Mehandipur Balaji Temple
pilgrimage site · Rajasthan
Mehandipur Balaji is a Hanuman temple in Dausa district, built between two Aravalli hills, and it is not a place to visit for its architecture.
- State
- Rajasthan
- Type
- Pilgrimage Site
Mehandipur Balaji is a Hanuman temple in Dausa district, built between two Aravalli hills, and it is not a place to visit for its architecture. Mehandipur itself is small and, to one visiting writer, otherwise nondescript. What brings people is ritual healing and exorcism: they come, the trust that runs the temple says, to pray for relief from mental and physical suffering and from spirit affliction. Balaji, the child form of Hanuman, is worshipped here with Bhairav and Pretraj Sarkar. A paper published in 1981 described the vermilion Balaji on the ground floor, Bhairav as a stone slab with a carved eye in a small annexe, and Pretraj upstairs. What happens around them can be hard to watch. The paper described some patients going into a trance called peshi after the first offerings, some of them striking the walls and iron bars or laying heavy stones on their bodies. Its authors examined 100 patients, a sample of the sick rather than of every pilgrim, and 76 had a neurotic or psychotic diagnosis; about a quarter improved. The same visiting writer, in a 2018 piece for The Diplomat, found exorcisms in a dark hall next to the main temple, and people kept chained behind it, which he called inhuman. Do not assume that has stopped. The trust is plain about its own part: its priests give the sick no help, and devout darshan is enough.
Mehandipur Balaji Temple is known for
A short history
The trust gives no founding date. Its pages say the temple has stood at Ghata Mehandipur for hundreds of years, and date Balaji's appearance variously to hundreds, about a thousand, or thousands of years ago: belief, not record. It says the area was once dense forest with wild animals, and its story is that Gosai ji Maharaj, ancestor of the mahants, dreamt of thousands of lamps and a great army that saluted Balaji, Bhairav Baba and Pretraj Sarkar. By the trust's count, roughly the last fifteen generations of that family have served the shrine. The first firm date is 1965, when Mahant Ganeshpuri handed the temple's management to Mahant Kishorpuri, who founded free schools and colleges for girls in the area. His disciple Dr Nareshpuri took charge of the trust on 21 August 2021. The samadhis of Ganeshpuri and Kishorpuri are 500 metres from the temple; closed for building work from 2022, they reopened with a new garden on 16 March 2025. The temple has drawn researchers as well as pilgrims. In 2013 an international team of scientists and psychiatrists, from Germany, the Netherlands, AIIMS and the University of Delhi, set out to study the treatments and rituals here.
When to go
October to March is the pleasant season; Incredible India's table puts the maximum above 40°C from April to June. Choose the day as carefully as the month. Tuesdays and Saturdays are held especially auspicious and draw large crowds, and on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays darshan stops from 4 to 6 pm for the chola, Balaji's special adornment. Thursday and Sunday are neither closure days nor the two days singled out as auspicious, so if you have a free choice, go on one of those.
Why visit
Come as a pilgrim or not at all. People bring their sick here, some of them in visible distress, and what they go through is not a show. If Balaji is your family's temple, the morning darshan is the one to take. Bringing an unwell relative? Take them to a doctor as well as to Balaji, not instead of one: there are doctors and clinics close to the temple.
Cultural notes
A 2025 Rajasthan Patrika report says Balaji is offered laddoos, Bhairav urad and Pretraj rice, and that devotees must give up onion, garlic, meat, eggs and alcohol for at least a week before they come. Offerings here go by the names darkhast and arzi, and you will hear rules for both: leave at once after your darkhast is offered, and throw the arzi prasad behind you without looking back. You will also hear that no prasad may be taken home. On that the trust disagrees: its FAQ says prasad and flowers offered here may be taken home and shared, and it sets no special rules for darshan beyond devotion and discipline. The trust says a thin stream of water flows drop by drop near Balaji's heart and does not stop even after the chola is applied; that water is given to devotees. By popular account it comes from a small hole on the left of his chest. A sawamani, 1.25 quintal of cooked food, has to be booked in advance at the temple office or online, and cannot be cancelled. The main festivals are Hanuman Janmotsav on Chaitra Purnima, Holi and Dussehra, with a special shringar, bhog and abhishek; there is no fee to attend.
How to reach
Mehandipur is on the Jaipur–Agra highway, 100 km or a little more from Jaipur and around 260 km from Delhi. The trust's own pages disagree on the exact figures, so treat every distance here as approximate. By train: Bandikui Junction is the nearest station, 35 to 40 km away, and taxis and local buses run from there to the temple. Hindaun City station is about 40 km away and Dausa about 45 km. By air: Jaipur International Airport, at much the same distance as the city. Delhi's airport is around 260 km away. By road: state-transport and private buses run regularly to Mehandipur from Jaipur, Agra and other cities in Rajasthan and neighbouring states, and private taxis are easy to find in Jaipur. The trust lays on no extra buses at festivals. Incredible India suggests pairing the trip with Chand Baori at Abhaneri, which is also on the Agra road out of Jaipur.
Mehandipur Balaji Temple guide & itineraries
Frequently asked questions
What are Mehandipur Balaji Temple timings and entry fee?
The trust's FAQ (updated March 2025) says the temple is open every day, 6 am to 9 pm, with no entry fee, no ticket and no VIP or advance darshan. Darshan runs 7 to 11 am and noon to 9 pm, pausing for aarti, and stops from 4 to 6 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for Balaji's chola. Incredible India lists 6 am to 8 pm, and the trust says times can change, announced on the mic inside the complex.
Which is the nearest railway station to Mehandipur Balaji?
Bandikui Junction, 35 to 40 km from the temple; taxis and local buses cover the last stretch. Hindaun City, about 40 km, and Dausa, about 45 km, are the alternatives.
Do you have to give up onion and garlic before visiting Mehandipur Balaji?
Not as a rule of the temple. Rajasthan Patrika reported in 2025 that devotees must give up onion, garlic, meat, eggs and alcohol for at least a week before they come, but the trust's FAQ sets no special rules for darshan beyond devotion and discipline. Keep the fast if it matters to you; it is a custom, not a condition of darshan.
Can you take Mehandipur Balaji prasad home?
Yes. The temple's trust says prasad and flowers offered here may be taken home and shared. You will hear that prasad should not be taken home, but that is a popular belief, not the trust's rule.
Are mobile phones allowed in Mehandipur Balaji Temple?
The trust's FAQ bans using one inside and asks you to keep it switched off, though it does not say you must leave it outside; photography and video are not allowed either. Small bags are fine, large ones are not, and you may not light diyas or incense.
Is there a dress code at Mehandipur Balaji?
No special one for darshan. The FAQ asks only that you wear decent, traditional clothes that suit you.
How do you book a sawamani at Mehandipur Balaji?
In advance, at the temple office or online: the trust requires it so the food can be ready in time. A sawamani is 1.25 quintal of cooked food offered to Balaji; once offered, it is handed back to you to share with your family or take home, and you get a receipt. A booking cannot be cancelled, and the FAQ's price list is blank, so ask the office what it costs.
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