President Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the International Gita Mahotsav on Tuesday at Kurukhetra in Haryana.
The Brahma Sarovar in Haryana, the venue of International Gita Mahotsav-2016 to be held from December 6-10, has already come alive with tourists and folk artistes from different countries arriving to participate in the event, said an official spokesman.
President Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the Mahotsav on December 6 and on the same day, a seminar would be inaugurated by the President at Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta Auditorium. He will also lay the foundation stone of the Krishna Circuit. The urban and rural areas of Kurukshetra district would be declared “open defecation free” the same day.
The venue is already has a large presence of tourists, folk artistes, artists and visitors. The International Gita Mahotsav, being celebrated by the Haryana Government, will also set a world record with the recitation of ‘Ashtadash Shaloki Gita’ by as many as 18,000 students at one go.
Besides, it is for the first time that it will be simultaneously chanted by hundreds of people in many countries of the world, said the spokesman.
During Mahotsav, youths from 574 districts of the country would reach Kurukshetra, showcasing one Shloka, each scripted on their traditional dresses. They would also bring along sand from their respective districts which would be utilised to make an idol of lord Krishna to symbolise unity and integrity of the country.
To spread the message of Gita to the world community, global chanting of Srimad Bhagavadgita would also be held on Gita Jayanti Day before the final ‘deepdan’ ceremony at Brahamsarovar in Kurukshetra. Eighteen selected verses of Gita from as many chapters would be recited on this occasion.
With a view to project the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita at international level, prominent personalities associated with the Bhagavad Gita from across the globe, members of the Indian diaspora and other scholars have been invited to participate in this festival.
Also, various special activities would be organised for different groups of people, including students, Gita scholars, students and teachers of subjects such as archaeology and religious studies, and other visitors. These activities would include international-level seminar on the Bhagavad Gita, national-level Gita Shloka recital, declamation and quiz competitions, exhibitions by spiritual, religious and educational organisations, international book fair on the Bhagavad Gita, cultural programmes and a crafts mela, among others.
Sumedha Kataria, deputy commissioner of Kurukshetra, said, “The mega event would mark the birth anniversary of Bhagvad Gita, and that too, at the sacred place where lord Krishna delivered the celestial message of Gita to a wavering Arjuna.”
Kataria said that out of the 700 shlokas of Shrimad Bhagwad Gita, 574 were recited by lord Krishna himself. Therefore, one youth each from the 574 districts of the country has been chosen to represent a Shloka, he added.
Gita Mahotsav has also been organised in all districts of the State up to block level.