Salasar
India /
Rajasthan /
Sujangarh /
World
/ India
/ Rajasthan
/ Sujangarh
World / India / Rajasthan / Sikar
temple, city
Salasar Balaji or Salasar Dham is a place of religious importance for the devotees of Lord Hanuman in India. It is located on National Highway No.65 near Sujangarh in the village of Salasar in Churu district of Rajasthan. The nearest major Indian cities include Jaipur and Delhi at a distance of about 130 km and 350 kms respectively. The temple of Balaji, another name of Lord Hanuman is situated right in the middle of the Salasar town. It attracts innumerable Indian worshipers throughout the year. On Chaitra Purnima and Ashvin Purnima large fairs are organized every year with millions of devotees visiting here to pay their homage to the deity.Legend
There are many theories believed about the origins of Lord Salasar Balaji.
Among those, the most commonly and widely believed theory states the discovery of the site of Salasar Balaji by one Ginthala Jat of Asota village in Nagaur district of Rajasthan. On one Saturday of Shraavana shukla Navami samvat 1811 (1754 AD), a miracle happened. A Ginthala Jat farmer of Asota village was ploughing his field when all of sudden the plough was hit by a stony thing and a resonating sound was created. He dug up the soil of that place and found an idol covered with sand. His wife reached there with his lunch. The farmer showed the idol to his wife. She cleaned up the idol with her saree. The idol was that of Balaji i.e. Lord Hanuman. They bowed their heads with devotion and worshipped Lord Balaji. The news of appearance of Lord Balaji soon spread in the Asota village and reached the Thakur of Asota. That night Lord Balaji appeared in Thakur's dream and ordered him to send the idol to Salasar in the Churu district. Same night a devotee of Lord Hanuman, Mohandas Maharaj of Salasar saw Lord Hanuman or Balaji in his dream too. Lord Balaji told him about the idol of Asota. He immediately sent a message to the Thakur of Asota. The thakur was surprised to discover that Mohandas knew even minor details without coming to Asota. Certainly it was due to the divine powers of Lord Balaji. The idol was sent to Salasar and was consecrated at the place presently known as Salasar Dham.[2]
A slightly modified version to the same story indicates that upon seeing the dream of appearance of the Lord Hanuman, the Thakur of that village ordered the idol to be shifted to Salasar and placed at the temple for the religious rituals to be performed. He brought two bulls, placed the idol on its cart and left them in the open courts believing to build the temple at the place where the bulls would stop. The place where the bulls stopped was given the present name of Salasar. Many of the villagers, shopkeepers and traders shifted their living to Salasar and thus a new village was formedri Mohandas Maharaj was a great devotee of Lord Hanuman. He practiced great penance and asceticism at the present Balaji temple at Salasar. It is said that Lord Hanuman, pleased with his devotion, often appeared in his dreams. Worried with his immense devotion, Mohandas' sister Kanibai wanted to get him married against Mohandas desires to remain single. He convinced his sister by telling her that the girl with whom he decides to marry will die on the day of the marriage and thereby accomplished his desire to remain bachelor. The temple of Salasar Balaji was constructed by him and was maintained under his surveillance thereafter. Several years later, Mohandas handed over the temple and worship responsibilities to his nephew Udayram and appointed him the first pujari of the temple. He spent the rest of his life worshiping Lord Hanuman with great devotion before taking Samadhi (act of consciously and intentionally leaving one's body at the time of enlightenment). In his honour, Sri Mohan Mandir is constructed near the Balaji temple where the footprints of himself and Kanibai are still worshiped by all the devotees visiting the Balaji temple. This is the also samadhi sthal of both the devotees. The Holy Ramayana is being continuously read here since the last eight years.Temple
[edit]Deity
The principal deity of the temple is Lord Hanuman who receives veneration of millions of devotees here along with other deities. The idol of Lord Balaji here is different from all other idols of Lord Hanuman. Unlike other projections and idols of Lord Hanuman, Lord Balaji possess round face with moustache and beard making it the most unique idol among the other idols of Lord Hanuman all over the world. It is believed that drinking water of the wells of the Salasar is due to the blessings of the Lord Balaji.The other widely followed practice is the offering of food (weighing up to 50 kgs) by the devotees to their deity, referred to as Savamani. The term "Savamani" is derived from the word "Sava" meaning one and a quarter in Hindi and the word "Mun" or "Maund", a mass unit weighing about 40 kgs; thus adding the total up to 50 kgs. Though the food is mostly prepared by the cooks of the temple kitchens, the process is now being outsourced to several independent shopkeepers & food-caterers due to the increasing number of offerings everyday. Several delicacies like Dal, Baati, Churma, Boondi, Peda & Laddu is chosen for Savamani. The food after first being offered to the deity, is later used as part of family celebrations, distributed over to family and relatives or donated to the needy.
