KATHMANDU: A day after he won millions of hearts in Nepal with his speech in the country’s parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi struck a religious chord on Monday, with special prayers at Kathmandu’s historic Pashupatinath temple.
Modi, who is on a two-day visit to the Himalayan nation, made an offering of 2,500kg of sandalwood at the flower-decked Shiva temple, thronged by lakhs of devotees. The sandalwood, procured from the Tamil Nadu state forest department, is estimated to be worth around Rs3 crore.
“He took part in a special puja, which was conducted by Ganesh Bhatta, the Indian head priest of the temple, and lasted for 35 minutes,” said Govinda Tandon, member secretary of the Pashupati Area Development Trust. Temple authorities had requested India to provide the sandalwood. Normally, about half a kilo of sandalwood paste is used daily on the Shiva Linga at the temple.
Elaborate security arrangements were in place and two Nepali Army choppers carried out an aerial survey of the area.
Dressed in a saffron kurta and shawl, he spent one hour in the shrine conducting special prayers and visiting over a dozen other temples and monuments located inside.
“He perfor med the puja with dedication and devotion, and asked about the temple’s history during the tour of the premise,” said Tandon.
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