Rare Temples of Lord Hanuman # 7

Om! Gam! Ganapathaye! Namaha!
Om! Sri Raghavendraya Namaha!
Om! Namo! Bhagavathe! Vaasudevaya!
Om! Ham! Hanumathe! Sri Rama Doothaya Namaha!

Sri Bedi Aanjaneya Swamy
(Tirumala Kshethra)

Tirumala is a Divya Kshetra that has given birth to so many pouranic legends. One such legend as per Brahmanda Purana says that Lord Hanuman had taken birth in Tirumala Kshethra on a hill named after His mother Anjanadevi. It is said that Anjanadevi had performed severe penance on this hill and thenceforth the hill came to be known as Anjanadri one of the seven hills in Tirumala Kshethra. Generally we find and it is customary to have either Lord Garuda or Lord Hanuman opposite to the temple of Lord Vishnu.

We have a temple of Lord Hanuman known as Bedi Aanjaneya Swamy located exactly opposite to the Mahadwaram of the main temple of Lord Sri Venkateshwara at Tirumala. Rarity of the temple is that we find Lord Hanuman in a standing pose with folded hands tied with a chain. As per an anecdote it is believed and said that Lord Hanuman as a child (Bala Hanuman) was highly mischievous and disturbing the sages on the hill while performing penance. In order to control Bala Hanuman the Sages tied him with iron chain which is known as Bedi (hand-cuffs) in Telugu language. There is also another belief that it was His mother Anjanadevi who tied Him with chain to restrict Bala Hanuman from running away.

Whatever may be the legend, Lord Hanuman a living God, standing opposite to Sri Venkateshwara temple is blessing the devotees visiting the Tirumala shrine. We find pilgrims breaking coconuts and performing Aarathi in front of the Bedi Aanjaneya Swamy temple. In your next visit to Tirumala don’t miss to visit this rare temple of Lord Hanuman. It is said that there is also another such temple known as Bedi Hanuman in Puri (Orissa) but with a different story behind it.

Sri Krishnaarpanamasthu