Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa offered prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, India before heading to pay a visit to Buddhist shrines in Sarnath on Sunday. Premier Rajapaksa is on a five-day visit to India.

Rajapaksa reached Kashi Vishwanath temple and performed the ‘ shodashopchar pujan’ in the sanctum sanctorum as priests chanted Vedic mantras. He then went to the ‘mandap’ of the neighbouring Tarkeshwar Mahadev Temple, where UP tourism minister Neelkanth Tiwari felicitated him. Divisional commissioner Deepak Agrawal and district magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma showed the Sri Lanka PM a map of the ongoing Kashi Vishwanath Dham (corridor) project and apprised him about the worldclass facilities which will be on offer for pilgrims once the project is completed.

After spending 40 minutes at the two temples, the Premier reached Kaal Bhairo temple and performed various rituals. After a brief halt at a hotel, the Sri Lankan PM and his team set out for Sarnath. He was greeted by people waving flags of the two countries on the roadside.

Prime Minister Rajapaksa lit a lamp at the Moolgandha Kuti Vihara and performed the circumambulation of the Bodhi Tree, where Gautam Buddha had given his first sermon. He then visited temple of Mahabodhi Society of India, where Buddhist priests blessed him with Buddha’s relics. Bhikshu Medhankar Thero also performed a ‘paritran deshna path’ for him.

In the visitors’ book of Moolgandha Kuti Vihara, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa wrote, “I am happy to visit the pilgrimage site of the followers of Lord Buddha. I feel fortunate. I got inner peace.” He also went to Dhamekh Stupa and performed various religious rituals. He also toured the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) museum in Sarnath. ASI officials showed him the ruins excavated from the site between 1835 and 1929.

Source: TOI
-Agencies