(Bhagawan in 1944 with the royal family of Mysore ... Swami was just 18 years old then)

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

Once Maharaja of Mysore Jayachamaraja Wodeyar came to Swami by his car. As there was road only up to Bukkapatnam, he left his car there and came to Karnatanagepallli in a bullock cart and from there to Puttaparthi on foot. He told Me, ‘Swami! Why do You stay here and put Yourself to so much inconvenience? Kindly come to Mysore. I will build a big mansion for You.’ Then I told him, ‘A tree must grow where it is planted. If you shift it from place to place, It will not survive. Therefore, one should remain where one is born.’ The Maharaja was a great devotee. He used to visit Chamundeshwari Temple daily in the morning and in the evening. He also used to sing songs in praise of goddess Chamundeshwari.

The Mysore Maharaja visited Puttaparthi again. Seeing the difficulties faced by people to reach Puttaparthi, he requested the government authorities to lay a good road to Puttaparthi. He offered to provide necessary funds for this. The government appointed a chief engineer by name Tiruvannai Iyengar to undertake a survey of the project. The chief engineer surveyed the area, travelling in a bullock cart. He found that the river Chitravathi encircled the village on three sides and on the fourth side was available for laying a road. To Puttaparthi without touching Chitravathi river. Finally, a direct road to Puttaparthi was made, by which people could reach the Mandir.

Once the road was made ready, a number of people including Baroda Raja, Bobbili Raja Venkatagiri Raja started coming to Puttaparthi. Many of them brought tents with them and stayed in them. The brother of Trivandum Raja also came here. He was a film director. Many people in the villages around Puttaparthi started saying,’ Does Swami belong to only Rajas and Maharajas and not to us? I used to pacify the villagers, saying,’ All are My devotees and I do not make any distinction whatever.’ All are Mine. Many of these Rajas built houses for the devotees and provided many conveniences for them. Later the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Dr. Bezawada Gopala Reddy also started visiting Puttaparthi and attended many functions. It was he who inaugurated the General Hospital here, In spite of his busy schedule as the Chief Minister, he used to make regular visits to Puttaparthi. He continued the same till his last breath. He used to attend wvery function held in Prasanthi Nilayam. In due course, Millions of devotees from all over India and all parts of the world started coming to Prasanthi Nilayam. (SS Nov 09, p. 331)