Chilkur Balaji Temple

The Rangareddy district administration says the temple was built in the time of Akkanna and Madanna, the uncles of Bhakta Ramadas, and that its style suggests it is about five centuries old. It describes the temple as having enjoyed great days of pomp in the past.

According to tradition, a devotee who went to Tirupati every year was too ill to go one year. Venkateswara appeared in his dream and told him he was present in the nearby forest. Digging at an anthill there, the devotee's axe struck a hidden image, which began to bleed. A voice told him to pour cow's milk over the anthill, and then a swayambhu image of Balaji with Sridevi and Bhudevi was found and enshrined. Devotees believe that worship at Chilkur brings the Lord's blessing to those unable to travel to Tirupati.

In 1963, as part of efforts to revive the temple, an image of the goddess (Ammavaru) was installed. According to the district account, she was named Rajya Lakshmi after the Chinese forces withdrew following the 1962 war. Her image holds lotuses in three hands, with the fourth hand pointing to her feet in the gesture of surrender (saranagati). Acharyas of the Ahobila Mutt, the Vallabha tradition and the Sringeri Mutt have visited the shrine, and an image of the first Jeer of the Ahobila Mutt is installed in the temple.