Devotee biography
Nanasaheb Chandorkar
The Mamlatdar at Kalyan, Pandharpur, Jamner, and elsewhere. Baba's go-to for confidential interventions in the official world. His daughter Mainatai's Jamner labour is the most documented Satcharitra miracle. He brought Kakasaheb Dixit and Tatyasaheb Noolkar to Baba.
Profession
Senior Maharashtra Mamlatdar (taluka revenue and minor magistracy officer). Posted in succession to Nandurbar, Kalyan, Pandharpur, Jamner, and elsewhere. His professional movement is the geography of much of the Satcharitra's middle period.
The Pandharpur Sense-Event (Ch. 7)
When Nanasaheb was transferred from Nandurbar to Pandharpur, he left immediately without writing or informing anyone at Shirdi — wanting to give Baba a surprise visit on the way. As Nanasaheb approached Neemgaon, Baba in the masjid was talking with Mhalsapati, Appa Shinde, and Kashiram. He said at once: "Let us all four do some Bhajan, the doors of Pandhari are open, let us merrily sing." They sang in chorus, the burden of the song being "I have to go to Pandharpur and I have to stay on there, for it is the house of my Lord." In a short time Nanasaheb arrived.
The Jamner Miracle (Ch. 33)
About 1904-05 his daughter Mainatai's obstructed labour at Jamner brought the Satcharitra's most documented miracle — the disappearing peon-and-tanga at Jalgaon delivering Baba's Udi and Arati 100 miles away. B. V. Deo collected the signed statements (Mainatai, Bapusaheb Chandorkar, Ramgirbuva) in 1936, preserved in Narasimha Swami's Devotees' Experiences Part III.
Bringing Others to Baba
Nanasaheb introduced Kakasaheb Dixit (Ch. 50), the sub-judge Tatyasaheb Noolkar (Ch. 31), V. H. Thakur (Ch. 21), and many others to Baba. His introductory letters and word-of-mouth advocacy account for a large fraction of the Satcharitra's middle-period devotees.
The Bijapur Veiled Lady (Ch. 49)
Sitting with Mhalsapati in the masjid one day, Nanasaheb was struck by the rare beauty of a Bijapur Muslim lady who briefly lifted her veil to bow at Baba's feet. Baba's reply on her departure — "Let the senses do their allotted work; we should not meddle with their work. God has created this beautiful world; when the heart is pure, there is no difficulty whatsoever" — is one of the Satcharitra's most often-cited passages on the proper relation of the senses to beauty.
Witness on Baba's Origin
Nanasaheb's close personal observation that Baba was uncircumcised, even though Baba advocated circumcision, is preserved in B. V. Deo's article "Baba Hindu Ki Yavan" in Sai Leela p. 562 — one of the Satcharitra's small but specific empirical references. (Ch. 7)