There is a old belief in India “ It’s when there is a calling ('Bulawa' in Hindi) from a deity, only then you can visit its temple”. And this is so true with me, as I have experienced it so many times.
My first memories about Tirupati Balaji go years back to my childhood days. As a kid I loved to read, and whenever I used to go to my grandparents’ house to spend summer holidays, the first task … that I eagerly awaited … would be to go through all the books and magzines that came in since my last visit. During one such visit, among the many books in my grandfather’s collection, I found some slim picture books aboutt Tirupati Balaji Temple , with fantastic pictures and stories of Bhagwan Shree Venkatesh. I enjoyed reading the books, and out of much curiosity asked my grandmother about the Tirupati temple, which she had visited earlier. Out of the many things she told me, the fact that I found most fascinating, at that age, was that the bhakts (devotees) offered their hair as a sacrifice to Bhagwan Venkatesh … at the temple, and I found it very hard to believe how people can go about without a hair on their head or part away with their tresses. She also told me about the delicious ladoos which are offered as Prasad.
The Tradition - When a devotee return’s from Tirupati, after the darshan of Bhagwan Venkatesh, he or she brings the Prasad of Tirupati Ladoos, and distributes them to their friends and relatives. These ladoos are unlike any other ladoo generally found in sweet shops, and have a distinctive taste. It’s the unique taste and large size (as big as 5-6 bundi ladoos of average size) which makes these ladoos easily recognizable as Tirupati Ladoos. Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to savour the taste of these delicious ladoos many times.
The Desire grows - As the years passed by, the desire to see the temple grew within me, but I never found the opportunity to visit Tirupati. But I was able to visit Balaji temples in Agra and Nerul (near Mumbai) which tried to replicate the structure of original Balaji temple at Tirupati.
I had heard about the Balaji Temple near Pune also called Prati Balaji (Prati means a copy or a replica) , which was very near to the original Tirupati Temple in design. In time I also came to know that many devotees who had not been able to make it to the far off Tirupati for darshan, visit this nearby temple. This cemented the desire to visit Balaji Temple at Ketkawale near Narayanpur.
The Plan - The year was 2006, July . Monsoons were in full swing, and we had some guests at home, and I had to take them for sightseeing. Two places which were on my radar were, Sri Sai Baba Temple at Shirgaon, which is just 12 kms from my place, and Tirupati Balaji Temple which was much farther away, to around 60 kms. We decided to visit the Balaji Temple, as we would also be able to visit the famous Narayanpur Dutt Mandir and Narayaneshwar Shiv Mandir,both at Narayanpur. While returning from Narayanpur, we had planned to visit Sinhgad Fort, which is located on a great height, and offers magnificent views of the during monsoons.
Finally the day of the trip - So one rainy morning we all packed ourselves in our new Maruti Wagon R and started for Balaji Temple. It was supposed to be a one hour trip from my home. We took the Pune Bangalore Highway, going towards Satara. The the next hour was spent in enjoying the beautiful scenery, as usual the monsoon showers had transformed the dry brown landscape into a wet green world, the incessant rains made this ride particularly enjoyable.
It was my first ride through the Twin Katraj Tunnels. On the other side of the tunnels we soon crossed Shirwal, and the toll booth. A few kilometres ahead ( on the left hand side) we turned into the huge gateway to the ‘Shree Kshetra Narayanpur’.
Reached ! - We had hardly gone 4/5 kms. when we got the first glimpse of the temple and we soon entered the beautiful gates of the huge temple complex.
The temple, surrounded by green hills all around, is the perfect setting for the abode of Bhagwan Shree Balaji.
We parked the car. The parking lot was big enough to accommodate the large number of cars, buses and taxis which brings thousands of bhakts every day for darshan. We could see the main temple walls about a hundered meters ahead. As we walked towards the temple we came across a building (on the left hand side) housing the huge Chappal Stand, where we removed and deposited our footwear.
