Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday unveils the 216 feet tall Statue of Equality after taking part in the rituals. 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.
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.
