There are many ardent devotees of Lord Hanuman in the city of Bengaluru, as a result of which many temples have been dedicated to the Lord in the city. One such glorious temple is the Lord Anjaneya Swami ( Hanumanji) Temple, which is located in a small hamlet called Sangabasavandoddi in Ramnagar. It is located approximately 40 km from Bengaluru, between Bidadi and Ramnagar on the Bangalore-Mysore highway.
As you enter the temple, you are greeted by the sight of a beautiful and ornate idol, which stands around 11 feet in height. The statue has been exquisitely crafted by a shilpkar and weighs around 17 tons, which includes the added weight of the pitas. A unique feature about the statue is that the hands have been crafted in such a way that they give the illusion that they are rotating like a woman’s bangles. The temple premises also has two main halls, which are constructed in a 2860 sq. ft area. For the past 25 years, the temple has frequently been holding free medical check-ups and education camps, among many other events. The halls are also given to the needy, free of cost, for holding important functions like weddings, religious festivals, and so on. The temple also has six bedrooms on the first floor.
In 2017, the Sri Bhagwan Mahaveer Manavtha Kendra Trust was awarded the Best Religious and Charitable Institution on behalf of Oswal Parisad by the Governor of Karnataka, Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala. The trust has been involved in a number of voluntary service activities with an aim to assuage the sufferings of the poor and provide help to anyone in need.
The temple is visited by throngs of devotees every day, who have strong faith that Lord Hanuman will bestow them with boons and strength to fight any kind of ailment. The temple opens at 7:00 am and closes around 9:00 pm. Various religious activities are performed on a daily basis, the schedule for which is as follows –
- 7:00 am: Temple opening
- 7:00 am – 8:00 am: Bath and temple cleaning
- 8:00 am – 9:00: Abhishek, aarti and bhog
- 9:00 am – 9:00 pm: Various religious activities and puja takes place throughout the rest of the day, according to the requirements of the devotees visiting the temple
- 9:00 pm: Temple closing
The Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Manavatha Kendra Trust was founded by Devraj Kothari, who is also the managing trustee of the charitable institution. It is a registered non-profit organization, which is working with the vision of assuaging the sufferings of the underprivileged. The main objective of the trust is “Service to human is service to God”.
The trust extends a helping hand to the underprivileged in an effort to fulfil some of their basic needs.
- Healthcare camps: The trust organises regular healthcare camps to provide mass treatment and advice to a large number of people regarding eye and dental care. General health check-ups are also conducted at these camps.
- Education camps: The trust also organises education camps for the children in remote villages, wherein they are provided with scholarships and other essentials so that they could continue their education. These camps also work towards spreading awareness about the importance of education.
- Annadaan: The trust is also working to provide nutritious food to the underprivileged in remote villages.
- Jeevdaya: The trust maintains a gosala for cows, as well as a sanctuary for birds and other animals.
The trust has donated an entire land near Bidadi on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway for the construction of 11 temples. These include two Jain temples dedicated to Lord Sri Mahaveeraswamy and Lord Sankeshwar Parshwanath. Besides these, there is also a temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman and another dedicated to Lord Radhakrishna.
In an effort to keep the charity work afloat, the trust has introduced lifetime membership programmes and donation schemes, the details for which are as follows:
- Platinum members: Rs. 1,01,000
- Diamond members: Rs. 51,000
- Gold members: Rs. 21,000
- Silver members: Rs. 11,000
The total donation goes to the aforementioned charitable activities, and the trust makes sure that each donor gets full information about the activities.