Sri Shani Shignapur

[P.J.]

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Sri Shani Shignapur

Shani Shignapur is a village located in Ahmednagar District of Maharashtra. It is about 35 km from Ahmednagar. The presiding deity of Shinganapur, Sri Shaneshwara or Lord Shanidev- the personification of the planet Saturn is worshipped with utmost reverence and devotion by multitudes of people from all over the world. The spectacle of the deity in black stone is overwhelming. A unique aspect of this place is, that no temple structure houses the Shanidev. There is only a simple platform on which stands the swayambhu idol, in black stone.

Unlike other pilgrimage centres, devotees here can perform puja or abhishek or other religious rituals themselves.
One of the unique aspects of the village Shiganapur is that houses here have no door- frames or locks on them for safety. They are in fact not needed. The people here believe that it is the benediction of the god that no crime ever occurs in this village.

Shri Dattatraya Temple and the tomb of Sant Shri Udasi Baba are the nearby attractions. By road, Shani Shignapur is linked with Aurangabad (68 km) and Shirdi (70 km). Ahmednagar Railway Station is the nearest railhead

Shani Shinganapur: A Lockless village where God is Guardian


In the modern times where, together with the technology advances, crimes too become more sophisticated and the concerns for more and more security measures gains priority, is it possible to imagine a place where people live in harmony in no-door-no-locks-houses ? It may seem unbelievable but as a matter of fact, true! There is indeed a tiny hamlet where houses and other buildings like shops have no doors, and that place is in the country of countless legends and myths – India.


Shani Shinganapur

Shri Shaneshwar Devasthan Shanishingnapur's legend in Taluk Naivasa of District Ahmednagar is famous, far and wide, as the shrine of countless devotees. The number of its unbelievable miracles finds its place of pride in The Guinness book of World Re
Undiscovered Indian Treasures: Shani Shinganapur: A Lockless village where God is Guardian

 

[tbs]

hi

i visited this place some yrs ago....when i was visiting shirdi....its on the way to pune from shirdi...

 

[P.J.]

Shani Shingnapur: A village without doors

Shani Shingnapur: A village without doors

Shani Shingnapur, a small village in western India, is novel in that not a single house, hotel or structure has doors. Nilima Pathak finds that it is attracting thousands of visitors from across the country -

Shani Shingnapur is situated about 80km from the city of Aurangabad, on the Pune-Aurangabad highway. At first glance it appears like any village in India – dusty lanes, villagers on bicycles, cows grazing in meadows. But pause before a house at any time of the day – or night – and you will be greeted by open doorways. Amazingly, not one of the 300-odd buildings in the village has doors, making it perhaps the safest village in the world. Even the few public toilets in the village square have no doors – and the villagers have no issue with that. “For reasons of privacy and following requests by women, we recently agreed to put a thin curtain near the entrance, but not doors because that would go against our belief,’’ says Parmeshwar Mane, a prominent shopkeeper in the village.


The only problem the lack of doors on the houses seems to pose is that there is nothing 
to knock on to announce your arrival at a home. “Just shout out and somebody will come to the door,’’ one of the villagers, Rani, explains.

“The custom of not having doors to houses here goes back almost six centuries,’’ says the 34-year-old housewife. “According to legend, a huge black slab was found among the debris brought by violent floods and rains in the area. It was lodged in the exposed roots of a tree. When the rains abated, the villagers tried to dislodge it but found they couldn’t move it.


“The next day, the village head man had 
a dream in which a voice told him to build a shrine for the slab. But it should have no roof or doors. Also, none of the houses in the village should henceforth have doors, the voice said.


“The head man told the villagers about his dream and the people, firm believers in superstition, promptly got rid of the doors in their homes. To this day, even new houses built in the village have no doors.”


So why haven’t there been any crimes? “It’s because a genial spirit protects the villagers and punishes wrongdoers,” Rani says proudly. “My husband runs a grocery in the village and even his shop does not have doors of any kind. He has never lost anything and he has been running the store for the past 10 years.”


But not everyone is happy to believe that theory. The late Dr Narendra Dabholkar, a well-known rationalist who attempted to debunk baseless beliefs and illogical customs, was convinced the whole doorless custom was a farce. “It is just a brand-building exercise of the villagers because it is bringing in huge amounts of money by way of tourism,’’ he insisted.


It’s true that tourism has become a huge business in Shani Shingnapur. Until about 
15 years ago, villagers relied on sugar cane farming to sustain themselves, but thanks to the hype that has spread about the village, hordes of tourists have been descending there to see the doorless buildings for themselves.


“Thousands of people from around the country visit the village every day to have a glimpse of the houses without doors as well as the slab, which takes pride of place in the village,’’ says Ganesh Mane, a cab driver who takes the tourists around.
- See more at: Shani Shingnapur: A village without doors - Fridaymagazine.ae






See more at: Shani Shingnapur: A village without doors - Fridaymagazine.ae