Tirumala Temple replica to come up at Prayagraj for Kumbh Mela

Tirupati: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is going to install a replica of the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple of Tirumala at Kumbh Mela.

The Kumbh Mela authorities have allotted 2.5 acres of land to TTD to set up a replica of the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

TTD joint executive officer for Health and Education, Gowthami met Kumbh Mela authority officer Vijay Kiran Anand in Prayagraj and inspected the allotted land. During the inspection, Gowthami and TTD officials made several suggestions regarding the arrangements for the mega-religious event, particularly to accommodate the expected influx of North Indian devotees, the TTD officials said in a statement.

As part of its initiative to promote Hindu Sanatana Dharma nationwide, TTD has sought a suitable space to establish a model temple for devotees from across the country. The Kumbh Mela, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, is scheduled to be held in Prayagraj from January 13 to 26, 2025.

Plan for replica temples across India

The Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple popularly known as Tirupati Temple in Andhra Pradesh, holds a very significant reverence as one of India’s wealthiest and most renowned temples to which devotees from across the world visit.

In the last few years, the temple trust has embarked on an ambitious plan to construct replicas of the shrine in every State and Union Territory across India.

As of now, replica temples are built in six states including Hyderabad, Chennai, Kanyakumari, Delhi, Bhubaneswar and Jammu.

Upcoming TTD temples

1. On June 8, 2023, Balaji, located amid the scenic Shivalik forests in Majeen in Jammu, was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The temple is one of the largest temples in Jammu built on 62 acres. The temple was completed in two phases at the cost of Rs 33.22 crores.

2. Balaji temple in Navi Mumbai to open soon. The Bhoomi puja of the TTD Sri Venkateswara Swamy Vari temple was performed at Ulwe in June 2023. Ten acres were allotted by the MVA government in 2022. The Tirupati trust will be spending approximately Rs 75 crores for the construction of this new temple with donor-devotees support.

3. Balaji temple likely to come up in Jharkhand’s temple town, Deoghar. There is an allocation of 100 acres for the temple’s construction at Devgarh, which also has shrines of Shri Vadyanatha, one of the jyotirlingas and also a Shakti Peeth. Though a formal communiqué is yet to be sent by the TTD to the Jharkhand government, it has announced its approval, following its board meeting held at the Annamaiah Bhavan by then chairman Bhumana Karunakara Reddy on December 26, 2023, during YSRC regime.