At this temple, the idol of Hanuman is portrayed in a reclining or sleeping posture or supine position which is lying on the floor and found rare in India.
Shri Bhadra Maruti Temple is considered one of the tourist attractions near Aurangabad and people gather in lakhs during auspicious occasions like Hanuman Jayanti and Ram Navami. Devotees from Aurangabad and nearby places walk to the temple to offer Puja on Tuesdays & Saturdays as these days are especially for Lord Hanuman.
Khuldabad also pronounced as Khultabad, initially it was known as "Rauzaa" as meaning “Garden of Paradise”. It is also famous as the “Valley of Saints” or “The Abode of Eternity”, because in the 14th century, several Sufi Saints chose to reside here. Khuldabad is surrounded by a high fortified wall with seven gates built by the mughal sultanat emperor Aurangzeb.
Khuldabad region is popularly known as Maratwada. According to folklore, in ancient times, Khuldabad was known as Bhadravati and it was during Mugals’s rule the place was renamed as Khuldabad. Khuldabad in parsi means “Entrance to Heaven”. Bhadravati means “A Sacred Place”. Both these names, by themselves, give us an idea about the greatness of this place. Maratwada has the distinction of having Lord Shiva’s three of the twelve “Joythir Lingams” in the India. Other distinction of the Aurangabad district is the world famous Ellora caves where sculptures of all the three major beliefs of the country-namely Jain, Buddh and Hindu find a place prominently. The other famous place of the district is Ajanta caves, where paintings of distinction are found.
The place Bhadravati was once ruled by a noble King named Bhadrasena, who was an ardent devotee of Bhagwan Shri Ram. He admired Shri Ram as a sacred & a pure God and worshipped Him as ‘Bhadra’. He constructed a tank for bath in the temple housing of Shri Ram, and called it Bhadrakund. He used to take bath here before he offered his prayers to Shri RamBhadra. He was blessed with a beautiful daughter and he named her Bhadra. The town came to be known as Bhadravati.
The King was good in music and his devotion to his Lord Ram was shown in the songs he had composed on Him. He used to sing songs in praise of his Lord Shri Ram in a melodious voice. His singing used to mesmerize the entire place and virtually every one present there will feel the presence of Shri Ram in their heart. Though he was righteous ruler, he was not attached to the throne he was occupying. Because of his detachment towards worldly matters and attachment towards God Shri Ram, his subjects called him as “Rajarishi Bhadrasena”. The singing of Ram-Bhajans used to continue from morning till evening and on some occasions it used to continue for days together.
“Yatra yatra raghunath keertanam, tatra tatra kritamstha kanjhalim”. No wonder that Shri Hanumanji-a pure Rambhakt-was attracted by the sweet and melodious voice with which King Bhadrasena was singing in praise of God Shri Ram. He followed the voice and descended on Bhadravati kshetra. He found Shri Bhadrasena singing those melodies, out of devotion from the bottom of his heart. Shri Hanumanji was absolutely thrilled by the songs and was wonder struck at the Ram-bhakti of the singer. The singing had its effect on the entire region. The birds will stop flying and listen to the mesmerizing songs. The branches of trees will not move and will also listen to the song.
As Shri Maruti was listening to the Ram-songs/bhajans for a long time, he without his knowledge took a reclining posture-called a “Bhava-Samadhi” (Bhava Samadhi is a yogic posture). When Rajarishi Bhadrasena slowly came out of the trance-during which he was one with Shri Ram-he realised that Rambhakt Hanuman was near him in”BhavaSamadhi”. Rajarishi Bhadrasena was taken aback when he saw Shri Maruti in close quarters. He fell at the feet of Lord Maruti with all reverence. Lord Maruti’s Bhava-samadhi got disturbed.
Shri Hanumanji Maharaj got up and said, “Oh! Rajarishi Bhadrasena, I am immensely pleased with your Ram Bhakti. I shall try to get the darshan of Bhagwan Shri Ram for you. I shall be pleased to do the same for a real Ramabhakt. What more do you want? You may spell your wishes.”
With all humility Raja Bhadrasena said, “Oh Prabhu! You yourself is Bhagwan Shri Ram for me, since you have Shri Ram’s blessings. Your dharshan by itself was possible because of God Ram’s blessings. When you are pleased I am immensely blessed.”
Rajarishi Bhadrasena further told, “Oh Prabhu! It will be even more pleasing if you could kindly remain in the “BhavaSamadi” and bestow your blessing to the devotees who comes to this kshetra.
Shri Hanumanji blessed the Rajarishi Bhadrasena and as per the wishes of Raja, Lord Shri Maruti even today is seen in “BhavaSamadhi” blessing the devotees with all Mangalam.
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