Birla Mandir

Getting there

• By train

  The nearest MMTS station is Lakdi ka pul. Assembly Hyderabad metro station is near the temple.

• By road

  TSRTC buses and MMTS trains connect the temple. Buses 5K, 5S and 5 run from Secunderabad to Mehdipatnam, and bus 113 runs from Uppal to Mehdipatnam.

Book and check

Official pages only. We do not sell darshan passes or tours.

• Birla Temple on Incredible India (government tourism portal)incredibleindia.gov.in

Rules to know

• The temple has no traditional bells, as Swami Ranganathananda wished the atmosphere to be conducive to meditation.
• Birla temples are open to all visitors.

Why devotees come here

Birla Mandir is a Hindu temple on Naubat Pahad, a hillock 280 feet high in Hyderabad. It is built of white marble and honours Venkateswara, whose 11-foot granite idol stands in the sanctum.

The temple honours Venkateswara. Its granite idol stands about 11 feet tall, and a carved lotus forms an umbrella over its top. The idol is a replica of the statue at Tirupati. Since 1976 the Birla Group of Industries has looked after the temple, and the temple holds aarti twice a day.

The hill was once called Band Rock. Long ago, official proclamations from the Mughals to the Nizams were announced from its top, accompanied by music. The Birla Foundation built the temple, which has similar Birla Mandir temples across India. Construction took ten years, and Swami Ranganathananda of the Ramakrishna Mission opened it in 1976.

The style blends Dravidian, Rajasthani and Utkala architecture. About 2000 tons of pure white marble went into the building, brought from Rajasthan. The rajagopuram tower rises 28 feet, and a brass flagstaff in the grounds rises 42 feet. Padmavati and Andal have their own shrines beside the main one, and separate shrines honour Shiva, Shakti, Ganesh, Hanuman, Brahma, Saraswati and Lakshmi.

Tips for your visit

• Parking near the temple is often full, so local guides advise leaving the car at the foot of Naubat Pahad near the Assembly and walking up, a 2-minute walk.
• On Saturdays, devotees make a beeline for the temple.
• The one-way road from Adarshnagar gets clogged with devotees, and the road is narrow.
• Shops outside the temple sell materials for puja and offerings.
• In summer the marble floor stays hot only where the sun falls on it.

Questions people ask