Sri Sathya Sai visits Sandur Palace – Divine Guidance and Predictions for the Royal Family

Thursday, June 17, 1948

Sri Sathya Sai being welcomed at the Sandur Palace by the Raja and Maharani

Baba visited Sandur [i] on the 17th June. At the behest of Baba, the family deities were brought to the new palace. Baba personally installed the deities in their new abode and sanctified them. The Raja, Yashwant Rao Ghorpade (of the Maratha Ghorpade Dynasty) requested Baba to grace the king’s throne by sitting on it, thereby blessing him and the state. 

On the terrace, that night, Baba called the Rani and asked her to bring a towel. Baba’s hand brought forth a burning hot and heavy idol of Krishna. It was so hot that she wondered how Baba had held it with His bare hands. The idol was seven inches tall. Baba installed this idol the next day and sanctified it further by performing puja to it. After a month, annexation procedure of Sandur began. Baba advised the Maharaja to remain calm and gave them encouragement during the transfer of power. He further advised the Maharaja to start a manganese industry although it was commonly frowned upon. In future this industry would become the mainstay of the family and Sandur would become famous for it. 

Sri Sathya Sai with the royal family of Sandur

True to Swami’s predictions, today more than six decades later, Sandur is home to several mines and steel plants including: 

• SMIORE - The Sandur Manganese and Iron Ore company 

• Donimalai Mine, an iron mine owned by the National Mineral Development Corporation 

• Subbarayanahalli Mine, an iron ore in Nandi Halli owned by Mysore Minerals Limited 

• Dharmapur Iron Ore Mines in Ramgad village 

• Jaisingpur Iron Ore Mine in Yeshwanthanagar 

• JSW Steels at Toranagallu 

• VSL Iron Ore Mines in Bhujanganagar village 

• Jafir Sharif Iron Ore Mines in Bhujanganagar village 

Note: 

[i] Sandur State was a princely state of India during the British Raj, part of the Madras States Agency, with Sanduru being its capital. Currently, it is a town in the Bellary District in the Indian state of Karnataka. 

Source: Sri Sathya Sai Digvijayam (1926-1985)