TIRUPATI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday toured the historic Lepakshi temple in Andhra Pradesh ahead of the consecration of Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22. Lepakshi is an ancient village with ties to Ramayana and it houses the famous temple devoted to Veerabhadra Swamy.
Addressing a meeting later, Modi said he felt blessed to have visited Lepakshi temple. “All of you know that Ayodhya Ram mandir consecration is set to take place on January 22 and in regards with the ‘Pran Prathista’ ceremony, I’m on a sacred fast for 11 days. Touring Lepakshi, where Lord Ram met Jatayu, in the middle of my sacred fast and at a point of time when the entire nation is devoted in worshipping Prabhu Ram, felt so divine. I also had the opportunity to worship Sri Veerabhadra Swamy and attend bhajans and kirtans held at the Lepakshi temple”, Modi said.
Saying that Lord Sri Ram is not just a divine figure, Modi said “all of us can draw inspiration from his noble virtues and great goverence (Ram Rajya). Even Mahatma Gandhi used to say that establishment of Ram Rajya was the ultimate aim of a true democracy”.
Highliting the four pillars on which Ram Rajya prevailed as “equality, compassion to the weak, fighting for justice, and upholding Dharma above all else”, Modi underscored that these principles were thoroughly relevant even in this modern era.
According to ancient scriptures, bird king Jatayu, who valiantly fought with demon king Ravana to rescue Goddess Sita, while she was being abducted, fell down at Lepakshi after his wings were chopped off by Ravana. Legend has it that when Lord Ram discovers Jatayu in a helpless state here, he exclaims “Le-Pakshi” – which in Telugu means “Oh Bird…Arise” – and thus this place came to be known as “Lepakshi”.
The ancient Lepakshi temple and the monolithic gigantic Nandi statue discovered here, were added to Unesco’s tentative list of world heritage sites in India in 2022. And with the PM’s visit to the temple, locals hope that it will soon get the world heritage site tag.
Earlier, Modi had touchdown at the Puttaparthi airport and gone on to inaugurate the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics at Palasamudram village in Sri Sathya Sai district of the state.
