Salasar Balaji Temple Salasar,Rajasthan
Salasar Balaji Temple is a religious place for the devotees of Hindu god Hanuman. It is located in Salasar town (near Sujangarh) of Churu district in Rajasthan, India.Every year big fairs are organised during the months of Chaitra (March–April) and Ashwin (September – October). The Hanuman Temple is situated right in the heart of Salasar town.
No pilgrimage tour to Rajasthan is complete without visiting the Salasar Balaji Temple in Churu. The temple is dedicated to Lord Hanuman and is visited by a large number of devotees all year round. Their numbers increase especially during the occasions of Chaita Purnima and Ashvin Purnima. This special attachment of the devotees for the temple is due to the fact that it is considered as swayambhu (self-created) and shakti sthal (a pilgrimage site blessed with ultimate power). The main deity of the temple is a childhood idol of Lord Hanuman which has an interesting mythological tale behind it. According to it, the village of Mehandipur was once troubled by regular attacks of demons. One day, the priest had a dream in which Lord Hanuman suggested him to dig the Aravalli hills in a specially chosen area. The digging revealed a childhood idol of Hanumanji, along with the idols of Pret Raja and Sri Ram.
A story is prevalent in the context of this temple. According to local legend, a long time ago in the village of Asota, Rajasthan, a farmer’s plough collided with an object while ploughing, and stopped there. When the farmer looked, he saw some stone was there. The farmer started digging, and an idol of Balaji or Hanuman was found. At the same time the farmer’s wife also came in the fields with the lunch for farmer. In his lunch his wife made the Churma of Bajra. The farmer indulge Churma to Shree Balaji Maharaj. And from the time and till now it is ritual to indulge Bajra Churma to Shree Balaji Maharaj. The day was Saturday and it was Navami (9th day) of Shravan month (July–August) in the bright half (first fortnight). The farmer told the people about this incident.
It is said that the landlord in that place also had a dream on the same day. In the dream, Lord Hanuman ordered him to install the idol in a Mandir in Salasar. On that same night, another person by name Mohandas – a resident of Salasar – was also ordered by Lord Hanuman in a dream to establish his presence by taking the idol from Asota to Salasar.
