Yesterday, PM Narendra Modi unveiled a 12-foot long statue of Adi Shankaracharya at Kedarnath Temple. Read the full news story here.
This new statue of Adi Guru Shankaracharya was built just behind the Kedarnath temple. Tourism officials said that the sculptors hailed from Mysuru and they made the statue from Chlorite Schist Stone. This stone is popular for its resistance to water, sunshine and harsh climate.
A total of 120 tons of stone was used to build this statue when they began working on it in September 2020. Yogiraj Shilpi and his son together completed this statue. They told PTI how happy they were after finishing the statue that they had worked on for 14 hours a day for 9 nine months.
He further added that the Central government had invited models from sculptors across India and his model was selected. Since then PM Modi has personally monitored the entire project. Along with him, 7 other people worked on the statue.
Coconut water was used to polish the entire statue and make it shine. After finishing and polishing, the statue now weighs 35 tonnes. The statue was sculpted in Mysuru. Karnataka after it was made in July. Through a Chinook helicopter, it was then taken to Kedarnath.
Who was Adi Guru Shankaracharya?
Legends say that Shankaracharya was born in Kerala and he was a philosopher of the 8th century. He helped to integrate the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta and unite Hinduism by launching 4 mutts all over India.
It is known that Adi Shankaracharya took Samadhi at Kedarnath and founded the 4 monasteries in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district and also established the idol at Badrinath.
Adi Shankaracharya is a true example of ‘sanyasi’. In his short span of 32 years, his accomplishments are praised to date. At the young age of 8, with a desire for Liberation, he left his home in search of his Guru.
He walked about 2000 kilometres to the Narmada River where he finally met his Guru Govindapada. He stayed there for 4 years and learnt all the Vedic scriptures.
Apart from this, he was a phenomenal poet with a heart oozing out love for the divine. He composed 72 devotional and meditative hymns known as Sivananda Lahari, Nirvana Shalkam, Maneesha Panchakam.
If you find this statue and the legends interesting, you must visit the Kedarnath temple now.
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