Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Veera Mangala Anjaneya Temple, Nallathur – History

Veera Mangala Anjaneya Temple, Nallathur – History
The temple is said to have been first built by Vyasaraja in the 15th century. The present structure was built by M. Chakravarti, Executive Director of Amaravathy Group of Hotels, in the late 90s. Vyasaraja lived in the 15th century in the Vijayanagara empire and was respected as a guru by the kings of the empire. It seems he was afflicted by some strange disease. He prayed to Lord Hanuman and said he will build as many temples of Hanuman as possible throughout his life if he gets cured. He became healthy immediately and went on to build 754 temples till he lived.
The Nallathur temple is considered the most important one. Vyasaraja’s men were on their way to Tirupati to build a temple and install the idol there when they had to stop at Nallathur on their way, to take rest. They kept the idol down but couldn’t lift it when they wanted to proceed to Tirupati. Lord Hanuman is then said to have appeared in Vyasaraja’s dreams and expressed his willingness to have the idol installed there after which a temple was built at that very place in Nallathur.
Over the years, the temple went to ruins and the idol itself got buried underneath sand and dust. It seems even the locals, over several generations, forgot the existence of the temple there. Suddenly one-day Lord Hanuman is said to have appeared in the dreams of both Chakravarti (who was an atheist till that point in time and was in Delhi on a business trip) and his wife (who was in Chennai then) asking them to renovate the temple. It was then that the idol was taken out and the present form of the temple was built.