Hanuman devotees to visit Anjaneri today
Chaitanya Deshpande | TNN | Apr 22, 2016, 07.47 AM IST
Nashik: Thousands of devotees across the state are likely to visit Anjaneri hillock in Nashik suburbs on Hanuman Jayanti, which falls on Friday.
The hillock is believed to be the birth place of Hanuman. People undertake a 90-minute trek to reach the temple of Lord Hanuman and his mother Anjni at 1,500 ft above sea level. They carry a 'jyoti' (earthen lamp) from the temple to their hometowns and light the lamps in respective Hanuman temples on the day of Hanuman Jayanti.
Gopal K Suntury, martial art trainer and director of a self-defence school in Nashik, is credited to put the place in limelight after a long gap. Suntury not only made the Anjneri trek popular in Nashik but also performed research to find references to this place in ancient literature.
"Finally, I found the reference to Anjneri in Lord Hanuman's 'Janam Kundli' which is explained in Tulsi Ramayana. The text says he was born in a cave on a hillock near Trimbakeshwar," he said. From 1998, Suntury started taking out an awareness rally from Anjneri to Nashik to make this place popular. He created awareness about the tourist potential of the place among tribal residents of the region.
On the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti, more than 7,000 devotees are expected to visit this place. Nashik, being closely associated with Ramayana, celebrates the birth of Lord Hanuman with great festivity. Processions, cultural events, and recitations of 'Sunder Kand' are scheduled at various places across the city on the occasion.
The hillock is believed to be the birth place of Hanuman. People undertake a 90-minute trek to reach the temple of Lord Hanuman and his mother Anjni at 1,500 ft above sea level. They carry a 'jyoti' (earthen lamp) from the temple to their hometowns and light the lamps in respective Hanuman temples on the day of Hanuman Jayanti.
Gopal K Suntury, martial art trainer and director of a self-defence school in Nashik, is credited to put the place in limelight after a long gap. Suntury not only made the Anjneri trek popular in Nashik but also performed research to find references to this place in ancient literature.
"Finally, I found the reference to Anjneri in Lord Hanuman's 'Janam Kundli' which is explained in Tulsi Ramayana. The text says he was born in a cave on a hillock near Trimbakeshwar," he said. From 1998, Suntury started taking out an awareness rally from Anjneri to Nashik to make this place popular. He created awareness about the tourist potential of the place among tribal residents of the region.
On the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti, more than 7,000 devotees are expected to visit this place. Nashik, being closely associated with Ramayana, celebrates the birth of Lord Hanuman with great festivity. Processions, cultural events, and recitations of 'Sunder Kand' are scheduled at various places across the city on the occasion.