Akkalkot Maharaj
Sri NARSINH SARASWATI MAHARAJ left Ganagapur once and for all and went to Kadalivana near Shailya Mallikarjuna for penance . After some years , he moved to Himalayas . There he is said to have entered into Samadhi. Devotees believe he continued in that state for more than 300 years.

A huge ant hill grew around the corporal body of Sri NARSINH SARASWATI MAHARAJ and no one knew what happened to him afterwards. Many years later, a woodcutter’s axe accidently fell on some bushes about the ant hill. The woodcutter was aghast to find the axe’s blade stained with blood. Curosity led him to demolish the ant hill to find out who or what it was that had been hurt by his axe. To his great surprise , he found a yogi absorbed in penance !. Slowly the yogi opened his eyes and rose from his Samadhi and looked at the woodcutter who was trembling with fear and remorse . But to the surprise , the yogi beaming with love spoke gently , “ well , my child , do not be sorry for what has happened. The time has come for me to reappear in the world and to resume my spiritual mission – this is GOD’s will “.
The yogi who emerged from the ant hill was not Sri NARSINH SARASWATI MAHARAJ but his reincarnation Sri SWAMI SAMARTH MAHARAJ !. The wound caused by the axe had left a scar on the thigh of Sri SWAMI SAMARTH MAHARAJ which was seen as a permanent mark
Shree Swami Samarth of Akkalkot

Believed to be an incarnation of Shri Dattatreya the name of this spiritual master, popularly called Swami Samarth, is a household word in Maharashtra and the region around. As this Perfect Master chose to reside at a place called Akkalkot for 22 years where he took Mahasamadhi (left his mortal body) in 1878, he is also known as the Maharaj of Akkalkot, Akkalkot is situated in district Solapur of Maharashtra state of India.

For the devotees of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba, it would be inspiring to learn about the life and deeds of ‘Swami Samarth’. A comparative picturisation of the lives of these two great Saints, i.e. Swami Samarth and Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi would establish a surprising amount of commonness in their lives and deeds which includes their methods of teaching, the universality of their approach and the miracles they performed. Even a critical approach by a non-conformist would ultimately lead to the assertion that the over-all role of these two spiritual masters during the second half of the nineteenth century was similar, if not same. One, who is capable of making finer spiritual analysis, would be faced with a bewildering reality.
The reality is that Swami Samarth and Shri Shirdi Sai Baba were the manifestations of the same Divine Spirit in two gross bodies.

Many published writings on both these Saints by different writers authenticate about the interaction between these two Sadgurus both in the gross, and the subtle planes. Just before Mahasamadhi, Swami Samrath advised one of his disciples to worship Shri Sai at Shirdi saying that he (the Swami Samarth) would stay at Shirdi in future.

The early life of Swami Samarth like that of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba is shrouded with mystery. For that matter, even Shri Shirdi Sai Baba’s advent and early life has not been established. Yet it does not really matter for those who have faith in Him and continue to experience his benevolence in different ways. How does it matter if Christ was born of a virgin mother! He took the pain of the suffering humanity and led them in the path of spirituality. That is what the world needs.

Shri Narasimha Saraswati, about three centuries before the advent of Swami Samarth is believed to be the earlier incarnation of Shri Dattatreya. The ‘Guru Charitra’ one of the most famous books gives lot of information about Him. As per the most popular belief, Shri Narasimha Swami, after helping and spiritually uplifting a large number of people over a few decades, went away to the Himalayas for penance and went into Samadhi. In the Samadhi state He remained for about three hundred years. With the passage of time a huge anthill grew over him and he was lost to the outside world. One day accidentally a woodcutter’s axe fell on the bushes grown around the ant hill. He was shocked to find blood stains on the blade of the axe. He cleared the anthill and Lo, he found a Yogi in meditation. The Yogi slowly opened his eyes and consoled the dumbfounded woodcutter saying that it was the Divine Will for Him to re-appear in the world to resume His mission. This Yogi, in his new role came to be known as Swami Samarth.

Prior to his settlement at Akkalkot, Swami Samarth visited far and wide. While moving in the Himalayan region he visited China. Thereafter, he visited places like Puri, Benaras, Hardwar, Girnar, Kathiawad and Rameswaram in the South. He also stayed at Mangalvedha, a town near Pandharpur in Solapur district Maharashtra, which had been inhabited earlier by famous saints like Domojipant and Chokhamela. He came to Akkalkot in 1856 where he continued his physical existence for 22 years. He came to Akkalkot on the invitation of one Chintopant Tol and stayed at a place on the outskirts of the town. 

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