Hathiram Baba - Tirupati Balaji's Divine Companion!
Hathiram Bhavaji, also known as Hathiram Baba or Hathiram Bairagi, was a revered saint from Raipur Dalpatpur Uparhar, Maya, Ayodhya, who embarked on a pilgrimage to Tirumala around 1500 CE. As per Legend Hathiram Baba came from Nagaur in Rajasthan.
During his pilgrimage, he developed a deep devotion to Lord Venkateswara and decided to settle there, establishing an ashram near the temple. According to legend, Hathiram Baba had the extraordinary privilege of playing dice with Venkateswara Himself.
Baba Hathiram was the incarnation Brahmin saint of Hathiya Paras Tiwari dynasty. He had many achievements. Lord Shri Ram had appeared many times. Vaishno saint Baba Hathiram was a Vedic Brahmin who was an exclusive worshiper of Lord Vishnu.
He had complete knowledge of material wealth, Upanishads, Yoga Sankhya philosophy etc. After taking a bath in Saryu in Ayodhya, at the time of Parikrama, God ordered that before Ayodhya, where you can see the shining Dharamshila in the marshy land, you should go there and do penance, there you will get my darshan.
As soon as Baba Ji reached there, the marshy land dried up and the Saryu river shifted 51 steps in the north direction. After installing the Tripinda on Dharamshila, Baba Hathiram sat down and started doing penance. After many years, he had a personal darshan of God.
Used to roam around together. Babaji used to perform Yagya. Then he used to distribute its Prasad and ashes to everyone. In which animals, birds, water creatures and underground creatures like ants, snakes, rats etc. were satisfied and started dancing. Many miracles are mentioned in Baba's religious texts which have been published by the Trust.
Baba Hathiram was ordered by Lord Shri Ram to go to South India, wave the religious flag and propagate Sanatan Dharma.
By handing over the miraculous Tripinda of Baba Hathiram and Ram Alakh Tiwari, he ordered to worship and preserve it as per the rules of Vedic scriptures and said that your lineage will remain intact. Whoever will worship, arrange and plan this miraculous Tripinda.
I am going to Dakshinavarta (South India) with another disciple Ram Ashray. And then both of them went to Ayodhya, had darshan of Lord Shri Ram and did parikrama. And after reaching South India, they reached Tirumala hill and fumigated their hut in the sandalwood forest. Ram stayed there with Ashraya for many days and performed penance.
Tirupati Balaji received the direct revelation of Lord Venkateswara. Tirupati Balaji used to play Chauncey with Baba every day in his hut in Triat. The history of which is described in their religious scriptures.
Baba Hathiram's disciple Amashraya Bal left his body after completing his celibate life and on the orders of Baba Ji Tirupati Balaji, he went into samadhi and started doing penance. When the time came, Tirupati Balaji absorbed him physically.
In this way, Baba's disciple Ram Alakh continued worshiping that Tripinda as per the Vedic scriptures.
With Baba's blessings, his descendants are doing this work efficiently and their lineage remains intact. Many welfare works are carried out from the temple. .
Even today, the temple is established in Raipur Dalpatpur Mayabazar Ayodhya and every Tuesday thousands of devotees go there for darshan.
Especially in the month of Magh, from Budhwa Mangal till the full moon of Phalgun month, there is a crowd of lakhs and devotees offer pans there. It is believed that puri and halwa are prepared in an earthen pan and offered to devotees every Tuesday and full moon day.
In the temple, along with giving a pan to the devotees, Shri Satyanarayan Katha, Havan, Graha Puja, Rudrabhishek etc. are done by the Mahant and priest there.
Hathiram Baba Tale - How he got name as "Hathi"?
The tale of Hathiram Baba harks back to centuries ago.The legend has it that he was such an ardent devotee of the Lord that the Lord Himself came to play dice with him every night.
One night, they were so engrossed in the game that dawn approached, and the Lord hurried back to the temple, leaving behind one of His necklaces.
In the temple, the priests discovered the missing necklace and launched a search. Meanwhile, the saint realized the necklace had fallen and rushed to return it.
However, he was apprehended at the temple's gate and mistaken for a thief, despite his protests. The saint was put under house arrest while the matter was referred to the king.
The king faced a dilemma and issued a challenge. A massive load of sugarcane was placed in the saint's house, with the condition that he must finish it before nightfall.
Failure to do so would result in his execution at dawn. Given the impossible task, the saint turned to prayer, seeking divine help.
Suddenly, a white elephant appeared in the room and devoured the sugarcane in a matter of minutes. It then trumpeted loudly and rushed out of the room, right in front of the astonished king, priests, and officials.
It was an undeniable miracle, as the elephant had appeared in the small room.
The saint was vindicated and came to be known as Hathiramji - Hathi for elephant and Ram for the name he always chanted.
To make amends, the priests entrusted him with the responsibility of managing the temple accounts, as he had been a merchant before coming to Tirumala.
While this story may seem mythical, it's a historical fact that the mahants affiliated with the Hathiram Baba Math managed the temple from 1843 to 1933, before the administration was handed over to TTD (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams).
The ashram still stands outside the temple entrance. If you face the temple, you'll find it on the left side, along with some old houses.
Besides the ashram, there's a small shrine, a pilgrim dormitory, and a marriage hall.
The shrine houses a remarkable collection of Saligramams, sacred stones from the Gandaki river believed to be manifestations of Lord Vishnu.
There are over a thousand of these unique stones. The next time you visit Tirupati, take a moment to explore this fascinating place!