counter, Book Stall etc.

Mandir Timings

All Days	04:00 AM - 11:15 PM

Arati Timings

Day Kakad Arati Madhyahn Arati Dhup Arati Sej Arati	All Days 04:30 AM 12:00 PM Sunset 10:30 PM