Aarti Sai Baba
Praise Hymn to Sai Baba of Shirdi
The Marathi aarti to Sai Baba of Shirdi, composed by his devotee Madhavrao Adkar, asking for rest at his feet and for his grace.
Verses
Aarti to Sai Baba, the bestower of happiness upon all souls. At the dust of Your feet, Your servants find rest; Your devotees find rest.
Verse 1
Having consumed the fire of lust, You remain absorbed in Your own true form. To seekers of liberation, You reveal the divine Lord Shri Ranga before their very eyes.
Verse 2
As the feeling in the heart of each person, so is the experience You grant them, O compassionate One. Such is Your loving nature.
Verse 3
By meditating on Your name, the pain of worldly existence is dissolved. Your deeds are unfathomable; You show the path to the helpless.
Verse 4
In this age of Kali, You are the true incarnation, the manifest Brahman with attributes. You have descended, O Lord, as Dattatreya, the sky-clad.
Verse 5
On Thursday, the eighth day, devotees make their pilgrimage, yearning to behold the Lord's feet—feet that dispel the fear of worldly existence.
Verse 6
My only true treasure is the service of Your feet. This alone I now ask of You, O God of gods.
Verse 7
Like a humble chatak bird thirsting for pure water, I long for the bliss of true happiness. O Madhava, grant me this drink; fulfill this prayer of mine.
Verse 8
Worship Guidelines & Chanting Benefits (Phalashruti)
Daily or auspicious lunar days (Ekadashi, Purnima, Pradosham)
Brahma Muhurta (4:00 AM – 6:00 AM) or Evening Dusk (Sandhya)
Ghee lamp (Deepa), Incense (Dhoopa), Fresh flowers & Water offering
- Peace of mind, spiritual upliftment, and harmonious energy in the home
Background
This aarti comes from the worship tradition of Sai Baba of Shirdi (c. 1838-1918), a widely revered spiritual teacher of Maharashtra, who welcomed Hindus, Muslims, and people of every background as his own. It is attributed to Madhavrao Vamanrao Adkar, a devotee of Sai Baba, who is said to have written it in the early 1900s during Sai Baba's lifetime, and it has been sung at Shirdi since then. The verses are in Marathi and are sung at the end of puja, especially on Thursdays, the day sacred to Sai Baba. Verse 4 names Dattatreya, reflecting the belief that Sai Baba was an incarnation of that deity, while the chatak bird in verse 7 is a classical image of a bird that drinks only pure raindrops, a symbol of a devotee's total dependence on divine grace.
About this Text
Composed by: Madhavrao Adkar
Did You Know?
Aarti in Marathi
This is a Marathi-language aarti (a ritual song of praise) dedicated to Sai Baba of Shirdi, a saint revered by Hindus and Muslims alike. The refrain 'Saukhya-datara jiva' calls him the giver of happiness to all living beings.
The composer
The aarti is credited to Madhavrao Adkar, a devotee of Sai Baba. The closing verse contains the word 'Madhava', which tradition reads as the poet's own name as well as an address to the Lord.
The refrain's plea
The chorus asks Sai Baba to let his true devotees find rest at the dust of his feet, a traditional gesture of surrender and humility. 'Nija dasan' means 'own servants,' emphasizing an intimate, personal bond between the devotee and the saint.
Burning desire
Verse 1 says Sai Baba 'burned' the god of desire (Ananga, a name for Kama) and remains absorbed in his own true form. This points to his complete inner mastery and detachment, which he then reveals to seekers yearning for liberation (mumukshu).
Devotion shapes experience
Verse 2 captures a core teaching: 'As the feeling in the heart, so the experience.' Sai Baba is described as the 'ocean of compassion' who mirrors each devotee's own faith and attitude, a reminder that the divine responds to sincerity. The thought echoes Bhagavad Gita 4.11, where the Lord says that he responds to each person according to the way they approach him.
A Kali Yuga avatar
Verse 4 declares Sai Baba an incarnation of the formless Absolute in its manifest form (Saguna Brahman) in this age of darkness (Kali Yuga), and links him to Dattatreya, the ancient sage-god who embodies the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.
Thursday worship
Verse 5 mentions devotees keeping a 'wari' (a regular pilgrimage visit) on Thursdays, a day traditionally associated with Sai Baba and with the planet Jupiter (Guru). This weekly devotion is still widely observed at Shirdi and in Sai temples worldwide.
The chatak bird's plea
Verse 7 uses a classic Indian image: the chatak bird, which in legend drinks only pure rainwater. The devotee begs Sai Baba to let him drink the pure water of divine joy, a metaphor for the soul's longing for grace.