About 20 lakh visitors from Haryana and the other parts of the country participated in the five-day Kurukshetra Mahotsava and three-day Gita Jayanti Samaroh organised in all districts of the State, said Haryana Tourism Minister Ram Bilas Sharma on Tuesday.
The Tourism Minister said that international level Gita Jayanti Samaroh would be organised in Kurukshetra from next year on the occasion of Haryana’s Golden Jubilee celebration, in order to disseminate the celestial message of the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita from the holy land of Haryana to every corner of the world.
Gita followers, specialists, theorists, saints from all over the world would be invited to this international Gita Mahotsava, said he. Kurukshetra Mahotsava - Gita Jayanti Samaroh would now be acknowledged as ‘Haryana Mahotsava’ on the pattern of festivals celebrated in other States so that Haryana could also establish a separate identity in terms of celebrating festivals. This year, for the first time, 11,000 students, including 5,151 girls, from 37 schools participated in the Gita Pujan with the Chief Minister and performed ‘Deep Daan’ on the holy bank of Brahma Sarovar during the Samaroh.
Similarly, various Ministers, MPs, MlAs and other prominent people were present in Gita Jayanti Samaroh organized in all districts of the state from December 19 to 21. Exhibition and ‘Shobha Yatra’ were also organised during this period.
Sharma said that the message of the Gita is significant not only for India, but also for the whole world. He added that the Gita is faith, truth, a simple way of living and the ‘jeevan granth’ and complete life science of the entire mankind. The Minister added that there is a need for the Gita in the present time and it is a matter of pride for Haryana that lord Krishna had delivered the celestial message of the Gita to Arjuna from the holy land of Kurukshetra.
Now, three-day ‘Sarasvati Utsava’ would be celebrated in districts Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra and Kaithal, through which the route of Sarasvati River passes, on the occasion of Basant Panchami. Information pertaining to Sarasvati River would be disseminated during this event, he added.