On the auspicious occasion of Ram Navami, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) officially declared that Japali Theertham on Tirumala Hills in Andhra Pradesh is the birthplace of Lord Hanuman. The richest temple trust in the country said on Wednesday it was making the announcement after competent research and finding sufficient evidence.
A committee of experts and scholars headed by National Sanskrit University vice chancellor Muralidhara Sharma, and comprising executive officer Jawahar Reddy, chairman Dharma Reddy and others informed at Nadaneerajanam Mandapam in Tirumala that Anjanadri Hill — the abode of Lord Venkateshwara — where Japali Theertham is located, is the birthplace of Lord Ram’s most trusted associate.
The panel informed the media that it got all the evidence required through geography, epics, books, literary, mythological, cultural and other sources as well as ISRO’ s satellite images and details.
Over the years, several states such as Karnataka, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Haryana have made claims of being the birthplace of Lord Hanuman. Sharma, however, said those assertions don’t have a proper basis.
“We have proved with all evidence through all sources that Anjanadri is the birthplace of Lord Hanuman. Thus, Japali Theertham is the actual place of his birth,” he said. “Hanuman was born to Anjanadevi after tapasya at this place and we proved with complete determination.”
Evidence was collected from 12 Puranas, said Sharma. Similarly, verses from Kamba’s Ramayanam and Annamacharya’s compositions provided literary evidence while epigraphic evidence was derived from the 12th and 13th century inscriptions found in the Tirumala temple, inscriptions in the Varadaraja Swamy temple at Kanchipuram, and Sawal-e-Jawab, a record of practices at Tirumala dating back to 1801-02, he added. For geographical validation, the committee turned to the Skanda Purana, where Sage Matanga tells Hanuman’s mother Anjani Devi that Venkatachalam is to the north of Swarnamukhi river and located at a distance of 12 yojanas from Ahobilam, in present-day Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh.
(With agency inputs)
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