Paduka of Sages
Paduka is an ancient form of footwear in India, which would be worn by the ancient people. Paduka was available in various forms, and in general, it would be made out of wood, gold and silver. The golden and the silver Padukas would be usually worn by the royal people, such as the kings and his ministers, whereas the wooden Padukas would be worn by the saints and by the general public.In the Vishnupad Temple in Gaya, people worship Lord Vishnu’s foot print similar to worshipping him, and his foot print was carved on a rock.
In the temples of Mantralayam and Shirdi Sai Mandir, the original foot wears of these two saints were kept, and it is worshipped by the priests and by the devotees. Worshipping their foot wears is similar to worshipping themselves.
Since, by using these holy foot wears, the saints have walked to many sacred places, we would get great Punya, by watching and offering our prayers to the holy Padukas of Sri Raghavendra Swamy and Sri Shirdi Sai Baba. In the “Guru PadukaSthotra”, which is believed to have been composed by Sri Adi Shankara, he has clearly mentioned about the significance of Padukas of the Holy Gurus, and the contents present in the powerful Sthotra are as follows:
“I offer my humble Salutations to the divine sandals of my Holy Guru, which acts as a boat for me, and through that, let me cross the vast ocean of my life, it protects me in my life, and also it resembles my holy worshipful Guru, and by worshipping the Holy sandals, I feel great pleasantness, and I am having great mental satisfaction in my mind”.
Whoever recites this famous Guru Pathuka Stotra, would be relieved from their sins, diseases, miseries and sorrows in their lives, and they would get peace of mind for ever in their lives. Similar to the great Bharata, who worshipped Lord Rama’s Padukas for several years, likewise, let us sincerely worship the Padukas of our Holy Gurus, and be blessed.
“OM”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR