Shri Saibaba Samadhi Mandir, Shirdi

A long darshan day bracketed by aartis. The temple opens before dawn for Kakad Aarti, the general queue runs from 6:00 AM, and Shej Aarti closes the day at 10:00 PM.

Sai Baba first came to Shirdi as a young faqir, by most biographers' reckoning at about sixteen. He is generally said to have stayed three years, disappeared for a year and returned for good around 1858, when the village priest Mahalsapati gave him the name "Sai". His real name and origins are unknown, and he gave no importance to questions about them. He lived for the rest of his life in an old, dilapidated mosque that he called Dwarkamai, where he kept a sacred fire, the dhuni, and gave its ash, udi, to visitors as they left.

The Shirdi Sai Baba temple began as a wada, a traditional mansion, rather than as a shrine. Construction of Buti Wada began in 1914, and the Sansthan records that it was built according to Sai Baba's wishes. When he died on 15 October 1918, a day that coincided with Vijayadashami, his remains were interred in the wada, and it grew into the present Samadhi Mandir.

Worship was kept going from the start by his devotees. An organising committee was formed after his death and a fund, the Sai Samarth Sainath Kothi, was set up on 27 October 1918. On 13 February 1922 the Ahmednagar District Court approved a scheme of management, and the first committee met on 6 April 1922 under the chairmanship of Dasganu Maharaj. The trust later spent years under court receivership and then under the Charity Commissioner of Maharashtra, until the Shree Sai Baba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi Act, 2004 came into force on 23 August 2004.

The temple complex was renovated in 1998-99, adding the darshan lanes, prasadalaya, donation and prasad counters that most visitors pass through today. The Sansthan marked the centenary of the samadhi from 1 October 2017 to 18 October 2018, the same month that Shirdi's airport opened.

Sai Baba settled

Around 1858

Buti Wada begun

1914

Samadhi

15 October 1918, on Vijayadashami

Trust scheme approved

13 February 1922

Average daily visitors

About 25,000

Major festivals

Ram Navami, Guru Purnima, Punyatithi

Why Shirdi Sai Baba matters to devotees

Sai Baba is revered by both Hindus and Muslims, which is much of what makes Shirdi unusual. According to the Shri Sai Satcharita, the account written by G. R. Dabholkar (Hemadpant) shortly after his death, his Hindu devotees believed him to be an incarnation of Dattatreya, while Muslims honoured him as a saint. He often spoke in Islamic terms, gave a Hindu name to the mosque he lived in, and when pressed on his own religion refused to identify with one to the exclusion of the other.

His teaching is usually summed up in two words, shraddha (faith) and saburi (patience), with the instruction to help others and love every living being without discrimination. Devotees still take udi from Shirdi, the ash he was believed to have given healing and protective power, and many visit Dwarkamai, Chavadi and Gurusthan as well as the Samadhi Mandir, because these are the places associated with his life in the village.

Guru Purnima holds a particular place. The Sansthan tells how Tatyasaheb Nulkar once worshipped Baba as his guru on that day, and how Baba then asked another devotee what stopped him from doing the same. Devotees took this as approval, and Guru Purnima became one of the three great festivals of the Sansthan's year. That account is devotional tradition, as published by the Sansthan.

More facts about Shirdi Sai Baba

Shrine of

Sai Baba of Shirdi (c. 1838 to 15 October 1918)

What it is

The Samadhi Mandir, built from Buti Wada where Sai Baba's remains were placed

Where

Shirdi, Rahata taluka, Ahilyanagar (formerly Ahmednagar) district, Maharashtra

Administered by

Shree Saibaba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi

Daily visitors

About 25,000 on an average day, over 1,00,000 a day in the festival season

Official websites

sai.org.in and online.sai.org.in, the only official sites for booking and donations

Nearest railway station

Sainagar Shirdi, about 4 km

Also known as

Shirdi Sai Baba Temple, Sai Baba Samadhi Mandir, Shirdi Sai Mandir, Shri Saibaba Sansthan Shirdi

What the Sansthan publishes about passes, ID and what to do with your belongings. The ID rule is the one that turns people away.

The Sansthan puts average attendance at about 25,000 devotees a day and says that in the festival season more than 1,00,000 come every day. If a calmer darshan matters more than the atmosphere of a festival, avoid the three big ones: Ram Navami (in 2026, 25 to 27 March), Guru Purnima (28 to 30 July in 2026) and the Punyatithi around Vijayadashami, which in 2025 ran from 1 to 4 October.

Within a day, the published programme shapes the choice. The darshan queue runs from 6:00 AM to 9:30 PM, and darshan inside the Samadhi Mandir starts at 6:25 AM after Mangal Snaan and the Shirdi Majhe Pandharpur aarti. If you want to attend an aarti rather than join the queue, book the pass on the Sansthan's portal, which releases quota 60 days ahead. On eclipse days the Sansthan can close the temple for some hours, as it did on 3 March 2026, so check its notices for your date.

Tips before you go

• Carry the original photo ID you booked with; the Sansthan refuses service if the details do not match.
• Book aarti and paid darshan passes only on sai.org.in, online.sai.org.in or at the PRO office, since the Sansthan authorises no agents.
• Quota opens 60 days ahead, and dates shown as full can open up later through cancellations.
• Leave bags and valuables in the Sansthan's lockers, available at a nominal charge.
• Plan meals around the Prasadalaya, which serves from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM.
• For lost belongings or a missing companion, go to the announcement centre near Gate 3.

A visit to Shirdi usually means the Samadhi Mandir and several other places inside the Sansthan's complex, each with rituals on the same daily programme.

Inside the complex

The Sansthan lists the Samadhi temple, Gurusthan, Dwarkamai, the Maruti temple, Chavadi, three temples to Ganesha, Shanishwar and Mahadev, Nanda Deep and the Gurudev Datta Mandir as the temples to visit. Dhuni Pooja with rice and ghee is performed in Dwarkamai at 11:30 AM every day.

After Sai Baba's death in 1918 his remains were placed in Buti Wada, which grew into the present Samadhi Mandir. The Sansthan says the premises were renovated in 1998-99 and include a darshan lane, prasadalaya, donation and prasad counters and a book stall.

Help on the day

First aid is available near Gurusthan, in the darshan queue and on the ground floor of Sai Niwas. For lost property or a missing person, the Sansthan directs devotees to the announcement centre near Gate 3 or its security department.

A reception centre operates at the S.T. bus stand. The Sansthan gives Sainagar Shirdi railway station as 4 km away, Kopargaon 17 km and Manmad Junction 61 km, and the new Shirdi airport as 17 km away.