Om Banna Temple or Bullet Baba Temple in Pali, Rajasthan is an unusual shrine, devoted to a person called Om Banna. It is located 20 km from Pali and 53 km from Jodhpur on the Pali-Jodhpur highway or the National Highway Number 5. The shrine of Om Banna, located near Chotila village; is actually named after a now-deceased person called Om Singh Rathore, also known as Bullet Baba.
Om Singh Rathore, who was aged 23 or 24 at the time of his death, rode his beloved bike, s 350cc Royal Enfield Bullet with the registration number RNJ 7773. It is said, Om Banna was a married man and his child was born a few months after his death. The shrine is a must-visit place for travelers on the Pali-Jodhpur highway to pray for a safe journey.
Bullet Motorcycle
It is said, that on the night of 5 May 1988, Om Banna was traveling from the town of Bangdi near Sanderao of Pali to Chotila. When he reached the spot, where the shrine is now located; he lost control of his bullet motorcycle and hit a tree. Om Banna died on the spot, whereas his bullet motorcycle fell into a nearby ditch. The next morning, local police recovered the bullet motorcycle and took it to a nearby police station. However, the bullet was reported by police to have mysteriously gone missing from the police station.
After a lot of searches, the bullet motorcycle was found back exactly at the accident site by locals. Rajasthan Police, once again, took the bullet motorcycle, back to the police station. This time they emptied its fuel tank and put it under lock and key. Despite that, the next morning it again disappeared and was found at the accident site. The reasons behind the disappearance of the bike are still unknown and baffling. Rajasthan police tried to take the bullet motorcycle away and kept it at different places, but it kept disappearing from those places and was always found at the accident site.
‘Bullet Baba Shrine’
The villagers thought it to be a miracle and connected this instance to spirits and gods. Subsequently the shrine was erected and was named the ‘Om Banna Temple, as the peculiar story of the motorcycle’s disappearance and reappearance at the accident spot spread like wildfire. People of nearby villagers religiously visited the accident spot and returned to the shrine to pray for a safe journey toward their destination. As the shrine’s popularity grew, it became a tourist attraction, especially among the Royal Enfield enthusiasts.
Today, Om Singh Rathore or Om Banna’s bullet is encased in a glass cabin in the Om Banna temple. The glass cabin has a sliding door through which the bike is removed and cleaned every day. A bust of the Late Om Singh Rathore or Om Banna has also been erected inside the temple along with his photograph. The tree that Om Banna crashed into, still remains at the site ornamented with offerings of bangles, scarves, etc. Devotees pray at the tree, the statue, and the motorcycle to pray for safe travel on the highway toward their destination.
Villagers and regular travelers on the highway religiously come to pray at the shrine, and it is believed those travelers who don’t stop by this temple to pay their respects at the shrine are bound to have a perilous journey. As such every time they visit the shrine, they offer flowers, prayer strings, Incense sticks, coconut, red thread, sweets, and even alcohol to the bike. As news of the miracle motorcycle spread, people started to believe that Om Banna’s spirit always helps distressed travelers, if they help pray at the temple.
Newly married couples from nearby villages come to worship at the shrine, tying a red string around the tree. A legend goes that when a man riding a bike fell into a ditch near the temple, the spirit of Om Banna saved him. Today, the bullet and shrine are part of folklore and villagers sing folk songs in the name of Om Banna. An eternal flame is kept burning at the shrine. The modest shrine built over a raised platform is an outdoor spot, and is covered with only a cane and wood roof. Several temple bells are hung all around the shrine. The shrine is open on all seven days for visitors from 9 AM in the morning to 10 PM in the evening. Anyone who wishes to visit the shrine can reach the shrine by hiring a private car, rental cab, or bus.
There is no entry fee to visit the shrine, also known as Baba Banna or Shri Om Banna Mandir; and can be reached both from Pali town and Jodhpur city, and it takes around 1-hour to reach the temple from Jodhpur. The nearest landmark is Hotel Rajputana Heights and can be visited any time of a year. The popularity of Om Banna Mandir has risen so much in recent years, that people from faraway villages of Rajasthan come to visit it. The shrine is now also part of the tourist circuit with even foreign tourists visiting it, while passing through to their destinations of other major tourist spots of Rajasthan like Khichan Brid Sanctuary, Bikaner, Pushkar, Bishnoi Village, or the Karni Mata Temple.
