Prime Minister Narendra Modi has paid his visit to Pune, Maharashtra today, on June 14 where he inaugurates a temple dedicated to the 17the century saint Jagatguru Tukaram Maharaj in Dehu town of the city along with Jal Bhushan Building and the Gallery of Revolutionaries at Raj Bhawan in Mumbai.
Following that, the PM will attend the Mumbai Samachar’s Dwishatabdi Mahotsav at Bandra Kurla Complex at roughly 6 p.m., as per the information from PMO.
He was received by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, LoP Devendra Fadnavis and other dignitaries in Pune on Tuesday afternoon. As of now, the PM has inaugurated the temple and has offered prayers there.
Maharashtra | Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers to Sant Tukaram Maharaj at Sant Tukaram temple in Pune and inaugurated a shila temple here. pic.twitter.com/N5HZCTfMa0
— ANI (@ANI) June 14, 2022
#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers to Sant Tukaram Maharaj at Sant Tukaram temple in Dehu, Pune today.
(Source: DD) pic.twitter.com/r7a468F2Q9
— ANI (@ANI) June 14, 2022
Today the nation is celebrating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. We're proud that we're one of the most ancient, living civilisations. Credit goes to the 'Sant parampara' of India, and the saints & sages of India. India is eternal because it is the land of saints: PM Modi in Dehu, Pune pic.twitter.com/SLVr0xJWuQ
— ANI (@ANI) June 14, 2022
Significance of the Shila Temple
The temple houses a Shila which hosts historical as well as spiritual importance to the followers of Sant Tukaram Maharaj. The Shila refers to a rock that is currently on the premises of Dehu Sansthan Temple, a place that for centuries has been the starting point of an annual pilgrimage to Pandharpur called Wari.
Earlier, the rock used to be covered by a silver cover with an image of Sant Tukaram but in 2008, the silver mask was stolen and was found on the bank of Indrayani river. Thereafter, the Sansthan decided to replace the silver covering with an image of the Saint on the Shila, with a new temple housing both.
Who was Sant Tukaram?
Sant Tukaram was the 17th- century Marathi poet, Hindu saint, and was popularly known as Tuka, Tukobaraya, Tukoba in Maharashtra. He was a sant of Varkari Sampradaya that venerates the god Vithoba (generally considered as Lord Vishnu’s Krishna avatar) in Maharashtra.
Sant Tukaram preached about a society without caste and turned away from rituals, which led to a social movement. Also, his poetry refers to earlier Bhakti Saints Namdev, Kabir, Dnyaneshwar and Eknath etc. He is best known for his devotional poetry called Abhanga and community- oriented worship with spiritual songs known as kirtans.
