HomeTravel NewsCulture NewsRajnath Singh says Maha Kumbh Mela is a ‘Spiritual and cultural mega festival' at Prayagraj
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to meet Indian Army officials to review security arrangements at the Maha Kumbh Mela after offering prayers at the Patalpuri Temple and Saraswati Koop.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj on Saturday (January 18) and called it “a spiritual and cultural mega festival of Indianness,” according to a statement from the Uttar Pradesh government. Singh was accompanied by BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi and was received at Bamrauli Airport by UP Minister Nand Gopal Gupta.
The Defence Minister started his visit by taking a sacred dip at the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and the Saraswati rivers, as mantras were chanted around him. Singh also drank the holy waters of the Ganga and prayed to Lord Surya.
गंगे च यमुने चैव गोदावरी सरस्वती ।
नर्मदे सिन्धु कावेरि जलेऽस्मिन् सन्निधिं कुरु।
आज तीर्थराज प्रयागराज में, भारत की शाश्वत आध्यात्मिक विरासत और लोक आस्था के प्रतीक महाकुंभ में स्नान-ध्यान करके स्वयं को कृतार्थ अनुभव कर रहा हूँ। pic.twitter.com/ZoELPQCcRC
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) January 18, 2025
“I consider it my good fortune to have taken a bath in the Prayagraj Sangam today. This is a spiritual and cultural mega festival of Indianness. It should not be seen in association with any sect, community, or religion. If anyone wants to understand India and Indianness, they should come and see the Maha Kumbh,” Singh remarked, according to PTI.
The Minister is also scheduled to meet Army officials to review security arrangements for the event. Following his visit to the Sangam, Singh visited the Chhatra Akshayvat in the Akshayvat Corridor, as well as the Patalpuri Temple and Saraswati Koop, where he offered prayers.
At Bade Hanuman Ji Temple, he performed special prayers and inquired about the health of the temple priest. He also sought information on the arrangements for the Maha Kumbh and the security measures in place due to concerns over potential terrorist threats and reports of a bomb being found at the event.
(Edited by : Jerome Anthony)
