How did the Shri Sai Satcharita come into existence and what establishes its importance?

The Shri Sai Satcharita was authored by the devotee Shri Govind Raghunath, also known as Annasaheb Dabholkar. As described in Chapter 0, this sweet and grace-filled biography about Shri Sai Baba was not published all at once. Instead, it was released chapter by chapter over a period of six years in the Shri Sai Leela magazine. Its importance is established by the fact that the preface identifies it as one of only two ancient, detailed, poetic, and comprehensive Guru biographies found in Maharashtra suitable for Parayans, the other being the Guru Charitra. This rarity and suitability for devotional practice make it a cornerstone work for Sai devotees.