Girjabandh Hanuman Temple – Ratanpur – is a very ancient temple where Hanuman is worshiped in female form. You will be surprised to hear, that there is a temple in the world where Hanuman is not seen in male but in female form. This ancient temple is near Bilaspur. This story of Hanumanji coming in female form is not considered to be one hundred or two hundred but ten thousand years old.
Girjabandh is located in Bilaspur
25 km from Bilaspur. m. Ratanpur is a distant place. It is also called Mahamaya Nagri. This Devasthan is unique in the whole of India. The main reason for this is Maa Mahamaya Devi and the temple of Hanumanji located in Girjabandh. The special thing is that this is the only temple of Hanuman ji in the world where Hanuman is in female form. No one returns disappointed from this court. The wishes of the devotees are fulfilled.
King Prithvi Devju of Ratanpur had got the construction done
It is believed that this temple, which is very important from the mythological and historical point of view, is about ten thousand years old. One day the attention of King Prithvi Devju of Ratanpur went towards his physical illness. They started thinking – I am such a big king but of no use. I have got leprosy. Got many treatments done but no medicine worked. Due to this disease, I cannot touch anyone. Nor can I do Raman with anyone, it is better to die from this dreadful life. The king fell asleep while thinking.
The king saw in the dream that Sankatmochan Hanuman ji is in front of him, dressed like a goddess, but she is not a goddess, she is a langur but no tail, who has a plate full of laddoos in one hand and Ram’s mudra in the other hand. There are gorgeous earrings in the ears. Beautiful crown garland on the forehead. The divine auspicious idol of Hanuman ji with Asht Singar said one thing to the king. Hanumanji told the king O king, I am pleased with your devotion. Your suffering will go away. You got the temple built and made me sit in it. Get a pond dug behind the temple, bathe in it, and worship me duly. This will destroy the leprosy in your body.
Dream to reality
After this, the king consulted the scholars. He advised the king to build a temple. The king built a temple in Girjabandha. When the temple was completed, the king thought about where to get the idol. One night Hanuman ji came again in a dream and said that my idol is kept in the pool of Maa Mahamaya. You bring the same idol here from the pond and get it installed in the temple. On the second day, the king went to the court of Goddess Mahamaya along with his family members and priests. There the king and the people accompanying him searched for the idol in the kund but could not find it. Desperate the king returned to the palace.
After worshiping the evening aarti, they started taking rest. After giving darshan to restless King, Hanuman ji asked him to bring the idol from the pond and install it in the temple. And the idol was not found in the kund, in this uproar, the king fell asleep. As soon as the gust of sleep came, Hanuman Ji came again in the dream and started saying – King, don’t be disappointed, I am there, you did not search properly. Go there and see the ghat where people take water and bathe, my idol is lying there. The king went and saw the next day and found that wonderful idol in the ghat. It was the same idol that the king had seen in his dream. Whose body parts were emanating the shadow of a sharp beam.
Hanuman ji helped the King to find ideol
Shri Ram Lala on the left shoulder of the idol with Asht Singar and Anuj Laxman’s form on the right, with two Nischaron pressed in both legs. The king was very pleased to see this wonderful idol. Then brought the idol to the temple in a systematic way and established it and got a pond dug behind the temple, which was named Girjaband. After getting the desired fruit, the king asked Hanuman ji for a boon that O Lord, whoever comes here to visit may get all his wishes fulfilled. In this way, this temple, built by King Prithvi Devju, has become such a center for the relief of the sufferings of the devotees, where it is a common belief that this form of Hanuman ji was not only of the king but also the subjects, Hanuman Maharaj himself had given this form to the king. inspired by
There is a depiction of Patal Lok in the statue of South facing Hanuman Ji. While killing Ravana’s son Ahiravana, Ahiravana is buried under his left foot and the butcher under his right foot. Lord Rama and Lakshmana are seated on the shoulders of Hanuman Ji. There is a garland in one hand and a plate full of laddoos in the other hand. There is a similar female Hanuman statue at Ramai Pat, about 84 km away from Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh.