Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh): Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has issued an official statement about the birthplace of Lord Hanuman. Anjanadri, which is one of the seven hills near the Akasha Ganga has been declared as his birthplace. Acharya Muralidhara Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, National Sanskrit University, announced this on Sri Venkateswara Bhakthi Channel's 'Nadaneerajanam'.
It is known that the TTD had set up a committee to confirm Hanuman’s place of birth. Scholars in the committee met several times and conducted in-depth research to gather strong evidence to prove that Lord Hanuman was born in Anjanadri. Acharya Muralidhara Sharma said that their committee carefully examined various resources to come to a conclusion in this matter.
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"We have come to a conclusion about the birthplace of Lord Hanuman. We have collected literary, geographical and mythological based evidence and oral testimonies. We have taken 'Venkatachala Mahatyam' as the mythological evidence. Venkatachalam has 20 other names including Anjanadri. As per legend, Lord Hanuman was born in Anjanadri to Anjana Devi as an answer to her prayers. Also, Lord Hanuman had flown from Venkatagiri to swallow the blazing sun. According to the 12 ancient texts, Hanuman was born in the Tirumala hills. We are making it clear to the researchers based out of Chhattisgarh and Nashik. Anjanadri was mentioned in 12th and 13th-century literary works. The translation of Valmiki Ramayana was mentioned in Kamba Ramayana. In Annamayya’s renditions, Venkatachalam was described as Anjanadri. It is mentioned in two inscriptions that Venkatachala Mahatyam is the base for Tirumala. The ceremonial idols of Sriranganatha were kept in Tirumala for some time. Hence, the mandapa was named after the Ranganayakas. There are inscriptions that mention that the ceremonial idols were brought back from Anjanadri. The inscriptions at Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Kanchipuram point to these facts. The district collector of North Arcot wrote a book on the glory of Tirumala temple in which he described Tirumala as Anjanadri," Acharya Muralidhara Sharma said.
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TTD Additional EO Dharma Reddy said that a special committee was set up in December last year to gather evidence about Hanuman’s birthplace. He said that the committee gathered a lot of details. The scholars, he added, have been working for the past 4 months to arrive at a conclusion.
The committee set up on the birthplace of Hanuman comprises - Muralidhara Sharma, SV Vedic University Vice-Chancellor Acharya Sannidhanam Sudarshanam Sharma, Acharya Rani Sadasiva Murthy, Acharya Janamardhi Ramakrishnan, Acharya Shankara Narayana, ISRO scientist Remella Murthy and Deputy Director of the state Archaeological Survey of India Vijay Kumar. Dr Akella Vibhishan Sharma, Project Officer, TTD SV Institute of Theology was the Convenor.
