Puttaparthi, April 27: The moon “rose” at mid-noon as the man who mesmerised millions with his mystical powers passed forever into the vaults of time, leaving behind a mourning mass and a troubling question.

Shortly after Sai Baba was buried today in his Prashanti Nilayam ashram in Puttaparthi, 435km from Hyderabad, a prominent member of the Sathya Sai Central Trust announced that the spiritual guru had not given any hint on who would succeed him.

But “there are also no differences between the trust and Sai Baba’s family members”, former Chief Justice of India P.N. Bhagwati said at an impromptu media conference.

If the public announcement was meant to convey the impression that “nothing was amiss” within the trust, it couldn’t stop the swirl of speculation.

Would it be Satyajit, the trusted disciple and personal attendant, who would head Sai Baba’s empire whose worth is said to be anything between Rs 40,000 crore and Rs 1.5 lakh crore? Or would it be Sai Baba’s nephew Ratnakar Raju who performed the last rites?

There is also a third possible contender — current trust secretary K. Chakravarti.

Succession, however, was far from the minds of the thousands gathered around the ashram this morning for the funeral three days after Sai Baba’s death. Cries of “Sairam, Sairam” rose as the mortal remains of the 84-year-old spiritual leader were buried with full state honours and to the chanting of Vedic hymns and Sai bhajans.

In deference to his wishes, the last rites were conducted at the same spot in Sai Kulwant Hall from where Sai Baba used to address his devotees from across 166 countries.

Many wept, but some seemed ecstatic having sighted the “moon” at mid-noon, a sign of yet another “miracle” by the godman famous for plucking holy ash and jewellery out of thin air.

For Puttaparthi’s residents, however, the wait has already begun. “All we can do is wait for another avatar,” said Vasudev Shetty, a local trader.