Mehandipur Balaji Temple

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Swayam-Bhu" Pret-Raj Sarkar
"Swayam-Bhu" Pret-Raj Sarkar

The Mehandipur Balaji Hindu temple located in the Indian state of Rajasthan is dedicated to the God Hanuman. The name "Balaji" is applied to Sri Hanuman in several parts of India because the childhood ("Bala" in Hindi or Sanskrit) form of the Lord is especially celebrated in those parts. Adherents believe that the deity in the Mehandipur temple has divine power to cure any person possessed by evil spirits. It is also believed that "Shri Bala Ji Maharaj" saves His devotees from unfavorable "grahadashas" (planetary configurations).

Contents

[edit] Overview

The temple is situated in the Dausa district and is at a distance of 103 km from Jaipur and 40 km from Karauli and it is quite close to the Bandikui railway station. The temple is located inward at a distance of 3 km from Jaipur-Agra highway.

This pilgrimage center is roughly at the following distances from various important places:

City Km
Delhi 270
Jaipur 103
Agra 140
Alwar 100
Bharatpur 80
Shri Mahaveerji 49
Dausa 40
Hindaun 37
Bandikui 27

[edit] History

According to legend, the present-day forms of the "Divine Trinity" found in the Mehandipur Dham appeared around one thousand years ago in a valley amidst the hills of the Aravali Range. Shri Ganesh Puri ji Maharaj, who was the 11th Mahant of this pilgrimage center used to say that this area was covered by a thick and dense forest, full of wild animals, once upon a time. One of the ancestors of Shri Mahantji had dreams in which Sri Balaji Maharaj had indicated three divine deities and a magnificent temple. He had also heard a divine voice ordering him to get up and be prepared for Sri Balaji Hanuman's duty. He was unable to see any one initially but after years of "Sadhna", Lord Sri Balaji finally appeared and showed him the place in the forest where the temple and the three Divine Forms were found.


That ancestor of Shri Mahantji started "puja" and "arti" regularly at the sacred spot in the forest. In the early days of the religious activities of the first "Mahant", some miscreants tried to dig out the deity but they could not reach the bottom of the statue as it is a part of the hill surrounding the temple compound. There is a small pot in the feet of the "Presiding Deity" and the water in this pot never dries up due to a continuous flow from the left side of the chest of Lord Shri Balaji Hanuman. The "Divine Trinity" in the Mehandipur Dham comprises Pawanputra Sri Balaji Hanuman, Sri Bhairava Baba and "Swayam-Bhu" Sri Pret-Raj Sarkar.

[edit] References

  • This article incorporates text from the official website of the Mehandipur Dham [1]

[edit] External links

 This article about a Hindu place of worship is a stub. See the WikiProject Hinduism for article coordination. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.