SHREE JALARAM
JYOT MANDIR
About Our Shree Jalaram Bapa
Shree Jalaram Bapa popularly known as Bapa was a Hindu saint from Gujarat, India. He was born on 4 November 1799, one week after the Hindu festival of Diwali, which is associated with his Ista-devata Lord Rama. He is mainly worshipped in Gujarat.
Thursday is the day that is associated with him in Hinduism. Images of Jalaram Bapa usually portray him as wearing white, with a stick in his left hand and a tulsi mala in his right hand. He is always dressed in simple clothes which is a symbol of purity.
+ LIFE +
Shree Jalaram Bapa was born in 1799 in Virpur, Rajkot district, Gujarat, India, on the seventh day of the Kartika month. His parents, Pradhan Thakkar and Rajbai Thakkar, belonged to the Lohana clan. From a young age, he devoted himself to serving pilgrims, sadhus, and saints. At the age of sixteen, in 1816, he married Virbai, the daughter of Pragjibhai Thakkar (Somaiya) of Atkot. Two years later, after returning from a pilgrimage to Hindu holy sites, Jalaram Bapa became a disciple of Bhoja Bhagat of Fatehpur, who blessed him with the Guru Mantra and a japa mala in the name of Lord Rama. Under his guru’s guidance, he established the “Sadavrat,” a feeding centre where saints, sadhus, and the needy could receive food at any time.
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One day, a sadhu visiting his home gifted him a deity of Lord Rama, predicting that Hanuman would soon follow. Eventually, the deities of Sita, Rama’s consort, and Lakshmana, his brother, also appeared. True to his principles, Shree Jalaram Bapa fed everyone who came to Virpur, whether Hindu or Muslim, without any discrimination of caste, creed, or religion. On one occasion, a man named Jamal prayed that if his son was cured of illness, he would donate 40 maunds of grain to the Sadavrat. It is said that an Akashwani (divine proclamation) revealed that this was merely a test of the couple’s hospitality.
+ FAMILY +
Shree Jalaram Bapa and Virbai had a daughter named Jamnaben from their marriage. Jamnaben's grandson Harirambhai was adopted by Shri Jalaram Bapa and his direct descendant, Giridhar Bapa and his son Jaisukhram Bapa and Raghuram Bapa now head the gadi of revered Virpur shrine of Shree Jalaram Bapa.
+ VIRPUR +
Virpur was the workplace of Shree Jalaram Bapa. The main shrine of Jalaram Bapa is located at Virpur. The shrine is actually the house complex where Jalaram lived during his lifetime. The shrine houses the belongings of Shree Jalaram Bapa and the deities of Rama, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman worshipped by him. It also has on display the Jholi and Danda said to have been given to him by God. But the main attraction here is the portrait of Shree Jalaram Bapa. There is also an actual black and white photo of Shree Jalaram Bapa, taken a year before his death. The temple is one of a kind in the world in a way that it has not been accepting any offerings since February 9, 2000.
+ PARCHAS +
Devotees of Shree Jalaram Bapa believe that if they pray to the saint sincerely, he blesses them and fulfils their wishes. These experiences are known as Parchas. They pray to Shree Jalaram Bapa and if their wish is fulfilled they fast, and visit a temple on Thursday. There are many devotees of Jalaram Bapa who worship him like a God, similar to Sai Baba of Shirdi.
+ JALARAM JAYANTI +
Shree Jalaram Bapa's birthday is celebrated on 7th day Shukla paksha of the Hindu month of Kartika as Jalaram Jayanti. It falls on seventh day from Diwali. On this day, devotees are served meal as prasad. There is a huge fair and festival at Virpur on the occasion and millions of devotees visit Virpur, on this day to pay their respect to the saint and have prasad of chiefly khichdi with Bundi and popular farsan item Ganthiya. The Jalaram Jayanti celebrations are also held at all Jalaram temples across India & abroad with festivities, where devotees participate to pay their respects and have prasad.
+ TEMPLES +
One of the famous temple of Shree Jalaram Bapa is located at a small town named Vansda in District Navasari. People follow good work done by Shree Jalaram Bapa here and whole heartedly pray daily in the temple. Trustees made a rule since inception in 1992 to feed poor people on every Thursday and that has been tradition ever since. The idol of Shree Jalaram Bapa is shown as a smiling man holding danda and wearing often a white paghadi and white dhoti-kurta. The deities of his patron deities Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman are also mostly found along with his idol. Temples of Shree Jalaram Bapa today can be found in several big & small towns across India. Outside India, his temples are located in East Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In Mumbai, there is a crossroad at Mulund West Colony, called 'Jalaram Chowk'. This chowk is next to Jalaram Darshan.