Visit to Sri Bhadra Maruti Temple Khuldabad, Aurangabad

The Bhadra Maruti Temple Khuldabad in Aurangabad has made the place an important pilgrimage center. It is dedicated to God Hanuman, one of the central characters of the Hindu epic Ramayana. 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. (New name of Aurangabad is Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar)

View of this marble white painted temple from a distance is very inviting. Since we arrived well ahead of the scheduled aarti time there was no crowd of devotees and we had a relaxed darshan here.

Bhadra maruti Temple Khuldabad

Bhadra Maruti Temple Khuldabad

You can find maximum crowd 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 3 places where God Hanuman is in sleeping position. The other one is in Allahabad and another in Jam Sawali, Madhya Pradesh.

Ceiling of Bhadra Maruti Hanuman temple

Bhadra Maruti Story

The temple was built by Rajarshi Bhadrsen. And the story of Bhadra Maruti Hanuman Mandir goes like this:

“Khuldabad previously known by the name of Bhadravati Nagar was ruled by King Bhadrasen, a kind and pious man. King Bhadrasen used to sit singing bhajans (devotional songs) in praise of Lord Rama on the banks of Bhadrakund Talab.

One day while the King was singing the devotional songs of Lord Rama, Hanumanji appeared in front of him. Listening to the captivating music, he fell asleep on the ground.

Later, God 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 Hanuman ji in a sleeping posture was found where he had stood. That’s how the name Bhadra Maruti or ‘Sleeping Hanuman’.”

The original temple here was destroyed by the Mughals, luckily the idol escaped their wrath and lay hidden for centuries. What we get to see today is new temple constructed by the locals in 1960s. Temple functioning and maintenance is managed by Sri Bhadra Maruti Samsthanam.

Interior of Bhadra Maruti temple is made of 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. We could stand in front of the lord for a long time as there were only few pilgrims at the time we went.

Outside the temple there are rows of shops selling various puja articles and food items.

Vendor with his wares in front of Bhadra Maruti temple

Hanuman is also a popular figure among Buddhists in Central, Southeast, and East Asia. The Kechak dance in Uluwatu Temple of Bali highlights the role of Hanuman very well.

Bhadra Maruti Temple Timings – The darshan timings of Bhadra Maruti mandir is 5 AM – 12 PM, 4 PM – 9 PM all days of the week

Temple tickets – not required

Temple location – is located 28.2 km northwest of Aurangabad central bus stand. Distance from Ellora caves this temple is about 5 km.

Food – There are not many good restaurants nearby. Best option would be to have your meals at Ellora caves and then reach this temple. I had read that there is a hall nearby where they serve lunch to devotees at nominal rates (please confirm before you plan).

Festivals and Celebrations in Hanuman Mandir Khuldabad

Main festivals celebrated here with great fervour are of Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti You can see ardent devotees visit the temple barefoot.
Special month for praying to God Hanuman – Shravan month according to lunar calendar (that is mid June to mid July) is a very auspicious month to pray to God Hanuman.
Special Days of the week to visit Hanuman Temple – Hindus visit Hanuman temples on Tuesdays and Saturdays. You will find the temple The temple remains crowded on Saturdays and Tuesdays.

How to Reach Bhadra Maruti Mandir Aurangabad

By Air: The nearest airport is located at Aurangabad which is 26 km away from Bhadra Maruti temple. You can hire private vehicles to reach the temple directly from here.
By Train: Nearest railway station is in Aurangabad, 20 km away from Bhadra Maruti temple. Many taxis and state transport buses ply from here to the temple.
By Road: Khuldabad is well connected with all the major cities of Maharashtra with good roads.

Parting thoughts

It was a long day touring Ellora Caves, Grishneshwar Temple but our enthu level was still at its peak, we were ready to explore more. Our next destination was the tomb of Aurangzeb in Khuldabad. Bhadravati Nagar was earlier called Ramapur and during the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb the town got its name Khuldabad. (This post was first posted on Jan 22nd 2008.)

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