PM Modi to visit Maha to open Sant Tukaram temple on June 14

Mumbai: When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Dehu, the birthplace of Sant Tukaram, to throw open the historic Shila Mandir, the temple dedicated to Maharashtra’s 17th-century saint, on June 14, he will be the first Indian PM to visit the shrine.

“We had met the Prime Minister on March 29 and invited him to dedicate the newly renovated temple to the people. The Prime Minister’s Office has confirmed that he has accepted the invitation and will visit Dehu on June 14,” Acharya Tushar Bhosale, State President, BJP’s Spiritual Coordination Front, told First India.

“In 2008, then President Pratibha Patil had performed the bhoomipujan of the temple, which is not only Sant Tukaram’s birthplace but also his house and the place where he did his sadhana (spiritual practice),” Bhosale added.

Shila Mandir is named after the ‘shila’ or the stone on which Sant Tukaram meditated for 13 days.

The Warkari community—Tukaram Maharaj followers—were enthused when PM Modi mentioned the Palkhi spiritual tradition and the Warkari community in his Mann Ki Baat address, temple trustee Nitin More said.

“Warkaris take darshan of the Shila before starting their annual journey on foot to Pandharpur. Now, an idol of Tukaram Maharaj has also been installed in the temple. The garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum) of the temple will be thrown open after Modiji’s visit,” Bosale added.

“The Palkhi (palanquin) ceremony was started by Sant Tukaram’s descendent Narayan Maharaj. The trust decided to build the temple in 2008, to mark Sant Tukaram’s 400th birth centenary. Since Tukaram Maharaj was 42 years old when he left the mortal world, we decided to install a 42-inch idol in black stone. The temple’s height is also 42 feet with 36 kalasas,” More explained.

“This is the first time that any PM is visiting the temple, and this is perhaps the only shrine for which the foundation was laid by the President, and the Prime Minister will dedicate it to people,” he added.