Shri Hanuman Mandir

Shri Hanuman Mandir, Sarangpur is a Hindu temple located in Sarangpur, Gujarat and comes under the Vadtal Gadi of the Swaminarayan Sampraday. It is dedicated to Hanuman in the form of Kastbhanjan (Crusher of sorrows). It is the only Swaminarayan temple to have Hanuman as a central deity. In other temples, the central deity is a human form with the shrine of Hanuman along with that of Ganpati at the entrance of the temple.

History & Description

This temple is among the more prominent ones in the Swaminarayan Sampraday. The image of Hanuman was installed by SadguruGopalanand Swami. According to author Raymond Williams, it is reported that when Sadguru Gopalanand Swami installed the image of Hanuman, he touched it with a rod and the image came alive and moved. This story has become a charter for the healing ritual performed at this temple. The image of Hanuman here is a stout figure with a handlebar moustache, crushing a female demon under his foot and baring his teeth, standing among sculpted foliage full of fruit bearing monkey attendants. In 1899, Kothari Gordhandas of Vadtal appointed Shastri Yagnapurushdas to manage the affairs of the mandir; during his tenure, Shastri Yagnapurushdas renovated the site, built the adjacent bungalow, and acquired more land for the complex to bring it to its current state.