108-Feet Tall Statue Of Adi Shankara Coming Up In MP

BHOPAL, (IANS) – Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan will unveil a 108-foot-tall statue of Adi Shankaracharya in Omkareshwar on September 18.

The statue has been dubbed ‘Eaktmta Ki Pratima’ (Statue of Oneness) and is being installed at a cost of over Rs 2,141 crore.

Omkareshwar, located a short distance from Indore on the Narmada River banks, is a global center of the Advaita Vedanta philosophy promoted by the 8th-century philosopher, Adi Shankaracharya.

The construction of the statue on the Mandhata mountain in the temple town is part of the first phase of the development project.

The multi-metal statue depicts Adi Shankaracharya as a 12-year-old boy,

the age when he is said to have left home to travel across the country spreading Advaita Vedanta philosophy and explaining its tenets to people.

He is believed to have reached Omkareshwar after becoming a monk where he met his guru, Govind Bhagwadpad, and stayed in the religious city for four years under his tutelage.

The state government informed that along with the establishment of a museum named Advaita Lok in Omkareshwar and an international Vedanta institute, an Advaita Forest is also being developed across 36 hectares in the town.