Shri Ram Nath Kovind Presented with a Unique 84 Shiv Lingam Portrait by Ace Photographer, Varun Joshi

New Delhi: Former Hon'ble President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind was presented with a masterpiece Shiva Lingam clicked, visualized and created by ace photographer, Varun Joshi at his residence on December 15th. The Shiva Lingam portrait is an amalgamation of 84 lingas clicked across Ujjain. Sri Kovind was impressed by the work and complimented photographer Varun Joshi on his creativity. 

Varun Joshi travelled to all 84 temples across Ujjain to create this unique Shiva Lingam with 84 lingas stitched together it took a couple of months for me to capture all Shivling followed by 3 months to bring out this masterpiece. This impressive pictorial representation of the Shivling takes viewers into the rich heritage of our country and brings the country’s historical details to the fore.

According to the Skanda Purana, it is believed that once a person gets a glimpse of these 84 lingas together, the soul is free from the cycle of life and death as well as free from any kind of diseases and ailments. 

“These 84 energized Shiva Lingas are very important in Hindu culture as they make life successful and hurdle-free. With just a glimpse of these lingas, a person can leave behind materialistic desires, selfishness, unpleasantness, bitterness and prejudice and become free from any kind of obstructions,” said Varun Joshi. “Sri Ram Nath Kovind was so impressed by the visual creation that he said that everyone should make this unique Shiva Lingam a part of the temple at home,” he added. 

These 84 lingas are placed in different locations across Ujjain and devotees perform a yatra of 118 km to get the darshan of each one of them. 

The ancient and historical city of Ujjain has a history that dates back to over 5000 years. In the Adi Brahma Puran, the city has been referred to as mokshda and in AgniPuran and Garuda Puran as bhukti-mukti. Ujjain was the capital of the ancient Avanti kingdom. According to the legends, Ujjain is one of four sites where drops of amrita, the elixir of immortality, were accidentally spilled over from a pitcher that was being carried by Garuda during the Samudra Manthana, the churning of the ocean of milk.

The city is also famous for the Panchkroshi Yatra, which takes place every year and is of great religious significance. Thousands of devotees come to the city of Mahakal to take part in this religious yatra. Devotees offer prayers to different Shivlings during this yatra.