Tirupati's Balaji temple to be set up in Kurukshetra

Chandigarh, Feb 25 (IANS) The Balaji temple of Tirupati, the famous Hindu shrine, will be set up in Haryana's historic town of Kurukshetra, the temple management told Haryana Chief Minister Bhupiunder Singh Hooda at a meeting in New Delhi Thursday.

The temple would be a true replica of Lord Balaji, Tirupati, the temple management told Hooda. It will be completed within three years.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) in Andhra Pradesh has decided to set up the Balaji temple at Kurukshetra - the historical town known for the mythological battle of the Mahabharata.

Kurukshetra town is about 110 km from Chandigarh and 150 km from New Delhi.

Hooda met TTD top management, including its chairman Adikeshavulu Naidu, executive officer I.Y.R. Krishna Rao and TTD advisor A. Sankara Reddy.

Hooda has agreed to provide five acres of land free of cost to TTD for setting up the Balaji temple in Kurukshetra.

The temple will also replicate the architectural and ornamental values of the Tirupati temple, Naidu said.

The TTD intends to depict 10 'avatars' of Lord Vishnu, with Lord Balaji in the sanctum sanctorum. These will be installed in the premises of the temple. This will highlight the historic prominence of Kurukshetra and Lord Krishna's role in enlightening Arjuna and the Hindu Dharma in the "Geeta Updesham".

"Considering the fact that a large number of devotees from this region visit the Tirupati temple regularly, setting up the Tirupati temple in Kurukshetra will fulfil the aspirations of devotees of Lord Balaji," Hooda said.