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Newasa - Encountering an unique form of Vishnu, and Sant Jnaneshwar

The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
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Another Quick Trip to Shirdi

Going to Shirdi has almost become a routine trip for us, especially when my sister-in-law comes over. Thanks to her and her husband, I get to go there at least once a year. This year, as usual, it was a on-the-spur-of-the-moment-decision, and off we went, with a car hired at the last moment, just waiting long enough for Samhith to return home from school. We started at around 4:30PM, and without halting anywhere enroute, reached Shirdi at around 9:45PM. 

Every trip to Shirdi however has something unique and interesting to offer, and this time, it was the sight of people walking to Shirdi. For those of you to whom this is news, well, people do walk from Mumbai to Shirdi all the time, but especially for the Ram Navami Festival. They walk over a period of 6 to 7 days, halting at various places in the afternoons when it is too hot to walk, and at night when they need the much needed rest. They travel with an entourage, a tempo for their luggage, one for their food, and led by a Palkhi - a Palanquin carrying an image of Baba. While 4 people usually carry the palanquin, these days, there are grander ones carried in tempos too. There are people carrying flags and other decorations, and it is usually a grand sight! We know about this since Shankar and his uncle have actually done this, and say that its a wonderful experience. Anyway, getting back to the topic, it is quite normal these days to see a few people walking to Shirdi at other times too, especially as winter sets in and it becomes easier to walk, but what was surprising this time was the number of people walking. We saw no less than 18 palkhis on the way, and more which had stopped by the dharamshalas on the roadside as darkness set in. This was one trip when we had no trouble keeping Samhith occupied.... He was busy counting the number  of palkhis we passed!!!






I wanted to stop and take some photos, but the suggestion was vetoed by the others, who wanted to reach Shirdi as fast as possible. It turned out to be a good decision, since we had the best darshan EVER!!!!! We reached at 9:45PM and thought of trying to get in for the last aarti of the day, but there was a queue for that, and instead, the security guards encouraged us to go for darshan directly, since there wasn't much crowd. This turned to be an understatement, for there was absolutely NO crowd, and we rushed by the inner rooms and directly into the Samadhi mandir in a matter of minutes! There were a bunch of people there, but that was about all, and we peacefully made our way to the Samadhi without any pushing or shoving, and actually stood there for almost 15-20 minutes. Only then did a security guard ask us to move, for it was time for the aarti crowd to be let in!

By the time we came out and went to our room, we were sated and so satisfied that we didnt even go to the temple the next day, instead we drove to Shani Shingnapur and then turned back towards home, stopping for a while at the temple of Ranjangaon Mahaganapathy (one of the Ashta Vinayak temples)! We were back home before evening, less than 24 hours after we left! It was certainly the quickest Shirdi trip I have ever made, but more importantly, the best one ever!!!

Since we had time in the morning, I wandered around for a while outside, buying a few things, and for the very first time, managed to get some pics! Here they are.....

The temple....



Garlands for the Lord....


Dwaraka Mai - where the Lord lived...


Another abode of His...the Chavadi


Flowers for the Lord...


His Many forms....


Pedhas - sweets for offering the Lord


Hanuman - to protect devotees....


Garlands of Rose....made of plastic!


More forms...


Raisins....a  specialty here...


And finally, a special moment shared... between an aunt and her nephew.... After all, this is why we travel, right? To spend time together, to strengthen the bonds which bind us together?


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Comments

  1. SridharanDecember 21, 2010 at 8:57 AM

    Nice account Anu. The photos give a feeling of being there. Pilgrims walking has been a long followed tradition. There are people walking from far off places to Tirupathi. I have seen huge number of people walking with Kavadi to Murugan Shrines like Tiruttani and Palani. But procession of Phalkis will be a sight to behold, I am sure.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AswathiBabuDecember 21, 2010 at 9:44 AM

    Loved the last image, Anu...

    ReplyDelete
  3. chitraDecember 21, 2010 at 10:10 AM

    Anu, very nice photos . The spire is very beautiful.Now it is season for Padayatras. here,Palani temple kavadis have started.As Dindigul is near by this is a regular sight.

    And the way your trip happened. I think the 'Bulawahh' came for you. Nice one.

    ReplyDelete
  4. MridulaDecember 21, 2010 at 10:10 AM

    The aunt and nephew both make a pretty picture.

    ReplyDelete
  5. HariDecember 21, 2010 at 1:35 PM

    Well written Anu...was a great read indeed :)..Thanks...do convey my regards to our aunt(y) and her nephew...
    (I am sure I am gonna get thrashed for this...hehe)

    ReplyDelete
  6. RajeshDecember 21, 2010 at 4:29 PM

    I am going to Shirdi this month. I am told it is crowded. This post will be of use for me.

    ReplyDelete
  7. S.. DivaDecember 21, 2010 at 4:48 PM

    you do a lot of piligrimages! the flowers pic is very pretty

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anuradha ShankarDecember 21, 2010 at 5:00 PM

    @Sridharan: Thanks... these days more and more people seem to be going on padayatras.. I have seen palkhis here often passing by our house, but this is the first time we have seen so many at one time!

    @Aswathi Babu: thanks a lot!

    @Chitra: yes. i guess with the onset of winter, the padayatra season has begun!thanks a lot, and i do believe that unless He calls, we can never go to any temple...

    @Mridula: aunt and nephew make for great pics! i enjoy clicking them!

    @Hari: thanks... but i hope aunt doesnt read this.. otherwise u will surely get it from her!

    @Rajesh: It is certainly crowded... try to pick the night for darshan or take those passes i mentioned in an earlier post...

    @Sneo: thanks.. yes, i do get to do a lot of pilgrimages, considering i live in a joint family and visit a lot of temples with my in-laws.. plus i like temples too!

    ReplyDelete
  9. ArtiDecember 21, 2010 at 9:17 PM

    Beautiful... Feeling nostalgic... You have captured the padyatra well, never mind getting out of the car to take a pic!! I too had noticed them but could not take their pics!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. NatashaDecember 23, 2010 at 1:46 PM

    The last photograph is easily the best.
    Love travelling the country with you.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Braj Kishor SinghMay 6, 2012 at 1:31 PM

    very nice photos.

    Shani Shingnapur

    ReplyDelete
  12. preetiJune 24, 2013 at 12:23 PM

    Very Nice pics Anu . I really like all of your posts. its interesting and gives a feeling of being there :)


    Shirdi Tour Guide

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sachin SadareJuly 26, 2013 at 9:15 AM

    Hey Anu,

    Nice pics and vivid description. I am a regular to Shirdi too and find it really nice when I am there. Thanks for sharing. I too write blogs, especially on travel and focus on how to travel within a shoe string budget. I have a post on my travelt o Shirdi. Will appreciate if you can allow it in your comments section.
    http://www.sachinsadare.in/visit-to-shirdi-july-2013/

    Regards
    Sachin

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hotels in shirdiOctober 15, 2013 at 3:50 PM

    Hotels Sai Vishwa is counted amongst the best hotels in shirdi . Being a tourist and devotee spot, Shirdi attracts many visitors. To maintain the competition it is not only necessary to provide good service but also service at a reasonable rate.Check out the budget hotels in shirdi , and you will find that our rate is not high but we are amongst the best hotels in shirdi in terms of service and satisfaction. We also take care of your accessibility and we are situated very near to the Sai Baba Temple. Amongst multiple hotels near Sai Baba temple, this is one of the best hotels that can be found amongst the many Hotels in Shirdi

    ReplyDelete

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