Varanasi: India is celebrating the 151st birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. Most of us may not know that there is a temple in Varanasi, associated with Mahatma Gandhi. This temple is unique in itself.
There are no idols and no puja is performed. Yes, we are talking about Bharat Mata Temple, which is an integral part of Mahatma Gandhi’s great thoughts, values and ethos. The temple was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1936. It depicts the panoramic view of ‘akhand’ or Greater India – right from Pakistan, Bangladesh to Afghanistan -- with the help of three-dimensional technologies.
The contribution of Mahatma Gandhi in India’s freedom struggle movement remains unparalleled. The nation's leader from Sabarmati in Gujarat used the tool of non-violence against the Britishers and forced them to leave India, leading to the attainment of much-cherished freedom on August 15, 1947. He is not among us physically today, but his ideas and ideals are guiding not only our country but the whole world to chart the path of progress.
It is, therefore, quite necessary to talk about the legacies, which were so closely associated with Bapu. One such legacy is Bharat Mata Mandir in Varanasi. This holy place was completed in 1924 but was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi on October 25, 1936.
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Located in Chandwa Sabji Mandi, Bharat Mata Mandir is a great centre of attraction for all patriots and nationalist people. A great feature of the temple is that there is no idol of any deity nor any photograph.
Here lies ‘Akhand Bharat’ which includes Pakistan and Afghanistan as well. On the white makrana marble, there is a beautiful inscription of high mountains and depth of the sea along with different States of the country to which one bows in sheer reverence . One can easily see Afghanistan, Balochistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka on the makrana marble.
As many as 450 mountain ranges, plains, plateaus, reservoirs, rivers and oceans have been marked by their height and depth so diligently. Its ground level has been shown 2000 feet in one inch. The length of the image is 32 feet two inches and width is 30 feet and two inches, which has been divided into 762 columns.
The entire temple was designed by Shiv Prasad Gupt, a great architect of his time. He put in his best to prepare the layout of the temple. It was then shown to Mahatma Gandhi. The construction work started only after getting his permission.Durga Prasad Khatri supervised the construction work , carried out by a team of 25 architects and 30 labourers.
Mahatma Gandhi himself inaugurated the temple in 1936 after 12 years of its completion. Photographs and the rock plate are inscribed with the title 'Mahatma Gandhi'. In the temple entrance, there is a photograph of Bapu and Rashtra Ratna Shiv Prasad Gupt along with other luminaries of that time. Notwithstanding the fact that those were the days when the commuting was not so easy with no trains and buses, it is said that over 25,000 people had attended the inauguration of the temple.
Raju Singh, caretaker of the temple, says that he has been engaged in the upkeep of Bharat Mata Mandir for several years now. It is said that 25 architects and 30 labourers worked day and night to build the temple. The entire map was prepared by Shiv Prasad Gupt on the basis of mathematical equations.
Talking to ETV Bharat about this holy heritage, Prof OP Singh, Head, Department of Journalism, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, said that Rashtra Ratna Shiv Prasad Gupt started the construction of the temple only after getting the permission from Bapu. He had seen the map drawn on the soil elsewhere and decided to replicate the map in the temple but on the makrana marble. It was completed in due course of time after the approval of Bapu, who also inaugurated the Bharat Mata Mandir with which he had a special attachment. It is worth noting that Mahatma Gandhi attended both the foundation laying and inauguration ceremonies of the temple.
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