PM Modi unveils 216 feet Statue of Equality in ‘Bhagyanagar’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday unveiled the 216 feet tall Statue of Equality after taking part in the rituals at the temple premises. Clad in devotional golden attire, PM Modi sat at the prayer site and then took a tour of the temple premises where replicas of 108 Vishnu temples, including Badrinath, Ayodhya, Tirumala, have been placed.

“Today is the auspicious occasion of Vasant Panchami. I pray to Ma Saraswati that the knowledge of Ramanujacharya leads the world.. . this idol will inspire the generations to come.. Ramanujacharya's life shows there is no conflict between reforms and our tradition,” PM Modi said addressing at the event. 

“We have dwait and adwait both in this country as India is one such country where our ancient sages transcended above accepting and rejecting ideas,” PM Modi said. 

Remembering the contributions of  Telugu culture starting from the Kakatiya dynasty to Pochampalli Saree and the Tollywood movie industry, PM Modi referred to Hyderabad as Bhagyanagar. Ahead of the civic election of Hyderabad in 2020, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath had proposed to rename Hyderabad as Bhagyanagar, which apparently used to be the former name of the city.

Praising PM Modi Chinna Jeeyar Swami said PM Modi held the head of India and the Hindus high in front of the world.

The 216-feet tall Statue of Equality commemorates the 11th-century Bhakti Saint Sri Ramanujacharya, who promoted the idea of equality in all aspects of living including faith, caste and creed.

The statue shows the saint in a seated position in padmasana with hands folded. The statue is made of 'panchaloha', a combination of five metals: gold, silver, copper, brass, and zinc and is among one of the tallest metallic statues in sitting position, in the world. It is mounted on a 54-feet high base building, named 'Bhadra Vedi', has floors devoted to a Vedic digital library and research centre, ancient Indian texts, a theatre, an educational gallery detailing many works of Sri Ramanujacharya.

The statue has been conceptualised by Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swami of Sri Ramanujacharya Ashram.

The inauguration of the Statue of Equality is a part of the 12-day Sri Ramanuja Sahasrabdi Samaroham, the ongoing 1000th birth anniversary celebrations of Sri Ramanujacharya, the official statement said.

PM Modi was on a half-day visit to Telangana on Saturday where he attended the 50th anniversary of ICRISAT before reaching the temple. Chief minister KCR was not present at any of these events and his official residence said he was not feeling well.