New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) Jyotirmath Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed the pain that the pujaris and devotees of Somnath temple had suffered when it was first attacked by Muslim invader Mahmud of Ghazni 1,000 years ago.
The prime minister on Monday hailed the Somnath temple in Gujarat, which was rebuilt after repeated attacks by foreign invaders, as a symbol of the indomitable spirit of Indian civilisation.
In a blogpost to mark 1,000 years since the first attack on the Somnath temple, the PM said, “There can be no better example of our civilisation’s indomitable spirit than Somnath, which stands gloriously, overcoming odds and struggle.” Modi also took a swipe at then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, saying the opening of the temple in 1951 did not enthuse him.
Appreciating Modi’s blogpost, the Shankaracharya said, “The prime minister in his post has expressed the pain that the pujaris and the devotees of the Somnath temple had suffered after Mahmud of Ghazni attacked the temple and damaged it.” In his article, Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati said the prime minister has sought to drive home the point that “you can break the temple and the idol but you cannot destroy the Somnath.” The prime minister has also sought to send out a message that “any such effort will not succeed in the future”, the Shankaracharya added. PTI PK PK KSS KSS
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