In the midst of a battle with Ravana, when Lakshama lay grieviously injured in the battlefield, it was Hanuman, who carried a whole hill from the Himalayas bearing the healing ‘Sanjeevini’ medicinal herb that restored him to health and enabled Lord Ram to defeat the Lanka king. This tale in Ramayana has given Hanuman the status of a god, who is endowed with healing powers.
For the occasion of Budhwa Mangal, held on 5th September, over two lakh devotees from around the country convereged upon Dandraua Dham in Madhya Pradesh to offer prayers Lord Hanuman. Interestingly the monkey god at this temple is worshipped as ‘Dr. Hanuman’ for the healing powers that he holds.
The idol of ‘Dr. Hanuman’ at Dandraua Dham temple YouTube
The devotees believe that it is a very special temple because anyone who offers prayers to the deity here is cured of all diseases, which includes even serious illnesses.
The temple attracts a large number of pilgrims each year for Budhwa Mangal. So much was the rush this year that the government had to deploy additional police to maintain order and security at the temple complex. Indian Army jawans and NCC cadets were deployed to maintain security inside the garvagriha (sanctum sanctorum).
To contain traffic, cars were barred from coming within 1 km radius of the temple. Trucks and tractors were stopped even beyond that. Separate entrances and exits points were put up to contain the crowds. The pilgrims had to queue up in zigzag barricaded line up to offer prayers and seek the deities blessings at the temple.
The pilgrims started arriving at the temple by Monday evening 8 pm and at around 11 pm, the temple gates were thrown open. By 9 am, the next morning, an estimated 1 lakh number of devotees had visited the temple to offer prayers to ‘Dr. Hanuman’. The crowd strated falling after 2 pm on Tuesday.
The Dr. Hanuman temple was specially decorated with flowers for the occasion.