Madhi is a village in Pathardi taluka of

Ahmednagar Ahmednagar (), is a city located in the Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 114 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar takes its name from Ahmad Nizam Shah I, who founded the town in 1494 ...

district in

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

Importance

Samādhi place of Shri Kanifnath one of

Navnath The Navanath (हिंदी - नवनाथ), also spelt as Navnatha in vernacular languages, are the nine saints, Masters or Naths on whom the Navnath Sampradaya, the lineage of the nine gurus, is based.

s. The Kanifnath fair is held on

Phalguna Phalguna ( sa, फाल्गुन ) is a month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Phalguna is twelfth month of the year, and corresponds with February/March in the Gregorian calendar.Henderson, Helene. (Ed.) (2005) ' ...

Vadya 5(

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

) to

Chaitra Chaitra (Hindi: चैत्र) is a month of the Hindu calendar. In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Cho ...

Shuddha 1(

Gudhi Padwa Gudhi Padwa is a spring-time festival that marks the traditional new year for Marathi and Konkani Hindus, but is also celebrated by other Hindus as well. It is celebrated in and around Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and the union territ ...

) for 15 days in honour of the saint Kanifnath. The nomadic tribe-Gopal enjoys the honour of firing the sacred Holi at this place. The community

courts A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

of the tribes administered justice and solve the family disputes. The Bazar of Donkeys is held during the yatra., was believed to be the seat of one of the principal preachers and philosophers of the

Nath Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.Navnath The Navanath (हिंदी - नवनाथ), also spelt as Navnatha in vernacular languages, are the nine saints, Masters or Naths on whom the Navnath Sampradaya, the lineage of the nine gurus, is based.

Sar (A composition that contains tenets of Navnath panth.) It is also a holy place for nomads of the Vaidu community from all over

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. More than 7 lakhs Nath-bhakt visits at "Madhi" on Phalgun vadhya panchami (Rangpanchami)

Location

It is 51 km away from

towards east. Madhi is east of Nivdunge village on National Highway 222. Pathardi is 10 km from Madhi. There are three roads to go to Madhi one from Pathardi, second from Nivdunge and third one from Tisgaon.

Temple

The

Samādhi ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditation, meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ash ...

is in beautiful stones. The Temple was built by Muslim artisans under the supervision of Begum

Chand Bibi Sultana Chand Bibi (1550–1599 CE) was an Indian ruler and warrior. She acted as the Regent of Bijapur Sultanate during the minority of Ibrahim Adil Shah II in 1580-1590, and regent of Ahmednagar Sultanate during the minority of her great nep ...

's maternal uncle. Both Muslims and Hindus value and pray at the four temple complex. Located three hours drive from

Shirdi Shirdi (; also known as Sainagar) is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located in the Rahata taluka of Ahmednagar District. It is accessible via the Ahmednagar–Malegaon State Highway No.10, approximately from Ahmednagar and ...

, outside a small village named Madhi, it is a perfect example of Muslim architecture. On climbing approximately 70 stairs you would reach the Gadh as it is commonly known. Of the four temple complexes, the centre one is that of Samadhi. The

of the saint has approaches from three different directions. A flight of about 200 steps leads to the

. The

of the saint is made of stone in the shape of a turbat{{typo help inline, reason=similar to turbant, date=November 2022. At the four corners of the tomb there are minarets with a small-sized dome at the top of each. Over the

is a gold-plated pinnacle of brass. The shrine in which the tomb of the saint is located is a lofty building surrounded by a wall with twelve doors. There are also a few

of the disciples of the saint. A horse of brass is placed before the

of the saint.

References

* http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/Ahmadnagar/bank_fairs.html * http://ahmednagar.nic.in/html_docs/Madhi.htm * http://sadgurunarayanmaharajkedgaon.blogspot.com/2009/02/om-chitanya-kanifnath-maharaj-nau-nath.html?zx=869a5613157120fb * http://court.mah.nic.in/courtweb/static_pages/courts/ahmadnagar.htm - 90k * http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20090410142154/http://dacnet.nic.in/cipmcnagpur/ahemad%20nagar.htm * http://court.mah.nic.in/courtweb/static_pages/courts/ahmadnagar.htm * http://www.kanifnathmadhi.org * http://devendranathmaharaj.com/jeev_brahmaseva.htm Villages in Ahmednagar district Ahmednagar district Villages in Pathardi taluka