Shri Panchmukhi Hanuman Mandir, Karachi

01Hanuman from the earth

The temple’s tradition says the image of Hanuman with five faces, Hanuman, Narasimha, Garuda, Varaha and Hayagriva, was dug out of the earth on this spot many centuries ago, and a shrine was raised over it. Devotees say it is swayambhu, not made by hands, and count the temple at about 1,500 years. Another local tradition says Shri Rama halted here during his vanavasa. The temple stands in Soldier Bazaar in central Karachi, and on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and on Hanuman Jayanti, the city’s Hindus fill its courtyard. It is listed as protected heritage under the Sindh Cultural Heritage (Preservation) Act of 1994.

02Murtis found in 2019

Much of the temple’s land was lost over the decades to encroachment, and its trustees fought a long case in the courts to win part of it back. When expansion and renovation work began in 2019, digging in the grounds turned up a number of old stone murtis, of Hanuman, Ganesh, the Devi and a Shivalinga, which Sindh’s heritage officials examined in September of that year. The rebuilding has reused the temple’s old stones where it could.

The life of this place