Kurukshetra (Hry), Jun 30 (PTI) Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat jointly unveiled a “Virat Swaroop” statue of Lord Krishna here on Thursday.
The over-40-foot-tall statue was unveiled on the holy land of Jyotisar in Kurukshetra amid the blowing of conch shells and chanting of mantras.
In the presence of Dattatreya, Khattar and Gita Gyan Sansthanam chairman Gita Manishi Swami Gyananand Maharaj, Bhagwat unveiled the statue by pressing a remote control button from Gita Gyan Sansthanam here.
The “Virat Swaroop” (universal form) statue of Krishna weighs close to 35 tons and is made of a mixture of four types of metals — 85 per cent copper and 15 per cent other metals. In this vast form, nine forms of Krishna are depicted, according to an official statement.
Later, addressing a programme at Gita Gyan Sansthanam in Brahmasarovar on the current relevance of Bhagavad Gita, Bhagwat said the governor rightly pointed out that Gita does not belong to one community or sect, but gives the essence of humanity to the entire world.
“Gita shows us how to find solutions to problems by taking those head-on and not running away from those. It is ‘Vishwadharma’,” the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief said.
Due to this knowledge of the holy book, Kurukshetra, apart from being the land of Mahabharata, will also be known as the land of Gita in the world, he said.
The “Virat Swaroop” statue was unveiled under the first phase of the renovation of Jyotisar, the first site of the Krishna Circuit project.
A centre known as “Anubhav Kendra” is also being set up at Jyotisar. It is likely to be ready next year. It will be divided into five buildings. In the first building, information about events before the battle of Mahabharata will be made available.
Jyotisar, the birth place of Gita, is the most venerated pilgrimage centre of Kurukshetra, according to the Haryana tourism department’s website. It is believed that the battle of Mahabharata started from Jyotisar. This is where a deluded Arjuna had received the eternal message of Gita from its propounder Krishna on the eve of the battle.
Haryana’s Home and Health Minister Anil Vij and Education and Tourism Minister Kanwar Pal were also present on the occasion, among others.
Addressing the programme, Bhagwat further said bigotry is visible everywhere today. There is a loss of trust in each other. Wars are being witnessed between countries, although such a thing is rarely seen in India, because there is Gita in the country’s culture, he said.
As long as the human race exists, Gita will remain relevant, the RSS chief added. Khattar said the message given by Krishna to the world is relevant even today.
He said apart from the huge statue of Krishna, a world-class museum is also being built. About Rs 200 crore will be spent on other projects, including the museum, the chief minister said, adding that the Mahabharata and the Saraswati civilisation will be explained in the museum.
The message of Gita will be spread through a light-and-show in the museum, which will become a centre of attraction for the people of the country and the world, Khattar said.
He said Kurukshetra is being developed as a key pilgrimage site by the Haryana government and the Centre under the Krishna Circuit project. PTI SUN VSD RC
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