Shri Chilkur Balaji Temple Place of Religious Significance

Chilkur Balaji Temple is situated in the picturesque village of Chilkur, about 30 kilometres away from Hyderabad. It is also called the VISA Temple, and sits prettily on the banks of the Osman Sagar Lake, near the Vikarabad Road. It is believed that paying your obeisance to the presiding deity, Lord Balaji Venkateswara, along with Sridevi and Bhoodev can grant your wishes of gaining a USA Visa! The temple houses the Visa Balaji or the Visa God! The belief finds its roots in an incident when a few students who had their Visa applications rejected, came and prayed here only to have their applications accepted.

It is one of the oldest temples of Hyderabad and is considered to be built during the time of Madanna and Akkanna, the uncles of Bhakta Ramdas. According to various beliefs and ancient tales, the Chilkur Balaji temple was constructed by a devotee who used to visit Tirupati every year. However, on one occasion he could not do so, owing to serious illness. Moved by his faith, Lord Venkateswara appeared in his dream and instructed him to find his idol, along with the idols of Sridevi and Bhoodevi and construct this magnificent temple.

The devotee was moved by such happenings and saw a mole-hill at the place indicated by Lord. Thus, he started digging at that point until his axe struck Lord Balaji's idol. Suddenly, blood started to flow from the wounds, turning the ground scarlet. The devotee then heard a mystical voice instructing him to flood the area with milk. This further resulted in the idols of Lord Balaji, accompanied by Sridevi and Bhoodevi to emerge from the ground. These idols were then installed in the temple. Since then, Sri Balaji Venkateswara is available at Chilkur to shower his blessings on all the devotees who are unable to visit Tirupati due to any reason. The temple is set in sylvan surroundings and attracts thousands of pilgrims from all across the globe.