To enter the main temple you have to first deposit your camera and mobile phone with the security guards, than you start walking along the wall, under the shaded walkway. The system is designed in such a way that by the time you enter the main temple gate you also complete one parikrama of the temple.
At the main gate we were frisked by the guards and then allowed to enter the massive doors.
Darshan ! - On a large platform in front of us was the main temple.We climbed the few stairs which lead us up to the platform, and within no time we were in front of Bhagwan Shree Balaji. The amazingly beautiful Murti seems so alive, I felt blessed and surrounded by the divine energy. Since there was not much crowd we took our time to feed our eyes on Bhagwan’s beauty. Later Pujari Maharaj , dressed in a traditional white dhoti, offered us Tulsi Jal and blessed us.
There are many beautiful small temples dedicated to various deities like Mahalakshmi, Hanumanji, Garaudji and others in the wide veranda which runs along the inside wall of the main temple. You have to walk in a clockwise direction along the way to pay respect the deities and finally you get to the main gate.
Just before we reached the main gate, we were offered the famous ladoos as prasad and also coupons for Mahaprasad.
We came out of the temple, the first thing that I did was to take a bite of the delicious ladoo which tasted just divine.
We were feeling hungry, so after collecting the mobile phones we asked for the directions to the building where the Mahaprasad was being distributed.
Hundred meters from the temple we came to a large building which houses the kitchen and a huge adjoining hall where people sit on the floor on durries – in traditional Indian Style and partake the Mahaprasad. I stood in the queue, gave the Maha prasad coupon to the man behind the counter, and in return collected the stainless steel plates (plates with of various sizes - the types we used to get in trains before the disposable plates came into fashion).
As the smell of the delicious food struck my nostrils, my stomach started to rumble. There was chatni, rice, sambhar and kesar sheera (suzi halwa) on the food counter and the men behind the counter filled the plate expertly with the food, with each item going into its pre-designated section. As soon as my plate was filled I found a place to sit, seeing the food so close I could not waste any time in filling my stomach. (This food is so delicious, and since my first visit I have been to the temple so many times and we always make it point to have the Mahaprasad.) My plate was soon clean and I went to the counter for the second helping.
After the delicious food we visited other temples in the complex, enjoyed a few moments in the beautiful surroundings, the green fields all around and the cloud covered hills were all so enchanting, and we just didn’t feel like leaving this place, but our next destination was calling us – the Dutta Mandir and Narayaneshwar Mahadev Temple at Narayanpur.
So after collecting our footwear ,we walked towards the parking lot where the Maruti Suzuki Wagon R was waiting, and once more packed ourselves in it and started on the short drive towards Narayanpur.
For your information:
If you want to visit Prati Balaji Temple ask for Narayanpur...not Narayangaon, confusion between these two similar sounding places is quite common.
Narayanpur and Narayangaon are two different place near Pune. Narayanpur is near Saswad, while Narayangaon on Pune Nasik Highway in Junnar taluka.
Narayanpur - also called - Shree Kshetra Narayanpur - is mainly famous for Shri Dutta Mandir. Balaji Temple is situated at village Ketkawale near Narayanpur.
Balaji Temple Complex or Uttara Kshetra is managed by Lord Venkateshwara Charitable And Religious Trust Ketkawale.
Various names for the Temple - Balaji Temple,Tirupati Balaji Temple, Prati Balaji Temple, Narayanpur Balaji Mandir.
This is the most well managed and clean temple complexes I have ever seen. The temple complex is so clean that it is difficult to see even a small bit of paper lying about.We always see the cleaning staff, with the brooms and brushes, ready to pick any small bits of prasad ladoo which is dropped by the pilgrims.The private security staff of the Temple Trust manages things quite well.
Unlike other temples no flowers or offerings are allowed inside.
Parking is free, Prasad Ladoo is Free, Mahaprasad is Free - this is one place you can always get a 'free lunch' :)
Only a limited number of Mahaprasad coupons are distributed every day, so you need to reach the Temple early to avoid disappointment, especially so if u re visiting the temple on a weekend or on a public holiday.
