'I WORSHIP Lord SHIVA alone...': PM Narendra Modi on his sixth Kedarnath visit

Wearing a white traditional attire of the hill people with a swastika embroidered on it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the "puja" at the Kedarnath temple. He also laid the foundation stone for the 9.7-km Gaurikund-Kedarnath ropeway project.

Dehradun: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva, paid a visit to Kedarnath – the heavenly abode of the deity – and offered prayers there. The PM shared a photo on himself on his official Twitter handle with the Kedarnath temple in the background with a Sanskrit shloka which means “महाद्रिपार्श्वे च तटे रमन्तं सम्पूज्यमानं सततं मुनीन्द्रैः। सुरासुरैर्यक्षमहोरगाद्यै: केदारमीशं शिवमेकमीडे।। (He enjoyed himself on the banks of the great mountains and was constantly worshiped by the great sages. I worship Lord Shiva alone, Lord Kedara, surrounded by demigods, demons, yakshas, great serpents and others).”

महाद्रिपार्श्वे च तटे रमन्तं सम्पूज्यमानं सततं मुनीन्द्रैः।

सुरासुरैर्यक्षमहोरगाद्यै: केदारमीशं शिवमेकमीडे।। pic.twitter.com/E8WC7oLddi

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 21, 2022

Wearing a white traditional attire of the hill people with a swastika embroidered on it, the Prime Minister performed the "puja" at the Kedarnath temple. He also laid the foundation stone for the 9.7-km Gaurikund-Kedarnath ropeway project. 

Using the ropeway, devotees will be able to reach the temple from Gaurikund in 30 minutes. After performing the "puja", PM Modi laid the foundation stone for the 9.7-km Gaurikund-Kedarnath ropeway project.

The priests who performed the "puja" prayed for strength to the prime minister to take the country forward. PM Modi also visited the Samadhi Sthal of Adi Guru Shankaracharya and spent some time there.

After performing a "puja" at the Kedarnath temple in Rudraprayag district, the PM arrived at the Badrinath temple in Uttarakhand's Chamoli. 

At Badrinath Dham, he will review the progress of the development projects along the riverfront. In the afternoon, PM Modi will lay the foundation stones for road and ropeway projects worth Rs 3,400 crore for the Kedarnath and Badrinath temples, and address a gathering at Mana village. He will also review the progress of the beautification project of the Arrival Plaza and the lakes in the area.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister was received by Governor Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union minister Ajay Bhatt on his arrival at the Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun in an Indian Air Force (IAF) plane.

This is Modi's sixth visit to Kedarnath and second to Badrinath as the prime minister. Security has been tightened around the two famous hill temples in view of the prime minister's visit. Both temples have been decorated with quintals of flowers.