Daily Events at the Gurumandir

Morning  Early in the morning, the activities are heralded with 'Kakad arti' and 'Shankha-naad'.  The deity is bathed, worshipped by the priests with strict rituals.   At the same time, a team of puroh its is engaged in performing other religious rites such as Satyadatta Puja, Laghurudra, Abhishek, etc.  These 'poojas' are performed outside the sanctum.  Only a designated purohit is allowed inside the sanctum and this practice is rigorously followed.   By mid-morning, the deity is decked with fresh clothes, flowers and rudraksha-mala.  The whole scene fills one with religious thoughts.  The activities are executed in a time-bound and efficient manner.

The devotees start pouring in continuously from the early morning hours.  The kitchen also becomes busy preparing mahaprasad for the devotees.

 Afternoon  The activities take a short pause after 'aarti' and 'naivedya' at noon.  Visiting and local devotees make it a special point to be present for this 'aarti' and to be sprinkled with 'tirtha' by the main priest.

Religious discourses, Kirtan, Bhajan, resonate in the temple during the afternoon and evening hours.  Every thursday, 'palkhi' with 'utsav-murti' of the Lord, is taken around the main temple amidst singing of 'bhajan' in the praise of Shri Dattatreya.

Special Events   Besides the daily religious activities, many auspicious days are observed with special puja. Among these are:

1. Nrusimha Saraswati Utsav
2. Shripad-Shri Vallabh Jayanti,
3. Guru Pournima
4. Shri Vasudevananda Saraswati Jayanti,
5. Shri Nrusimha Jayanti, and
6. Shri Dattatreya Jayanti.  See programme schedule in English and Marathi.

The high point of the temple activities is the annual six weeks Utsav (festival), which starts on the birth anniversary of Shri Nrusimha Saraswati Swami (Pousha Shuddha 2) and concludes with the Samadhi Day (Magha Krishna 1) also known as Sri Shailya-gaman Yatra.  Special programmes are organised throughout the utsav, and it concludes with 'Swahakar' (Yadnya), Mahaprasad, and Shobha-Yatra (procession) through the main streets of the town.