TripSaffron — Khandoba Mandir, Shirdi — The Small Temple Where "Sai" Was First Spoken

Khandoba Mandir, Shirdi — The Small Temple Where "Sai" Was First Spoken

Khandoba Mandir, Shirdi — the temple where priest Mhalsapati first called Baba "Sai" in 1858 (TripSaffron)

🚩 There’s a small temple in Shirdi where Baba was called “Sai” for the first time. And that was the moment the name “Saibaba” was born.

Most devotees in Shirdi visit Samadhi Mandir, Dwarkamai, Chavadi, Lendi Baug. But there’s one temple whose story comes before all of these — Khandoba Mandir. And it is a beautiful one.

🕉️ Who is Khandoba?

Khandoba

A form of Lord Shiva — specially worshipped across Maharashtra and Karnataka. Shown on horseback, sword in hand. The Khandoba temple in Shirdi is very old — older even than Baba’s arrival in the village.

🙏 Mhalsapati — Baba’s first devotee

The priest of the Khandoba temple was Mhalsapati. A simple, devout priest.

When Baba first came to Shirdi in 1854 — a young man of about sixteen — it was Mhalsapati who was the first villager to recognise him for what he was. The rest of the village laughed and called him a “mad fakir”; children threw stones at him. But Mhalsapati saw it at first sight: this was no ordinary young man.

🌸 1858 — the historic moment

Baba stayed in Shirdi for three years, then suddenly disappeared. Some time later, in 1858, he returned — this time arriving with the wedding procession of Chand Patil.

When the procession’s bullock carts halted at the edge of Shirdi — right beside the Khandoba temple — Mhalsapati was standing outside.

The moment he saw Baba step down from the cart, he recognised the same young fakir who had been in the village three years before. His eyes filled. And from his lips, naturally, came:

“

“Ya Sai!”
(Welcome, Sai!)

— Mhalsapati, Khandoba Mandir, 1858

Sai — meaning a saint, a holy soul. It was a word of reverence; it was a welcome.

From that moment on — Baba began to be called Saibaba. And that name is now on the lips of crores of devotees.

🛕 Khandoba Mandir today

Khandoba Mandir is just a short walk from Samadhi Mandir. It’s small, plain — but full of history.

When you stand there, just think: right here, on this very spot, in 1858, a priest called Baba “Sai”. And a name was made — one that lives in every devotee’s heart today.

🙏 When you visit

No pass, no fee is needed for darshan at Khandoba Mandir. Just spend a few moments there. Remember Mhalsapati — Baba’s very first devotee, the one whose single greeting made history.

Where it sits in a Shirdi day

Khandoba Mandir is so close to Samadhi Mandir that it fits naturally between a morning darshan and breakfast at the prasadalaya. Five minutes inside, a moment to remember Mhalsapati, then on with the day.

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Dwarkamai — The “Mother of Many Doors” Sai Baba Called Home for 60 Years

Sai Baba spent 60 years inside the small old mosque he named Dwarkamai — “the mother of many doors.” The name carries a tenderness most pilgrims walk past: a place whose doors are open to every devotee, wherever they’re from. The dhuni, his stone seat, the grinder, the kolamba and the Jaykar portrait are all still inside.

Lendi Baug, Shirdi — Sai Baba’s Garden, and the Nanda Deep That Has Burned for Over a Century

Just five minutes from the Samadhi Mandir lies Lendi Baug — the garden Sai Baba built and tended himself, where he walked twice a day, watered the plants, and lit the Nanda Deep that has burned without break for more than 100 years. The well he dug, the Datt Mandir, his beloved horse’s samadhi — they’re all still here. Most pilgrims walk past.