Miracles of installation of Padukas in the Temple

By the Divine grace of SriPada Vallabha, Mataji Vallabh Anandamayi received all Divine padukas of the great incarnations of Lord Dattayreya.  

• Dattatreya Swami, 
• Narasimha Saraswati Maharaj, 
• Swami Samarth Maharaj, 
• Manik prabhu Maharaj,
• Gajanan Maharaj

from their Sansthans in a span of 21 days and were consecrated at Sree Chakra Datta Sree Paada Sree Sai Peedam at Melsirunai  Village , Kanchipuram.  Visions about the Padukas  Sree Mata Vallabh Anandamayi in her vision saw two brothers sitting in front of Sree Chakra Datta Sree Paada Sree Sai Peedam Melsirunai Village, Kanchipuram. They looked divine and had a beatific smile. Mataji Vallabhanandamayi’s heart knows Sripada Vallabha because he resides in her heart. He often sprouts these leelas with her.  By their side was a basket which had padukas (sacred footwear). Sri Pada Vallabha asked Mataji Vallabha Anandamayi to take out the padukas from the basket. As she took a pair of padukas out from the basket, she found another pair in the basket. Then Sri Pada Vallabha told Mata Vallabhanandamayi, one pair is for Me and the other is for you. Is it ok with you? he asked. Shortly after this vision the following events transpired. 

• Padukas of Swami Samarth Akkalkot Maharaj

Next morning Mataji vividly remembered her vision and wondered why Swami had given her a pair of padukas? While Mataji was still pondering, she received a call from the Mahasansthan of Swami Samarth from Akkalkot. Mataji was told that the Lord Swami Samarth had ordered his Samadhi, the Pontiff of the Sansthan, to give a pair of His Padukas to Mataji. Pontiff was from the fifth-generation lineage of Pandits of the Sansthan.  The very next day Mataji boarded a train to Akkalkot to receive the sacred padukas of Swami Samarth Maharaj. The train was running late and Mataji was supposed to reach Akkalkot by 10 pm, whereas after the Arati, the main sanctum Santorum was closed for darshan. That day was Thursday. Mataji called the priest and explained her predicament.  The Pontiff said that Swami has asked them to wait until Mataji arrives and after she takes Darshan, only the temple will be closed. He also sent an auto rickshaw to pick Mataji from Station.  After she completed her Darshan of Shri Swami Samarth Maharaj also known as Akkalkot Maharaj temple, the doors of the temple were closed. Subsequent days, Abhishek to the special padukas were performed before handing over to Mataji. It was a wonder of wonders. How could such a miracle happen? She then asked the High priest, to which he replied that some devotees who had earlier visited Melsirunai, also visited Akkalkot and showed the photos of Melsirunai there. Almost immediately, Pontiff heard the voice of Swami Samarth from the Samadhi directing him to give his padukas to Mataji. 

• Padukas of Lord Dattatreya of Girnar

The second miracle was receiving sacred padukas of Lord Dattatreya of Girnar. A Pontiff from Bhushaawal received an order from the Lord that his padukas be given to Mataji of Melsirunai. The Pontiff had 2 pairs of padukas. Thus, Mataji received one pair of the sacred padukas of Lord Dattatreya too.

• Padukas of Manik Prabhu Maharaj

The third and fourth generation High priest of Manik Prabhu Samasthan, invited Mataji to Manik Nagar for giving Manik Prabhu Maharaj’s padukas as per his order. They placed the sacred padukas on the Mahasamadhi of Manik Prabhu, performed the Abhishek and handed them to Mataji. 

• Padukas of Lord Narasimha Saraswati

From Karanja, Mataji received the sacred padukas of Lord Narasimha Saraswati, the second incarnation of Lord Dattayreya in Kaliyug. Karanja is the birth place of Sri Narasimha Saraswati.  Here also the padukas were handed over to Mataji by the 5th generation Pontiff. The padukas were placed on the original padukas of Sri Narasimha Saraswati and pooja was performed and then handed over to Mataji. 

• Padukas of Shree Gajanan Maharaj 

Swami Gajanan Maharaj of Shegaon appeared in the dream of Mataji and showed her a vivid and clear picture of his Ashram at Shegaon. She was then invited by the Sansthan authorities of Shegaon to receive holy padukas. The High priest of Bhushaawal placed Gajanan Maharaj padukas on his samadhi and after performing the Abhishek, handed them to Mataji.  From Mataji’s first vision of Swami Sreepada giving her a pair of padukas, within a span of 21 days, Mataji received padukas from other Datta kshetras. Mataji considers this a divine calling and blessing, nothing short of a miracle. The most significant aspect of receiving these padukas is that Mataji made no independent effort to receive them. It just happened as per Sreepada’s will. It is no wonder that you will feel divine blessings of Gurus and deities at Sree Chakradatta Sree Paada Sree Sai Peetam. 

