This statue of Hanuman ji has one leg in the underworld, this unique temple is in Rampayali

HR Mandi Bhav: Rampayali Mandir Balaghat: When Lord Ram went on 14 years of exile to fulfill the promise of his father King Dasharatha, he spent this time at many places. He passed through many parts of united India and went to Lanka to rescue Mother Sita. 

Even in the midst of this, he killed many demons and demons and protected sages and common people. Lord Ram spent several years of his 14 years in exile in Madhya Pradesh. Rampayali city of Balaghat district is also included in this. Which is also known as the city of Ram. The old name of Rampayali is Rampadawali. 

Shriram Balaji Temple 

It is believed that Lord Shri Ram went to Ramtek via this city during his 14 years of exile. This temple built on the banks of Chandan River is famous by the name of Shri Ram Balaji Temple. 

This place is located about 30 km away from Balaghat headquarters. There is a famous 1625 AD temple of Lord Ram in Rampayali. Devotees from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra come to the temple throughout the year to have darshan of Lord Ram. 

Here, there is a fort-like temple on the banks of river Chandan, in which the black stone statue of Lord Shri Ram and Sita in the form of angry forest dwellers is present, which depicts the journey of the Lord during his exile days. Not only this, this temple has a sand Shivalinga and a temple of Hanuman ji, who is famous by the name of Lame Hanuman ji. A huge crowd of devotees throng this temple during Hanuman Janmotsav and Kartik Purnima.

had killed the demon Viradha 

The famous Shri Ram Balaji temple here contains many historical heritages and beliefs of Lord Shri Ram's exile. According to historians, there was an ashram of sage Sharbhang in Rampayali. During the exile, Lord Shri Ram had come to see Mother Sita along with her, but before he could have the darshan, a demon named Viradha had appeared in the village Devgaon, located some distance away from Rampayali. 

After killing whom he got the darshan of the sage. However, during this time Mother Sita was frightened by the presence of the demon. Due to which God assumed a monstrous form and placed his hand on Sitaji's head and gave her protection. In this form, the forest dweller statues of Balaji and Mata Sita are present in the Rampayali temple.

Hanuman ji's feet are in the underworld 

According to the priest of Ram temple, Gaurishankar Das Vaishnav, hundreds of years ago a person had a dream in which he was informed about the thousands of years old ancient idol of Lord Ram and Mother Sita inside the river. 

There was also a Shivalinga there. Later these idols were taken out from the Chandan River and installed under a tree. This place is also known as Ram Doh, after this, Raja Bhosale of Nagpur renovated the temple in 1665 and installed the idol and in the 18th century, the temple was rebuilt and given a modern look.

In the temple, there is a statue of Shri Ram devotee Hanuman ji who is famous by the name of Lame Hanuman ji. According to mythological belief, the idol of Shri Ram devotee Hanumanji facing east is not clearly visible because one foot is on the ground and the other foot i.e. the left foot is inside the ground. 

Years ago, a committee tried to remove the idol of Hanumanji and install it in the temple, then a pit of more than fifty feet was dug, but the other end of the leg could not be found. 

It is believed that Lord Hanuman ji's feet have reached the underworld, here apart from Hanuman Janmotsav and Kartik Purnima, there is a constant flow of devotees throughout the year. 

Shivalinga of sand 

According to religious beliefs, the sand Shivalinga located here is self-sufficient and fulfills everyone's wishes. Due to the temple being situated on the banks of Chandan river, every day the first ray of sun touches the sand Shivalinga and falls at the feet of Lord Ram. Lord Ram is called here by the name of Kale Balaji.