Chilkur Balaji Temple

The Balaji Temple is situated at Chilkur, twenty five kilometers from Hyderabad off the Vikarabad road and on the banks of Osman Sagar lake. Dedicated to Sri Balaji Venkateshware, this enchanting temple was built in the south Indian style of temple architecture and hosts some of the most worshiped Hindu deities. Approximately 75,000 to 1,00,000 devotees visit in a week. Generally temple gets heavy rush on Friday and Sunday .

History

The temple is one of the oldest in Telengana, having been built during the period of Akkanna and Madanna, the uncles of Bhakta Ramdas. According to tradition, a devotee who used to visit Tirupati every year could not do so on one occasion owing to serious ill-health. Lord Venkateshwara appeared in his dream and said, "I am right here in the jungle nearby. You don't have to worry." The devotee at once moved to the place indicated by the Lord in the dream and saw a mole- hill there, which he dug up. Accidentally, the axe struck Lord Balaji's idol covered by the mole-hill below the chin and on the chest, and surprisingly blood started flowing profusely from the "wounds", flooding the ground and turning it scarlet. The devotee could not believe his eyes when he saw this. Suddenly he could not believe his ears also when he heard a voice from the air which said,"Flood the mole-hill with cow's milk. "When the devotee did so, a Swayambhu idol of Lord Balaji accompanied by Sridevi and Bhoodevi(a rare combination) was found, and this idol was installed with the due rites and a temple built for it.