Madhya Pradesh's Newest Spiritual Haven 'Hanuman Lok' Takes Shape in Chhindwara, CM Chouhan Lays Foundation Stone Of Rs 314-Crore Project

The famous Jam Savli temple in Chhindwara district in Madhya Pradesh will soon have Hanuman Lok on the lines of Mahakal Lok corridor, developed on the Mahakaleshwar temple premises in Ujjain.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday (24 August) laid the foundation stone of ‘Hanuman Lok’, a religious centre dedicated to Lord Hanuman, at Saunsar in Chhindwara, the stronghold of former CM Kamal Nath.

The miraculous Shri Hanuman Temple, Jam Savli is located at the confluence of Jam and Sarpa rivers, in the central region of the Dandakaranya-Satpura-Maikal mountain range.

Lord Hanuman is the self-proclaimed Lord in the shadow of the peepal tree (Ficus Religiosa) at village Savli. There is no evidence of when and who installed the idol of Lord Hanuman.

Spread over an area of 26.5 acre, the temple precinct will be developed by the Madhya Pradesh tourism board in two phases. The total cost of the Hanuman Lok project is Rs 314 crore with the first phase costing Rs 35.09 crore.

Two-Phase Development

The first phase development includes two corridors, a grand temple entrance, and various additional amenities.

Exemplifying the Marathi heritage and culture, the temple entrance will be modelled on Maratha style. The entrance gateway will have regional brick architecture with grey stone cladding.

The gateway will open into a 500-metre-long Chiranjeevi path — Lord Hanuman is called the “Chiranjeevi” (the immortal).

Leading upto the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, the Chiranjeevi path will be themed on the life of Lord Hanuman across various yugas.

Flanking the Chiranjeevi path, two expansive corridors will be developed. Spanning an area of 90,000 square feet, the first corridor will showcase intricate sculptures and paintings of Hanuman, portraying significant moments and places, such as his birthplace Kishkinda and his childhood tales.

Whereas, the second corridor, which spans 62,000 square feet, will feature depictions of Lord Hanuman as the devotee of Lord Ram, through idols and artefacts.

Apart from this, an ayurvedic dispensary and a 12,000 sq-feet open-air theatre for organisation of the Ramlila re-enactment is also planned.

The tourism board will also develop a parking lot in a land parcel of more than 40,000 sq ft, to accommodate 400 four wheelers and an equal number of two wheelers.

In the second phase of the temple corridor, a yogshala, lecture hall, waterfront path way, sitting area, restaurant and residence for devotees will be developed.

Apart from this, plans have been made for developing an Ashtasiddhi Kendra along with a Sanskrit-medium school, within the temple precinct.

The project also includes the development of bathing ghats on the bank of Jam river, making it one of the largest integrated spiritual circuit development projects in the country.

The aim of the project is to accommodate the increasing footfall of the temple, which attracts devotees in lakhs, stopping by on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti every year.