The world famous temple of Lord Hanuman named Salasar Balaji Dham is situated in Churu district of Rajasthan. The story of Bala ji’s appearance is as miraculous as it is, and Balaji is also miraculous and fulfills the wishes of the devotees. Mohandas was a devotee of Balaji. Pleased with Mohandas’s devotion, Balaji promised to appear in the form of an idol. To fulfill his promise, Balaji appeared in Asota village of Nagaur district in Shravan Shukla Navami of Samvat 1811. Which has an interesting story.
In Asota, a Jat farmer was plowing a field when the tip of his plow hit something hard. When he took it out he saw that it was a stone. When the farmer wiped the stone with a clean towel, Balaji’s image became visible on it. Meanwhile, Jat’s wife brought food. He offered the first offering of millet powder to the idol of Balaji. This is the reason why even today churma i.e. a very famous millet food is offered to Salasar Bala Ji.
It is said that on the night this idol appeared, Balaji in his dream asked the Thakur of Asota to take his idol to Salasar. On the other hand, Mohan Ram was also told in the dream that no one should drive the bullock cart by which the idol will reach Salasar. Install my statue where the bullock cart stops itself. The idol has been installed at its present location as per the instructions received in the dream. Hanumanji i.e. Balaji with beard and mustache is a unique statue situated in the Salasar. That holds its uniqueness in the whole of India. The belief behind this is that Balaji appeared to Mohanram for the first time with a beard and moustache. Mohanram had asked Balaji to appear in this form. That’s why Hanuman ji is present here in adult form with a beard and moustache.
A very interesting thing about Balaji is that the people who built his temple were Muslim artisans. These include the names of Noor Mohammad and Dau. The idol of Balaji is made of Shaligram stone which is decorated with vermillion color and gold. Their dress is changed several times a day and they are lavishly decorated, sometimes their tableau is decorated with roses and sometimes with Mogra flowers. Since the time of consecration, the Akhand lamp is lit inside the temple. Every year a huge fair is organized here on the holy festival of Chaitra Purnima and Ashwin Purnima. There is a huge crowd of devotees every Tuesday and Saturday. It is believed that the wishes of all the devotees who come here on the auspicious day of Purnima are fulfilled. Devotees tie a coconut on a very ancient tree located here and wish for the fulfillment of their wishes.
This temple of Hanumanji is very famous among his devotees. It has been 269 years since the establishment of Salasar Balaji Temple. About 35 lakh devotees come every year to have darshan of the Lord and about 4 thousand devotees bow their heads in Baba’s court every day. Also, 10 lakh devotees visit the Purnima fair every year.
Since Samvat 1811 (year 1754), the unbroken flame has been burning in the temple premises where Mohandas ji’s ashes were buried. Mohandas ji’s tomb is in the temple premises itself. Mohandas ji took Samadhi on Vaishakh Shukla Trayodashi by handing over the responsibility of the temple to his disciple Udairam, son of sister Kanhibai. The temple of Salasar Balaji is the center of deep faith of the devotees, where devotees from all over the country and abroad come to visit.
Author is a senior officer of Rajasthan Administrative Service. He is currently working as Registrar in Rajasthan Civil Services Appellate Tribunal.