• Padukas of Shirdi Sai Baba

All the padukas reached Melsirunai Kanchipuram through divine will within 21 days. “But why haven’t Baba’s padukas reached?” this question arose in the mind of a staunch Sai Baba devotee, just before Dassehra. She and Sai Baba share a divine father-daughter bond, and she considers Shirdi as her Maika (parent’s house). She immediately called Rajaram Thethe, an employee of the Shirdi Sansthan trust and a friend of 19 years, asking if Baba’s Padukas could be arranged. He said there is a system in Shirdi to consecrate Murthis and Padukas, and if the Padukas could be arranged he will definitely help them get consecrated. The devotee then called Mataji Vallabhanandamayi to share her desire to install Baba’s Padukas at the Melsirunai Kanchipuram Temple. Mataji was delighted and shared that she herself was trying to get the Padukas but was unable to, and gave the devotee her blessing. Baba’s devotee has brass Padukas at her home temple and felt similar ones should be installed at the Melsirunai temple. So, she and Mataji decided that the padukas should be around 8 to 9 inches and made of brass. The devotee reached out to potential distributors and collected estimates. She also asked her father if he would like to contribute to this divine cause, and he instantly agreed but didn’t mention the exact amount of his contribution. She internally thought if her parents would cover half the amount for padukas, the rest shall be borne by her. On Dhanteras, she was supposed to order the padukas, but felt she should hold off till after Diwali. The morning after Dhanteras, she saw her father sent the exact amount she had hoped for. Her father has a baba ki joli at home, where he holds money for Baba’s seva every month, miraculously it turned out to be the exact amount. The same morning, she was sitting at her home temple and asked Baba “Please bless this cause and your Padukas”. Immediately, Baba instructed her to call Sunita Ji, the great Granddaughter of Tatya Kote Patil and co-founder of Sai Warsa – Bayajama and Tatya Kote Patil Foundation. Bayajama and Tatya Kote Patil (Bayajama’s son) took care of Sai Baba and were deeply loved by him as beautifully illustrated in Sai Satcharitra. Baba’s devotee and Sunita had crossed paths during the ‘Runanubandha with Sai’ program on Guru Purnima. That very moment she called Sunita ji asking if she could help her. Sunitaji listened to her patiently and shared the following story: A devotee from the UK and another from Spain had requested Sunitaji to bring Baba’s consecrated padukas from Shirdi when she was attending the Shirdi Saibaba Palki at Aylesbury. While she handed over one of the Padukas in the UK, she couldn’t continue her journey to Spain and came back with one of the Padukas. On Guru Dwadashi (Antardhan Day of Sri SriPada Srivallabha Swamy) and Dhanteras, Sunitaji and her mother Smt Shobha Dighe (Granddaughter of Tatya Kote Patil) were conducting their yearly puja and those padukas were kept in the thali of Tatya Kote Patil while homam was done by the pandit and Bayajama’s family. Before going to sleep, she bowed down to Baba with the thought “Please show me what I have to do with the padukas and go where you want to go today”. It seems Baba chose Kanchipuram. The very next day Baba’s devotee called her. To the amazement of all, Sunitaji revealed the padukas were made of brass, exactly 8 inches and ready to install at Kanchipuram. She also said she won’t take any money for it and the collected money could be donated to Sai Warsa for Deepam dhan at Shirdi on Diwali, which was done. Once Sunitaji shared the picture of the padukas, the devotee was overwhelmed as the Padukas were exactly as envisioned. Delighted, she called Mataji Vallabhanandamayi. But before she could say anything, Mataji shared that that morning, her househelp said she had a dream where her granddaughter was given krishna padukas made of brass. The devotee immediately shared the news of the Padukas, Sunitaji’s story and the pictures. Mataji was filled with love and said the padukas were exactly as she too had envisioned. The Krishna Padukas that Mataji Vallabhanandamayi’s house help dreamt of are Baba’s padukas (Krishna is Baba at Shirdi as Samadhi mandir was initially constructed as temple for Krishna) and the granddaughter is Sunitaji’s mother (granddaughter of Tatya Kote Patil). Baba’s leelas are boundless. We are mere channels of Divine. The Padukas were installed on the Dattatreya Jayanti (15th Dec 2024), as divinely willed.