Shree Swami Samarth Maharaj

A Short Biography of Shree Swami Samarth 31
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At the confluence Of Krishna - Panchganga River
Due to this event, Sriguru’s fame spread everywhere. Throughout the day,
people visited him to pay obeisance and narrate their difficulties. This again started
creating a disturbance in Sriguru’s meditation. Therefore, one day he left the place
quietly and wandered until he reached Narsinhawadi village at the confluence of the two
rivers - Krishna and Panchganga. The Panchganga consists of five rivers viz. Shiva,
Bhadra, Bhogavati, Kumbhi, and Saraswati. There was a dense forest surrounding this
confluence and hence Sriguru decided to sit under an Audumbar tree for meditation.
This place is located on the western bank of river Krishna. In front of this place, on the
eastern bank of the river, there is a holy place called Amarapur (Aurwad). A temple of
Lord Kashi Vishveshwar is located in this holy place. Sixty-four Yoginis 70 resided in this
location. Sriguru stayed on the western bank under the Audumbar tree and every
afternoon he would cross the river to Amarapur, take blessings from Lord Amareshwar
(Kashi Vishveshwar), collect alms in the village and return to his abode on the western
bank of the river.
Devotee of Amarapur Favoured
A poor Brahmin lived in Amarapur. He was a great devotee of Lord Dattatreya.
However, due to poverty it was extremely difficult for him to make ends meet. In
Amarapur he maintained himself by collecting alms from people. A large amount of
bean-pod creepers had grown in his courtyard. The days when he did not get any alms,
his family would survive eating cooked bean-pods.
One day, Sriguru suddenly came and stood at the Brahmin’s doorstep. The Brahmin
welcomed him with devotion. Unfortunately he had no food available in his home that
day. So the Brahmin offered Sriguru cooked beans and prayed for forgiveness. Sriguru
was fully satisfied with the Brahmins devotion and said, “Take for granted that from
today onwards your poverty has disappeared”. After saying so, Sriguru left the house.
The bean pod creeper had grown so thick in the courtyard that one had to bend his
head to cross the courtyard. Sriguru destroyed that thickly grown creeper with his own
hands. When the means of their livelihood was destroyed, the Brahmani75 and her
children started crying loudly. They started reproaching Sriguru. However, the Brahmin
was very sensible. He said, “One should be satisfied with whatever that is available.
Sriguru is omniscient. There is certainly some reason for him to destroy the bean
creepers.”
Then the Brahmin started getting rid of the broken creepers. He started digging
to uproot the creepers. As he dug with his axe, there was a sound like striking metal.
When the Brahmin used more force and dug up, he saw a big vessel lying at the root of
the creeper. He found that the metallic vessel was filled with gold coins. The Brahmin’s
70 Yoginis: Its literal meaning is a demoness or a sorceress. The word is used to refer to advanced female yoga practitioners.
In a wider and general context, a yogini is believed to be women who possess supernatural powers. During Durga’s battles
with the demons (asurs) eight yoginis are described who emanated from the body of Durga, and they assisted her in the
battle, Later, the number of Yoginis increased to sixty-four. All these yoginis represented forces of vegetation and fertility,
illness and death, Yoga and magic. All yogins are worshipped collectively and together, each one is enshrined in an individual
position in a circular temple open to the sky.
One of the most impressive yogini temples is the 9th century Chaunsath yogini (sixty-four yogini) temple is located at Hirapur,
Bhubaneshvar district, Orissa. Other two important yogini temples are the 10th century monuments at Khajuraho, near
Chhattarpur and Bheraghat, near Jabalpur, both in Madhya Pradesh.
Copyright © 2006 Shree Vitthalrao Joshi Charities Trust