There are many theories believed about the origins of Lord Salasar Balaji.
Among those, the most commonly and widely believed theory states the discovery of the site of Salasar Balaji by one Ginthala Jat of Asota village in Nagaur district of Rajasthan. On one Saturday of Shraavana shukla Navami samvat 1811 (1754 AD), a miracle happened. A Ginthala Jat farmer of Asota village was ploughing his field when all of sudden the plough was hit by a stony thing and a resonating sound was created. He dug up the soil of that place and found an idol covered with sand. His wife reached there with his lunch. The farmer showed the idol to his wife. She cleaned up the idol with her saree. The idol was that of Balaji i.e. Lord Hanuman. They bowed their heads with devotion and worshipped Lord Balaji. The news of appearance of Lord Balaji soon spread in the Asota village and reached the Thakur of Asota. That night Lord Balaji appeared in Thakur's dream and ordered him to send the idol to Salasar in the Churu district. Same night a devotee of Lord Hanuman, Mohandas Maharaj of Salasar saw Lord Hanuman or Balaji in his dream too. Lord Balaji told him about the idol of Asota. He immediately sent a message to the Thakur of Asota. The thakur was surprised to discover that Mohandas knew even minor details without coming to Asota. Certainly it was due to the divine powers of Lord Balaji. The idol was sent to Salasar and was consecrated at the place presently known as Salasar Dham.[2]
A slightly modified version to the same story indicates that upon seeing the dream of appearance of the Lord Hanuman, the Thakur of that village ordered the idol to be shifted to Salasar and placed at the temple for the religious rituals to be performed. He brought two bulls, placed the idol on its cart and left them in the open courts believing to build the temple at the place where the bulls would stop. The place where the bulls stopped was given the present name of Salasar. Many of the villagers, shopkeepers and traders shifted their living to Salasar and thus a new village was formedri Mohandas Maharaj was a great devotee of Lord Hanuman. He practiced great penance and asceticism at the present Balaji temple at Salasar. It is said that Lord Hanuman, pleased with his devotion, often appeared in his dreams. Worried with his immense devotion, Mohandas' sister Kanibai wanted to get him married against Mohandas desires to remain single. He convinced his sister by telling her that the girl with whom he decides to marry will die on the day of the marriage and thereby accomplished his desire to remain bachelor. The temple of Salasar Balaji was constructed by him and was maintained under his surveillance thereafter. Several years later, Mohandas handed over the temple and worship responsibilities to his nephew Udayram and appointed him the first pujari of the temple. He spent the rest of his life worshiping Lord Hanuman with great devotion before taking Samadhi (act of consciously and intentionally leaving one's body at the time of enlightenment). In his honour, Sri Mohan Mandir is constructed near the Balaji temple where the footprints of himself and Kanibai are still worshiped by all the devotees visiting the Balaji temple. This is the also samadhi sthal of both the devotees. The Holy Ramayana is being continuously read here since the last eight years.Temple
[edit]Deity
The principal deity of the temple is Lord Hanuman who receives veneration of millions of devotees here along with other deities. The idol of Lord Balaji here is different from all other idols of Lord Hanuman. Unlike other projections and idols of Lord Hanuman, Lord Balaji possess round face with moustache and beard making it the most unique idol among the other idols of Lord Hanuman all over the world. It is believed that drinking water of the wells of the Salasar is due to the blessings of the Lord Balaji.The other widely followed practice is the offering of food (weighing up to 50 kgs) by the devotees to their deity, referred to as Savamani. The term "Savamani" is derived from the word "Sava" meaning one and a quarter in Hindi and the word "Mun" or "Maund", a mass unit weighing about 40 kgs; thus adding the total up to 50 kgs. Though the food is mostly prepared by the cooks of the temple kitchens, the process is now being outsourced to several independent shopkeepers & food-caterers due to the increasing number of offerings everyday. Several delicacies like Dal, Baati, Churma, Boondi, Peda & Laddu is chosen for Savamani. The food after first being offered to the deity, is later used as part of family celebrations, distributed over to family and relatives or donated to the needy.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salasar_Balaji
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 27°43'36"N 74°43'21"E
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