Rajasthan’s ‘Bullet Baba Shrine’: Dedicated to a Royal Enfield

An X user has shared a fascinating story of a shrine situated in Rajasthan that is dedicated to a Royal Enfield bullet. This famous temple in Rajasthan called the ‘Bullet Baba temple’ is visited by riders and people from across the country who come to bow down for their happiness and safety. The ‘deity’ in the temple is a 350 cc Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle bearing the registration number RNJ 7773.

The temple also called ‘Om Banna shrine’ is located 20 kilometers before Pali and 53 kilometers before Jodhpur in Chotila village. 

”On NH62 connecting Jodhpur and Ahmedabad, 53 km before the town of Pali, stands a shrine without a god in residence! And yet, every year, scores of people pay their respects and prayers to the deity – a 350 cc Royal Enfield Bullet (RNJ 7773),” Aditya Kondawar, an author, wrote on X. 

”The shrine popularly called the Bullet Baba temple is visited by young men after purchasing a new bike; or by women who seek blessings for their husbands’ safety on the roads. There is also a tree near the shrine, around which people tie a red thread, symbolising their faith in Bullet Baba,” the tweet reads. 

See the post here:

According to local folklore, the shrine was built at the accident spot where Om Singh Rathod died in 1988 in an accident. The local police took his Bullet bike into their custody but the very next day, the bike mysteriously disappeared from the police station and landed in the same spot as the accident. 

”Legend has it that the Bullet belonged to the son of a local village leader, who met with an accident in 1988 and died where the shrine stands today. Local police took the bike to the nearest police station. But the Next day, the bike was back at the accident spot. The police took it back but again it went back to the accident site. This went on for a few days till the villagers decided to build a shrine and he became the patron saint of NH 62, protecting people from accidents,” Mr Kondawar explained the temple’s origin story. 

There is also a belief among villagers that Om Banna’s spirit keeps the travellers safe. 

“There are many temples regarding “Om Banna” in Rajasthan. The large picture is that Indian’ people understand the social & logical larger picture, you have to narrate a good story; like here it was around ‘Road Safety’. p.s. I donated 2 helmets here when I bought a new vehicle!” a user commented.

‘That’s how we riders respect,” another commented. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)