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| Effective Visit to Gangapur |
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| Kshetra Gangapur is 40 kms from Gulbarga . All trains from Chennai, Kerala and Hyderabad to Mumbai touch Gulbarga . Devotees have to alight at Gulbarga railway station, go to the bus stand about 3 kms away for which autos are available. From there buses and jeeps are available to Gangapur. There is one nearest railway station at Station Gangapur 22 kms from Gangapur, Hyderabad-Poona passenger touches this station. By road a few direct buses are from Hyderabad . Anyway it is advisable to reach Gulbarga and switch over to bus or jeep. | | |
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| Accommodation:
Presently there are so many choultries and hotels available for staying. The convenient and economical and bigger places of accommodation are V.K.Patil choultry and Dandawate Mutt within Gangapur. | | |
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| Preferable Sequence of Worship: |
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| (1) Sangam Snanam :
Devotees' have go to Bheema-Amaraja Sangam 3 kms away from Gangapur by tonga or auto and have a dip in the holy Sangam. If the Sangam bath is to be elaborately done, there are 8 important places of bath called Astha tirthams in the course of the river between Sangam and Manmatha Tirtham. Devotes have to take bath in all the 8 points. This is called Astha tirtha snanam. | | |
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| (2) Audumber Pradakshinam :
On the bank of the river at Sangam a holy Audumber (fig) tree is there. According to Gurucharitra it is supposed to be the tree got shot from a dry twig by the grace of Sri Nrisimha Saraswathy Swami Maharaj while curing leprosy of a learned vedic pandit. According to one's own will devotees do pradakshinas of 108 (or 41 or 21 or 11 or 3) times around it. | | |
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| (3) Nirguna Paduka Darshan:
After the above, devotees have to go to Datta paduka mandir and perform puja to the Nirguna Padukas of Sri Nrisimha Saraswathy Swami Maharaj according to their own capacity. As this is the most important aspect of their visit to Gangapur, sincerely with total concentration they should see and pray to the padukas, which according to Gurucharitra will confer divine grace to the devotees. In the temple there is an opening for viewing the padukas ( one has to bow down to have the darshan of the padukas at this opening which symbolically means that when one surrenders his ego at the feet of the Guru, divine grace will be showered on him ) where the same is available for darshan by about 3:30 A.M. This is the most appropriate time to have darshan of the padukas in a leisurely and peaceful manner. | | |
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| (4) Offering and Receiving Madhukar:
Devotees can arrange madhukari (biksha) at Dattaguru Bhandara or with some pujaris paying the appropriate charges which will vary according to the item served. After the arati at noon near the Datta Paduka Mandir madhukari will be served in various places including Dattaguru Bhandara. Every devotee is supposed to collect biksha atleast from 5 places. | | |
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| (5) Participation in Nirantara Sainama Sankirtan :
Whatever time gap is available, devotees can utilize it for Sainama sankirtan with "OM SAI SRI SAI JAYA JAYA SAI" at the Sai mandir of Dattaguru Bhandara, which is running round the clock. They can give chorus to the nama sevaks who will sing the nama in a particular tune. | | |
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| (6) Partaking of prasad meals:
For partaking of prasad meals during noon, free coupons are issued daily from 8.30 A.M. to some time. Devotees have to collect these. At about 1 P.M. devotees' have to give their prasad coupons and occupy their seats in the Dattaguru Bhandara dining hall. Till all the food items are served on plates Sainama will be chanted for which they can give chorus. With jayaghoshams on Baba and Datta partaking of food will start. Without wasting devotees' have to partake this prasad food. | | |
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| (7) Parayana of Sri Gurucharitra and Sri Sai Satchritra:
Devotees having stay by more than one day can do parayana of Sri Guruchatitra or Sri Sai Satcharitra at Sangam, Paduka Mandir or even at the Sai mandir without distributing others. | | |
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| (8) Palki Procession :
Datta palki will be taken around the Datta paduka mandir everyday by about 7.30 P.M. Devotees can attend this programme and with this their Gangapur yatra will be complete. . | | |
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-SHRI DATTA SAI MAHARAJ KI JAI-
-SARVE JANA SUKHINO BHAVANTHU- |
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