Shankar Maharaj was a Siddhayogi in the tradition of Natha Pantha. He was a disciple of Shri Swami Samartha of Akkalkot. He was born around 1800 and took Samadhi on April 28, 1947. Maharaj had many followers in India as well as abroad. There are many popular stories about his miracles.

Different Names of Shankar Maharaj:

1. Gourishankar.

2. Supadya.

3. Khichadi Baba.

4. Kunwarswami.

5. Ashtavakra.

6. Yogiraj.

The Story of Birth of Shankar Maharaj:

The story of the birth of Shankar Maharaj is very amusing. He did not have any biological parents. There is no information about his physical birth anywhere. He used to say that he had come from Kailasa Mountain. There are at least three stories about his birth.

1. In the Nashik district of Maharashtra, there is a village named Antapur. A person called Chimanaji used to live there. He was sad because he did not have a child. He was a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva. One day, he had a revelation. In a dream, he was ordered to go to a forest where he would find a child and bring the child to his home. Chimanaji went to the forest where he found a 2-year-old kid. He brought him to his home and named him Shankar as he was a devotee of Lord Shiva.

2. Dr. Nagesh Dhaneshwar was one of his principal disciples. He claimed that Shankar Maharaj himself told him about his birth. Shankar Maharaj said that he was born around 1800 at Mangalwedhe in Maharashtra in the Upasani family.

3. In a village in the Beed-Marathwada region of Maharashtra, there was a childless woman who worshiped Lord Shiva in the hopes of getting a child. Once an 8-year-old boy approached and touched her chest. Miraculously, her breasts started oozing milk like a postpartum mother. She requested the child to stay with her. The child blessed her that she would give birth to twins and then he would leave her. The child was named Shankar. After some time, the women gave birth to twins, and Shankar left for the Himalayas.

Guru of Shankar Maharaj:

When Shankar was about eight years old, he went chasing a deer for hunting it. He followed it into a forest on the banks of Chandrabhaga River. He reached a Lord Shiva temple in Machnur village. When he was about to shoot the arrow, a sanyasi appeared there and lifted the deer in his arms and asked Shankar not to kill it, but Shankar did not listen to him and shot the arrow. It hit the sanyasi but could not harm him. The second arrow also met the same fate. Shankar was bewildered because of it. Then Sanyasi came near him, put the deer down, and put his hand on his head. The touch of the sanyasi filled Shankar with some kind of divine energy. This type of initiation is called Sprashadiksha. In this type of initiation, the master transfers energy to the disciple by the means of touch.

The sanyasi was none other than Swami Samarth of Akkalkot, who stayed with Shankar for the next six months and imparted spiritual knowledge to him. He also advised him to go on a pilgrimage.

You May Also Like To Read: Swami Samartha of Akkalkot

Shankar Maharaj Returns to Maharashtra:

He joined a group of Nath Panthi sadhus and wandered many places in India. He went to the Himalayas and did penance there per his guru’s instructions. Maharaj traveled to many places in India, like Kashi, Gwalior, Raver, etc. In Kashi, he was called Khichadi Baba, and in the Gwalior region, Gourishankar.

After about 70 years when Swami Samarth took Samadhi in 1878, he returned to Maharashtra. (It seems he was ordered to do so by Swami to continue his work.)

First, he came to Shubharai math in Solapur and stayed there with Janardana Buwa. Then he went to Akkalkot to visit the Samadhi of his guru, Swami Samarth. After that, he went to Nashik and stayed with a lawyer named Mr. Rambhau Akolkar for some time. From Nashik, Maharaj came to Pune and spent the rest of his life there.

What did Shankar Maharaj Look Like:

Shankar Maharaj’s body was bent in eight places. Therefore, he was called Ashtavakra. He had big protruding eyes that looked like piercing the mind of observers. Maharaj was Ajanabahu, meaning he had long hands reaching his knees while standing straight. He had unkempt hair that covered his head fully. Also, he used to grow a beard in his later life.

Per some stories, he used to stammer while speaking. He said that when he was a child, Swami Samartha used to keep a Shiva lingam on his tongue and do Abhisheka.

Shankar Maharaj’s Favorite Number:

Per his devotees, his favorite number was 13. Number 13 in Hindi is pronounced as “Teraa,” which means “yours”. He used to believe that nothing belonged to him and everything belonged to others. Therefore, this life and all bondings are also yours. You have to taste the good and bad fruits of your Karma. You cannot reach God before that. Therefore, he liked the number 13.

When he used to advise people to do a certain thing, he used to tell them to do it 13 times or in the multiple of 13, especially on the 13th date. One of his famous devotees, P. K. Atre, was born on the 13th and died on the 13th date. It is said that he knocked on his door 13 times before his death.

Devotees:

Shankar Maharaj had devotees from all the strata of society. Some of them were doctors, engineers, politicians, workers, businessmen, etc. Many of them were Muslims also. Many foreign devotees also used to visit him. He still has many devotees in Japan. Some of his famous devotees were Pralhad Keshav Atre, the First Nizam of Hyderabad, Tatya Sahastrabuddhe, Raosaheb and Taisaheb Mehendale, and many others.

Miracles:

There are hundreds of stories about his miracles. I have mentioned here some of the main stories only.

Shankar Maharaj Knew most of the Languages in the World.

Because of his popularity, many foreign devotees used to visit him for advice, like from Russia, Japan, Britain, etc. Shankar Maharaj had never been to school or had no exposure to foreign languages, but he used to speak the native language of the devotee fluently.

