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Chilkur Balaji Temple, popularly known as "Visa Balaji Temple'', is an ancient Hindu temple of Lord Balaji on the banks of Osman Sagar in Rangareddy District in Telangana. It is one of the oldest temples in the Hyderabad Dist earlier now in Rangareddy Dist, built during the time of Madanna and Akkanna, the uncles of Bhakta Ramadas.[1]
| Chilkur Balaji Temple | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| Deity | Lord Venkateswara |
| Location | |
| Location | Chilkur Village, Gandipet, Ranga Reddy District, Telangana |
| State | Telangana |
| Country | India |
  Shown within Hyderabad | |
| Geographic coordinates | 17°21′30″N 78°17′55″E / 17.35833°N 78.29861°E |
| Architecture | |
| Completed | 14th century |
| Website | |
| chilkurbalaji.com | |
C.S. Rangarajan[2] is the current head priest of the Chilkur Balaji Devasthanam. This temple has no hundi and neither accepts any money from devotees.[3] VAK Books also known as the Voice of Temples with religious news is available here. This is one of the special Temples in India with no green channel or privileges for VIP's.[4] The only other such temples are the Jalaram temple in Virpur (Rajkot), Gujarat and "Ramanuj Kot", a temple in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.[1] This temple fought and won the right to stay out of government control.[3]
Circumambulations
editDuring a visit the devotee goes through the usual rituals of prayer, including 11 circumambulations of the inner shrine, and makes a vow. Once the wish is fulfilled devotees then walk 108 times around the sanctum sanctorum. The majority of wishes by devotees are visa related, thus Chilkur Balaji is also referred to as 'Visa' Balaji.[5] The 11 circumambulations represent the secret of creation – 11 means "1 soul and 1 body" – uniting both with devotion and full determination to fulfill wish, dedicate on the lord; there is no second, everything is god. In the 108 circumambulations, 1 represents the Existence, Almighty, God (Paramathma, Balaji in the minds of the devotee), 0 represents Creation (Illusionary World, Jagath) and 8 represents the time Human Body takes to come to this universe-8 months (Jivatma).
Temple Timings
editThe temple typically opens at 4:00 am on most days and closes at 8:00 pm.
Darshan Timings
editDarshan is available from 6:00 am to 1:00 pm and then from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
108 circumambulations (PrudukshiNaas): Timings
edit108 circumambulations (PrudukshiNaas) are conducted daily from 6:00 am to 12:30 pm and from 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm.
References
edit- ^ a b "Chilkur temple weaves dress code". The Times of India. Times News Network. 17 March 2008. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
- ^ India, The Hans (1 September 2021). "Chilkur chief priest seeks PM's help to protect Hindu beliefs in Tamil Nadu". www.thehansindia.com. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Telangana / Hyderabad News : Autonomy granted to Chilkur Balaji temple". The Hindu. 4 March 2008. Archived from the original on 5 April 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
- ^ "Chilkur Balaji temple of Hyderabad gets fame as 'visa god' temple". news.biharprabha.com. ANI. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ^ Visa Temple, The Times of India, by Vamsee Juluri, 30 March 2006
- ^ "Chilkur Balaji Temple Timings". Tirupati Balaji Online. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
