Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought the blessings of Lord Mahadev in Kashi, highlighting that his constituency has experienced a significant wave of development over the past decade, akin to the rhythmic beat of a damru.
“Kashi is the capital of all knowledge, today that power and form of Kashi is emerging again. This is a matter of pride for the whole of India. We all are just instruments, the one who does it in Kashi is Mahadev. Wherever there are blessings of Mahadev, that earth becomes prosperous,” PM Modi said while addressing a gathering at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi.
“Right now, Mahadev is very happy. So with his blessings, in 10 years, Kashi saw the ‘damru’ of development playing in all directions,” he added.
“People from all over the country and even from every corner of the world come to Kashi in search of knowledge, research and peace. People from every province, every language, every dialect, every custom have come and settled in Kashi,” he said.
“There was a time when India’s prosperity story was told all over the world. It was not only India’s economic strength that was behind this. Behind this was our cultural prosperity, social and spiritual prosperity as well,” the Prime Minister said.
“Our pilgrimage places like Kashi and our temples like Vishwanath Dham used to be the sacrificial places for the progress of the nation,” he added.
He mentioned that the temples were not just places of spiritual significance but also served as sources of literature and music.
“Here meditation was also done and debates were also held. Dialogues and research also took place here. There were sources of culture here as well as streams of literature and music,” the Prime Minister said.
“Kashi is also the city of Shiva, it is also the land of Buddha’s teachings. Kashi is also the birthplace of Jain Tirthankaras and Adi Shankaracharya also attained enlightenment from here,” he said. “New Kashi has emerged as the inspiration for new India”, he further said.