On our latest visit on fifteenth of August twenty fourteen there was massive crowd of pilgrims at the temple, but the well trained temple staff managed this huge influx quite well and darshan did not take much time. But at the same time we could see the growing popularity of the temple and the facilities like chappal stands, mobile / camera lockers were over stretched, there was no place for visitors to sit or take protection from rain, old people could find it difficult to manage the the walk from the parking lot to the main temple. The parking lot is unpaved and the heavy rain had turned the whole parking area in one big slippery....muddy field, and parking and walking thru it was quite a task.
I myself prefer the relatively quite time in the beautiful temple and avoid the weekends and public holidays.
Ways to reach to Balaji Temple :
If you have your own vehicle and coming from Mumbai,Pune or Satara,Kolhapur side, take the NH4 Pune Bangalore Highway up to Kapurhol Phata also called Balaji Phata , turn on to Divle Narayanpur Road, Balaji Temple is around 3-4 kms from the turn.
Another route is via Saswad, which will be convenient for people staying in Hadapsar, Kondhwa, Nagar Road.
Public Transport to Balaji Temple :
a)There are regular buses from Swargate S.T. Stand to Satara, Kolhapur side , get down at Kapurhol Phata and take a share taxi or tempo upto the temple.
b)Shared taxis from Swargate bus stand and Hadapsar bus stand. (not confirmed)
c)You may also take a PMPL city bus to Saswad and shared taxi from Saswad to Narayanpur and onwards to Balaji Temple.
Other places of interest near Balaji Temple .
1)On the way to Balaji Temple,while coming from Pune or Mumbai, on the Pune Bangalore Highway you will pass Nasrapur Phata ( after the Khed Shivapur Toll Plaza) which goes to Nasrapur village, near which, in the dense forest is the Baneshwar Mahadev Temple, a old and well maintained Shiv Mandir. Thousands of pilgrims visit this temple in the holy month of Shravan. This is also a popular picnic spot.
2) After our visit to Prati Balaji Temple at Ketkawale we always visit Shree Kshetra Narayanpur for darshan of Shree Dutta and Narayaneshwar Mahadev a very ancient Shiv Temple.
3) Purandar Fort is around seven kms from Narayanpur and gives excellent view of the surrounding country side,particularly in rainy season.
4) Near the Balaji Temple There is also a lake, which is a good picnic spot, we had spent couple of hours here during our last visit in August 2010. Very peaceful place ... and not a soul in sight. We also saw some paddle boats at a resort like place, but the place look deserted.
Route Map to Shri Venkateshwara Temple/ Balaji Temple at Ketkawale near Narayanpur,Pune.
Till Bhagwan Shree Venkateshwara calls you for a Darshan, you may enjoy the photographs of his beautiful abode. I hope photos act as a fuel for your desire to visit this heavenly place.
Note: I did not own a digital camera at the time of my first visit in 2006, so no pictures were clicked then, but I have been to Balaji Temple many time in the last few years, so pictures below belong to the later years.
The beautiful Gopuram, looks amazingly similar to the Balaji Mandir at Tirupati.
Entrance to the main temple. Through the open door way you can just catch a glimpse of the Garud Dhwaja Stambha (the pillar seen in the center of the door way) , and the golden shikhar of the main temple.
The golden shikhars on the sides are the shikhars for the smaller temples inside.
The covered walkway which surrounds the temple.
Click here for 2nd part - more photos.
Tags: Tirupati Balaji Mandir, Tirupati Balaji Temple Pune, Tirupati Balaji Temple Narayanpur, Balaji Temple Pune, Balaji Temple Narayanpur, Naryanpur, Pune, Map, Bhagwan Venkatesh, Prati Balaji, Narayangaon, Gopuram, Mandir, Shikhar, Monsoon, Maruti Suzuki Wagon R, Saswad, Narayaneshwar, Baneshwar, Mahadev,Purandar Fort, Balaji Lake.
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