shirdi

Shirdi

Shirdi is the holy abode of Shri Sai Baba and thousands of pilgrims throng the town each day from across India and beyond. You can visit the Shri Saibaba temple at anytime you wish, however Monsoons i.e., between June and August are the period considered to be the best time to be here. Reason being the weather, which is simply so pleasant and inviting. You don't need to bother about sweat and heat; with drizzling and cool breeze all around your mystical journey to Shirdi becomes heavenly. Winters are also quite a good time to visit Shirdi. Winters are not harsh in here and temperature can dip to 7 degree Celsius.

However, you can plan your trip or pilgrimage to Shirdi during one of the three major festivals that are celebrated here with great fervor and excitement. These three festivals are Ram Navami, Guru Purnima and Vijayadashamai. During these festivals thousands of devotees flock in here and the whole atmosphere of the Shirdi becomes vibrant with puja, bhajan (music), rath yatra (processions with palanquin) and many more events.

You can come to participate in Ramanavami at Shirdi, celebrated every year in March or April. It is also the time when Saibaba's urus is held. Urus is a muslim festival that is celebrated to honor a saint. This shows the kind of communal harmony that weaves people of different faiths at Shirdi. This year that is in 2007, Shirdi is celebrating the Ramnavami from 26th to 28th of March.

Gurupurnima or Full Moon is also a wonderful time to visit Shirdi. In 2007, Shirdi is celebrating Guru Purnima from 28th to 30th July. This is the time devotees all across the world converge in Shirdi to seek Saibaba's blessings. There is also Vyasa Puja that is held during Guru Purnima, in honor of Ved Vyasa who wrote the epic Mahabharata.

Vijayadashmi is a big festival in Shirdi, venerated as a holy day when Shri Saibaba left his mortal body for heavenly abode. The festival is celebrated as Shri Sai Punyathithi in Shirdi attracting great number of devotees from all over the world. This year the festival is celebrated from 20th to 23rd October.

You can choose any of the festive seasons to make a spiritual journey to Shirdi and of course any other time is equally fulfilling.