Controversy over the birthplace of Lord Hanuman amidst the Gyanvapi controversy
Amidst the controversy over the Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi, a new controversy has arisen regarding the birthplace of Lord Hanuman. Mahant Govind Das has claimed that Kishkindha in Karnataka is the birthplace of Lord Hanuman. Das has denied the claim that Lord Hanuman was born in Anjaneri, Maharashtra. He reached Trimbakeshwar in Nashik today to discuss and debate the issue.
Mahant Govind Das of Kishkindha has openly challenged the priests and scholars in Nashik to debate the issue and find out facts about the original birthplace of Lord Hanuman.
Anjaneri, one of the forts in the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar mountain range, is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Hanuman. Anjaneri is located 20 km from Nashik by Trimbak road. It is named after Anjani, the mother of Hanuman. There is a temple of Anjani Mata with Hanuman ji on Anjaneri hill. It is said that Hanumanji was born on this mountain.
However, the debate over the birthplace of Lord Hanuman is not new. Earlier, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which governs the ancient temple of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala, claimed that the birthplace of Lord Hanuman was Anjanadri, a temple in Japali Theertham, located about 5 km north of the hill shrine. It’s a hill. The announcement was made by a TTD-constituted committee of scholars from various fields headed by Professor Muralidhar Sharma, Vice Chancellor of Rashtriya Sanskrit University in Tirupati in the presence of Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit.
The committee said that Anjandri is the birthplace of Lord Hanuman, who is known as Sri Hanuman Swami in South India. A booklet containing ‘Epigraphical, Scientific and Mythological Evidence’ was released featuring Anjanadri, one of the seven hills of Tirumala as the birthplace of Lord Hanuman.
TTD’s claim on the subject of Hanuman’s birthplace caused a stir in religious, archaeological and political circles in Karnataka as Hampi near Ballari has been considered the ‘Kishkindha Kshetra’ or monkey kingdom for centuries. While some archeology and history scholars have rejected TTD’s claim, the Karnataka unit of Vishwa Hindu Parishad has said that TTD should take some more time and discuss with scholars and religious heads before reaching any conclusion. needed.
In Hindu mythology, there are different versions of where Lord Hanuman was born. In some stories Hanuman is born in a cave in Anjan village in Gumla district of Jharkhand, while some others claim his birthplace as Anjaneri hills of Maharashtra near Nashik. The temple of Lord Venkateswara is situated on Venkatadri hill in seventh position and Narayanadri, Seshadri and Garudadri are among the other hills of Tirumala. Hanuman is also known as ‘Vayuputra’ and as the son of Anjana Devi, who performed ‘tapas’ in one of the seven hills of Tirumala and it was named ‘Anjanadri’ after him.