Thursday, March 6, 2008

To Bolo Hanuman Ki Jai!


No bridge over a sea? No worry, coz he will fly over to cross it! Can't locate a particular tree among many on a hill? No worries again, he will dig up the entire hill! Well, these stunts are not in a Rajni sir film, rather they are just few of the ritual acts performed by my favorite God, Hanuman Ji.

The monkey God who helped Lord Rama in winning the fight against Ravana in Lanka and is worshiped to be fearless... has numerous temples all over India. In this blog, I want to write about the four different temples I have seen of him and certainly cannot forget them.

1. Hanuman Tok in Gangtok

Tucked away at an altitude of over 7000 ft, along the tortuous roads, lies Hanuman Tok (Tok means Hill). Soon after you enter the premises; a big statue of Hanuman Ji greets you. If you have as much time as we have over hills, do chant the aarti written on the wallstone. Else, take off your shoes and climb up the icy-cool cemented stairs towards the main temple (we visited this place during early February).

Unlike any temple that I have seen so far, this temple is maintained by the Indian army. So, instead of seeing a dhoti-clad pujari in the temple, expect a man in uniform to smear a vermillion mark and pass you the sugary prasad. Needless to say that such a system helps in keeping the temple very clean and quite. Apparently, the temple is also not surrounded by small shops (selling flowers and sweets) which otherwise camouflage the temples with their commercial existence.

Take a walk around the temple to soak in the misty views of Khangchendzonga, the third-highest peak in the world. Near the temple is Lukshyama - the royal cremation grounds for the erstwhile royal family of Sikkim.

2. The Jhakhu Mandir in Simla

We went to Simla-Chail trip during 2006 April. After doing a to/fro walk over the Mall Road and a mundane visit to Kufri, I wasn’t delighted yet. The overcrowded Mall road looked like a Lajpat Nagar set up amid hills. Kufri minus snow appeared nothing but just a yak junction. Much ado about nothing! And, then my husband decided to take me to Jhakhu mandir. I wasn’t very excited till he told me that it is Hanuman Ji temple over a steep hill. After an exhaling walk over the hill, the normal setting of a temple appeared (prasad and flower sellers, chaat-wala and blah blah). In addition, there were countless monkeys, affirming one’s belief that Hanuman certainly existed here.

The temple is small and has a legend behind it. When Laxman ji fainted in the war at Lanka. Hanuman Ji flew to the Himalayas to fetch Sajeevani booti for him. There, he dug the entire hill as he could not recognize the exact plant. On way back, the tired monkey-God rested for a while at the Jhakhu hill, which is said to have got suppressed since then. The main temple has colorful illustrated scenes of Ramayana over its walls featuring Hanuman ji. In the other annexe, footsteps of Hanuman ji are preserved.

The temple looks bejeweled among tall devdars and one can spend hours gazing Simla from a distance and wowing at the playful monkeys.

3. An Ashram in Sitabani, Ramnagar

In our Corbett post, you can find more details about the Sitabani ashram and jungle. For the first-time I saw Sita ji without Sri Ram. Her temple consists of a white-stone murti (statue) in which she is shown holding her sons Luv and Kush. In the temple above, an unusual statue of Hanuman ji exists which has several faces depicting his powers.

You would be astonished to see the verdant surroundings and the silence would seem everlasting.

4. The Masroor Temple in Kangra

The Masroor temple, in Kangra Valley of Himachal Pradesh, is said to have existed since the 8th or 9th century. In fact to put it correctly, it is a complex of about 16 temples carved out of sandstone rocks. To few aficionados, it reminds of the Khajuraho caves.


This is primarily a Ram temple, as one can make out from the statues of Ram, Sita, and Laxman inside the shikhar. Outside which, is the cut-out of Hanuman Ji, as shown in the picture. The temple got severely damaged by the earthquake of 1905. So, this Hanuman Ji structure appears like a fallen off pillar.


Being the only monolithic structure in the Himalayan region the temple in Lanj Panchayat has huge historical relevance. The gentleman from Chamunda who accompanied us also told that because of architecture, the temple was declared a protected monument of national importance by the Archaeological Department of India.

Adding to the look is a rectangular water tank located in front of the temple complex. Climb up the intricate stair cases to take a panoramic view of the temple and villages around. A nominal fee will be charged for the visit (and extra for the camera).

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

|| Om Shri Hanumate Namah: ||

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YouRs SinCereLy M!sTer CrippLeD SaM

Unknown said...

That was quite a post. Lots of insights into Hanuman Temples. You have visited so many of them and the best part is that you can re-collect every minutest detail of each one of them so clearly. Kudos to your memory ! The pictures are also very lovely.

Krishna said...

Hanuman met Rama & thereafter was with Rama forever. When Sita Devi was abducted by Ravana, the demon king, he flew across the oceans & found Sita Devi in the Ashoka vanam in Lanka. He consoled Sita Devi and set fire to Lanka, destorying many asuras. He served as the emissary of peace to Ravana's court. He assisted Rama in crossing the ocean by building the sethu bridge along with his vanara freinds.

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