Shirdi (; also known as Sainagar) is a town and pilgrimage site in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

. Shirdi is located in the

Rahata taluka Rahata taluka, is a taluka in Shrirampur subdivision of Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra State of India. Area The table below shows area of the taluka by land type. Villages There are around 60 villages in Rahata taluka. ''For list of villa ...

Ahmednagar District Ahmednagar district (Marathi pronunciation: �ɦ(ə)məd̪nəɡəɾ, officially Ahilyanagar district, is the largest district of Maharashtra state in western India. The historical city of Ahmednagar is the headquarters of the district. Ahmednagar ...

. It is most well known for being the home of the 19th-century Indian saint Sai Baba.

History

In the mid-1850s, a young Sai Baba arrived and settled in Shirdi, then a small village. Although he was initially denounced by the villagers as a madman, over the following decades, he became a prominent spiritual figure, drawing both Hindu and Muslim devotees from the surrounding areas. Following his death in 1918, his remains were placed in ''Buti Wada'', which eventually grew to become what is known today as Sai Baba's Samadhi Mandir or Shirdi Sai Baba Temple.

Demographics

As per the 2011 Indian census, the population of Shirdi stood at 36,004. Males constitute 53% of the population, and females make up 47%. Shirdi has an average literacy rate of 70%, which is higher than the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy is 76%, and female literacy is 62%. 15% of the population is under six years of age. Being one of the most famous pilgrimage sites in India, much of Shirdi's population is made up of tourists. Every day, roughly 60,000 religious tourists visit the Samadi Mandir.

Transportation

Train

The Sainagar Shirdi railway station became operational in March 2009. As of 2011, there are trains from Chennai, Mumbai,

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

Kakinada Kakinada (; formerly known as Cocanada) is a Port, port city and municipal corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Situated along the Bay of Bengal, it serves as the headquarters of Kakinada district and is a prominent economic and c ...

Vijayawada Vijayawada ( ), formerly known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on th ...

, Hyderabad,

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

, among others.

Air

Shirdi Airport Shirdi Airport is an international airport serving the town of Shirdi, Maharashtra, India. It is located at Kakadi, about southwest of the town and from Sangamner. It is the fourth-busiest airport in the state after Chhatrapati Shivaji Mah ...

was inaugurated by then-president Ramnath Kovind on 1 October 2017. Major destinations from Shirdi Airport include the airports of Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Mumbai. The airport is located in Kakadi, in the Kopargaon tahsil area, 14 km southwest of Shirdi. The construction, according to the original plans, was completed in February 2016, and the first trial flight took place on 2 March 2016. In July 2019, the state government approved extending the runway from 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) to 3,200 metres (10,500 ft), building a new terminal to boost hourly passenger capacity from 300 to 1,000, and adding night-landing facilities. The nearest major airports are at

Aurangabad Aurangabad (), officially renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in 2023, is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a ...

and

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, and respectively from Shirdi.

Road

Shirdi is accessible via National Highway 160, which runs through

and

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. Furthermore, the town is also accessible via State Highway 10, which runs south through

Ahmednagar Ahmednagar, officially Ahilyanagar, is a city in, and the headquarters of, the Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. Ahmednagar has several dozen buildings and sites from the Nizam Shahi period. Ahmednagar Fort, once considered almost impre ...

Nashik Nashik, formerly Nasik, is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra situated on the banks of the river Godavari, about northeast of the state capital Mumbai. Nashik is one of the Hindu pilgrimage sites of the Kumbh ...

, and

Dhule Dhule is one of the largest cities in Maharashtra, and central region of India. The city located in the Dhule District in the northwestern part of Maharashtra state, India known as West Khandesh. Situated on the banks of Panzara River, Dhule i ...

districts.

References

External links

* * Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi'
Official Website
* Visitor
guide
{{Authority control Talukas in Maharashtra Hindu holy cities Sufi shrines in India Cities in Maharashtra Holy cities Ashrams Religious places Hindu pilgrimage sites in India Hindu pilgrimage sites Spiritual retreats Cities and towns in Ahmednagar district Monuments and memorials in India Universalism