At Salasar in the Churu district of Rajasthan stands the famed Salasar Balaji temple, one of the most visited shrines of Lord Hanuman in North India. Here Hanuman is worshipped in a distinctive form bearing a beard and moustache, as Salasar Balaji — a self-manifested image revered as wonderfully powerful in fulfilling the wishes of devotees. Tradition traces the shrine to the eighteenth century, when the deity is said to have revealed himself to a devout farmer.
Vast crowds of pilgrims throng Salasar, especially at the great fairs of Chaitra and Ashwin Purnima and on Hanuman Jayanti, tying sacred threads and offering prayers for their heart's desires. Salasar Balaji is among the great Hanuman pilgrimages of the desert state, revered as an ever-responsive granter of boons.
