01Appearance at Shegaon
The Shri Gajanan Vijay, the life written by Das Ganu, tells that the moneylender Bankatlal Agrawal and his friend saw him on Magha Vadya Saptami, 23 February 1878, sitting by a road and eating leftover rice, teaching by that act that anna is Brahman. Nothing is known of his birth. He lived at Shegaon for thirty-two years, wandering, often naked, chanting “Gan gan ganat bote”, and many miracles are told of him: a dry well filled, a cart of fire put out, the sick healed. He took samadhi on 8 September 1910, on Rishi Panchami.
02The Sansthan
The samadhi lies in a crypt below a temple of Shri Ram, which the Maharaj himself had wished for. The Shri Gajanan Maharaj Sansthan, which runs it, is known across India for its discipline, cleanliness and free service by thousands of volunteers in white caps, the sevekaris; it runs hospitals, schools and the Anand Sagar garden. His palkhi walks to Pandharpur each Ashadhi. The Prakat Din in Magha and the Rishi Panchami punyatithi draw lakhs.
The life of this place
- 23 February 1878Gajanan Maharaj is first seen at Shegaon.
- 8 September 1910He takes samadhi on Rishi Panchami.
Shegaon station is on the Mumbai–Nagpur main line; the temple is about 1 km away. The Sansthan’s rooms and meals are cheap and orderly.
