Mehandipur Balaji Temple-Religious Place Near Delhi
Sankat Mochan
It is believed that Lord Hanuman is the Reliever of all problems. It is a spiritually astounding atmosphere in the temple.
Mehandipur Balaji Temple Rituals
The regular activities performed in this temple include pious rituals and providing food to the needy. There are some specific rituals that must be performed by the visitors, making sure that the right sequence is followed.
Durkhasta: This ritual requires you to take small Durkhasta laddoos (a type of sweet) from any shop outside the temple. You will be provided with two plates of these laddoos and all you have to do is offer these plates to the priests standing in front of the Mehandipur Balaji Temple. They will pick as much as they want and add it to the fire burning in front of the deity. Each plate contains 4-5 laddoos. The time of Durkhasta is after the Morning Prayer and before the evening prayer. The significance of the two plate is that the first plate is to inform God that you are there for his blessings, while the second plate is to request him to guide you into achieving your goals and solving your problems. After offering, you must move on and do the same for Pretraj Sarkar and Kotwal Bhairav Ji. After the last offering, you must eat two laddoos out of the leftover ones. The containers having more bhog left in them are encircled by people around their heads for 7 times anticlockwise and then thrown away without looking backwards.
Arzi: After Durkhasta, you are required to order for Arzi from any of the shops outside that has a fixed cost. It includes 1.25 kgs of Laddoos, 2.25 kgs of Urad Dal and 4.25 kgs of Boiled Rice. This is supposed to be offered to Pretraj Sarkar and Kotwal Bhairav Ji in two separate containers.
Savamani: Before leaving the temple, if you ask for any wish, you must tell Balaji that once you come back again, you will offer Savamani, a ritual of offering to be done on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Temple Construction
As the legend goes, an 11th century Saint Ganesh Puri Ji’s ancestor dreamt of Lord Balaji telling him to build a temple for three powers: Ghate Wale Balaji, Pretraj Sarkar and Bhero Nath. The temple was constructed at the place where there used to be a forest in the past. It gradually became a small village and now this temple resides between the two small hills. It is believed that the Balaji idol is self-constructed with stones of a hill, while the remaining temple is constructed according to the idol. The architecture of Mehandipur Balaji Temple is an amazing masterpiece. Its small pillared balconies reflect the tradition of Rajput architecture. The architectural style and beauty of this temple display a blend of uniqueness, eerieness and beauty that attracts tourists all year round.
HOW TO REACH
By Air
You can reach Jaipur airport, which is connected with most major cities in the country, and from here you can rent a cab to Mehandipur Balaji Temple. The journey will take more than 2 hours, and you will need to go via National Highway 21.
Another option is to fly to Agra, and then take the road.
By Rail
Bandikui is the closest railway station from the temple, and this station is very well connected to most other railway stations around the country. After getting off the train, you will have to travel for around 50 min to reach Mehandipur Balaji Temple.
By Road
You can catch a bus to Alwar from Delhi, and then head further to Mehandipur which would take about 2 hours from Alwar. You could also go to Jaipur by bus, or Agra by bus and then head to Mehandipur from these locations. From Agra it would take you about 2.5 hours in total to reach Mehandipur.
Writers
Ms.Anjali Solanki
Ms.Swati Negi