Cured a Paralyzed Woman:

In early 1947, one of his devotees’ wife, had paralysis in a hand and a leg and was bedridden. One of the doctors advised them to take her to Pandharpur for treatment. When the husband arranged for a vehicle for transportation and came home, he encountered Shankar Maharaj, who told him to take him to another place about 10 km away. They were involved in Bhajan and other activities the whole night. Shankar Maharaj did not leave him until the next morning.

When the husband came back home, he found that his wife was able to walk and opened the door for him. When asked she said that Shankar Maharaj was sitting by her bed throughout the night and suddenly vanished.

Thus, Shankar Maharaj not only cured her but showed his power of being in two places at the same time.

Rescued Upasani Maharaj from a Legal Case:

Upasani Maharaj was a contemporary Yogi of Shankar Maharaj in Ahmednagar. He was charged by the British government with cheating in the name of spirituality. None of the lawyers accepted his case. Then Shankar Maharaj met one lawyer named Shrotri and persuaded him to accept the case. Mr. Shrotri was skeptical because he had no knowledge of spirituality, but Maharaj told him to just stand in the court before the judge and he would take care of everything else. Mr. Shrotri did so and not only did he win the cause but was praised by the judge for his excellent arguments.

A lawyer who had no knowledge about spirituality won the case easily by the grace of Maharaj.

Predicted the Future of Nizam’s Kingdom:

The first Nizam of Hyderabad was one of the staunch devotes of Shankar Maharaj, but the second Nizam did not believe in him and expelled him from the state. Then he went to the bank of a river in his state. After this, the river flooded and started to cause havoc. Nizam understood that it was because of the curse of Maharaj and called him back respectfully, but Maharaj did not accept his invitation and told him that his reign would be over soon. After that, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel forced him to merge Hyderabad into India.

Did Shankar Maharaj Drink Alcohol?

There are contradicting claims made by people. Some say he did not drink alcohol, but most of his devotees believe that he drank alcohol, especially brandy. Sometimes, he appeared to be intoxicated, but it was never so. Once he told the reason behind his drinking habit to his devotees. He said that he wanted to keep those devotees away from him who could not see beyond his physical appearance.

Why did Shankar Maharaj Smoke Cigarettes?

Maharaj was very fond of cigarettes and used to smoke Honeydew (Pila Hathi) cigarettes regularly. Even at his Samadhi temple in Pune, his devotees offer him cigarettes. The reason he told for his smoking was, “I wander in the three lokas via the smoke of cigarettes. The smoke travels all over the world.”

Not only Shankar Maharaj but Gajanan Maharaj, Sai Baba, and many other yogis like Swami Vivekananda, etc., used to smoke cigarettes or chilam. The main reason behind this is spiritual and not physical. When a yogi goes into trans, his soul reaches the zenith of happiness and does not want to return back to his body. Therefore, you need something to allure it back to the body. As the yogis generally don’t eat nonvegetarian food or drink alcohol, they prefer cigarettes or chilam, which serves the purpose of alluring the soul back to the body.

How old was Shankar Maharaj when he took Samadhi?

As per the claims made by his devotees, in 1947, when he took Samadhi, he was about 162 years old. The exact year of his birth is not known but is considered to be around 1800.

In 1935, Professor Bhalachandra Deo from Deccan College asked him his age with some hesitation. Then Shankar Maharaj replied, “I am 150 years old. I had had meals with Peshwas of Pune.” In 1947, he went into Samadhi. Therefore, it is believed that he was 162 years old at that time.

Dr. Dhaneshwar from Pune was skeptical about his age. Therefore, he did some medical tests on him with his permission. The result of the test showed that he was 152 years old.

(It is not clear which tests he used to confirm his age at that time.)

Samadhi:

On April 28, 1947, Shankar Maharaj went into Samadhi. He wanted to do it 17 years before but had postponed it at the request of his devotee, Dr. Dhaneshwar. It was Shukla Ashtami of Vaishakha month per the Hindu calendar.

Ten days before the Samadhi, he stopped meeting people except for his close group of devotees. He was staying at one of his devotees’ (Mama Dhekne) house at that time. On the day before the Samadhi, he told Mama Dhekne’s wife, “Give me just a cup of tea. No cigarettes. Inside the shelf spread a small mattress and keep a cushion. I am going to take bath and sit there. I don’t want to speak a word or meet anyone. The door should not be opened.”

On the next morning at 4 o’clock, a voice came from inside the shelf telling them to take care of his physical body as he was leaving the material world.

Even after his Samadhi, he continued to meet his disciples and guide them.

Teachings and Philosophy of Shankar Maharaj:

1. Sab Kuchh Tera Kuchh Nahi Mera. (Everything is yours, nothing is mine.)

2. Mujhe Wohi Janata Hain, Jo Khudko Samajhata Hain. (Only that person knows me who knows himself/herself.)

3. Serve your parents. They bring you to this world and take care of you in your childhood.

4. Worship your family deity. It takes care of your family.

5. Experience at least one verse of Dnyaneshwari.

6. Always respect God and Guru.

7. Devotion is greater than Siddhi.

Temples of Shankar Maharaj:

There are many temples of Shankar Maharaj across Maharashtra, especially in the Pune area, but the one in Dhankawadi is the main one where he took the Samadhi. Its address is Shankar Maharaj Samadhi Mandir. FVC5+42V, Shankar Maharaj Math, Pune Satara Road, Dhankawadi, Pune, Maharashtra 411043.

Movie and TV Series:

In 2014, a Marathi movie named “Jay Shankar” was released. The role of Shankar Maharaj was done by Mr. Sharad Ponkshe.

In 2022, a TV serial named Yog Yogeshwar Jai Shankar was released on Colors Marathi channel.

Suggested for Further Reading:

Yogiraj: The Life And The Teachings of Shri Shankar Maharaj