Shri Bhadra Maruti Mandir (Maharashtra)

The interiors of the temple are in marble
and the ceiling at the entrance had numerous
designs and hymns written with painted mirrors.

Shri Bhadra Maruti Mandir (Maharashtra) Hindu Temples

Khuldabad may be a small town in Aurangabad district, but it is worth including it in the list of must see places when you visit Aurangabad. The Bhadra Maruti temple here has made the place an important pilgrimage center. The view of this marble white painted temple from a distance is very inviting. No crowd of devotees was there, it was not yet aarati time and we had a relaxed darshan here too.

The temple is crowded on Saturdays with long serpentine queues for darshan, as it is considered to be an auspicious day to worship Lord Maruti (also called Hanuman). Devotees throng this place in thousands in the month of March, to celebrate Hanuman Jayanti. This temple is one of the two places where Lord Hanuman is in sleeping position. The other one is in Allahabad. The temple was built by Rajarshi Bhadrsen. And the legend goes like this:

“Khuldabad previously known by the name of Badravati Nagar was ruled by King Bhadrasen, a kind and pious man. King Bhadrasen used to sit singing bhajans in praise of Lord Hanuman on the banks of Bhadrakund Talab.One day while the King was singing the devotional songs, Lord Hanuman appeared in front of him. Listening to the captivating music, he fell asleep on the ground. Later, Lord Hanuman pleased by the astute devotion of King Bhadrasen, granted him a wish.The good King desired that the Lord would stay there forever and fulfill the desires of all his devotees. Lord Hanuman granted the wish and disappeared. Much later, an idol of Lord Hanuman in a sleeping posture was found where he had stood. That’s how the name Bhadra Maruti or ‘Sleeping Hanuman’.”

The interiors of the temple are in marble and the ceiling at the entrance had numerous designs and hymns written with painted mirrors. The sleeping hanuman idol is covered with orange colored sheet and garlanded with a string of banyan leaves. Outside the temple there are rows of shops selling various puja articles and food items. Our next destination was the tomb of Aurangazeb in Khuldabad. Bhadravati Nagar was earlier called Ramapur and during the reign of Emperor Aurangazeb the town got its name Khuldabad.

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