Shree Kshetra Ganagapur is known for its holy padukas of Shri Narasimha Saraswati, an avatar of Shri Dattatreya. My visit to Shree Kshetra Ganagapur was scheduled so that I could offer my prayers and proceed on my journey towards sannyasa.
When I arrived at Ganagapur, it was around 11 am. Since the one thing I wanted to do was take darshan, I stood in a long queue. My feet were killing me and yet I stood in the hot sun with no overhead roof to protect against it.
There were older women and children in the queue and were making a loud racket and constant chatter. I wished the queue moved faster. By the time I reached the gate, they were wrapping up the darshan queue.
Suddenly, I was pulled inside and made to stand in one place next to a hole in the wall. Since this was my first visit I hadn’t expected any such thing. They closed the cage on me and I was left alone with one pandit inside. He asked me to bend and peep through that hole in the wall. I was told that is the only way you can take darshan of the divine Padukas or sandals of Narasimha Saraswati. I guess the afternoon Pooja of the nirguna padukas went on for nearly half an hour. After the Pooja finished I was told to move towards another room. Then I was made to sit on a mat and another Pooja was done by the person who was conducting the Pooja inside to the padukas. I felt very privileged and special since I was alone inside that enclosure and later doing the Pooja.
After the Pooja, I was given some Prasad and there again I was told to take it home and offer it to other family members.
Now, this was a coincidence, I thought. But coincidence doesn’t keep on happening time and again. I was flabbergasted and was resigned to fate. There was no way of knowing what I was going to do in days to come.
Sri Narasimha Saraswati is the Datta avatar and He was telling me that I have to go back to base and stop wandering about. I went around to the Ash hill and the Triveni Sangam of the river. The river was dry and dirty and I could see lots of pandits performing death ceremonies for those who had lost some dear one. I finished my darshan and came back to the bus stand, ready for my onward journey to Pandharpur.
