Setting aside objections from Kishkinda-Hampi trust, TTD to develop Tirumala Anjanadri as Hanuman's birth-place

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams is going for a grand makeover of the Akasaganga area, close to Tirumala, which it had last year declared as the actual birthplace of Lord Hanuman.

Setting aside the objections of the Sri Hanuman Janma Bhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust at Kishkinda-Hampi, TTD officials said the foundation stone for the developmental works at “Hanuman Janma Bhoomi, Akasaganga,” would be laid on Wednesday.

The event would be conducted in the presence of seers from Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, etc places related to Ramayana.

In April last year, TTD declared Anjanadri of the Tirumala hills as the birthplace of Lord Hanuman, a conclusion it says was based on literary, mythological, epigraphical, and scientific, geographical evidence.

The TTD had earlier formed a committee of eminent scholars and scientists who researched the puranas, archaeological, and other sources of evidence to confirm Tirumala Anjanadri as Hanuman's cradle. The committee report stated that no proof was found “to authenticate any other part of the globe as Anjaneya's birthplace.”

The trust at Kishkinda was formed two years back reportedly with the aim of developing the spot at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Hampi as Hanuman's provenance. Govindananda Saraswati, the founder trustee of the trust, vehemently opposed the TTD panel's assertions.

“TTD had also made a sincere effort to verify the claims from other places connected to Lord Hanuman. We received no such authentic proof and in a webinar held in July, revered pontiffs, reputed scholars and various experts from across the globe unanimously backed our committee findings,” said AV Dharma Reddy, additional executive officer, TTD.

“So now, we are going for the developmental works of Hanuman Janmasthalam at Akasaganga,” Reddy said.

Several places south of the Vindhya mountains like the Anjaneri hills near Nashik-Trimbakeshwar, Kishkinda near Hampi are claimed, especially according to local lore, as the cradle of one of the most revered Hindu deities.

The renewed focus on Hanuman or Anjaneya's place of birth comes at a time when a grand temple of Lord Ram is being built on the Ramjanmabhoomi site in Ayodhya.

Check out the latest videos from DH: