Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as part of his meditation exercise, performed 'Surya Arghya' during sunrise at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial. Modi carried out 'Surya Arghya,' a ritual associated with spiritual practice involving salutations to the Almighty, manifest in the form of sun and offered prayers with folded hands.
A short video clip, 'Sunrise, Surya Arghya, Spirituality,' posted by the BJP on its 'X' handle showed the PM pouring little water from a traditional, beaker-like small vessel into the sea as an offering (Arghya) and prayed using his prayer beads (Japa mala). T
The BJP also posted photographs of the Prime Minister, clad in saffron shirt, shawl and dhoti, engrossed in meditation at the Dhyan Mandapam, where incense sticks, in front of him, could be spotted burning slowly.
Kanyakumari is famous for its sunrise and sunset and the memorial is located on a tiny islet near the shoreline. At the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, the PM embarked on meditation on the evening of May 30 and he is scheduled to complete it on the evening of June 1.
After arriving from nearby Thiruvananthapuram by a helicopter on May 29, Modi worshipped at the Bhagavathi Amman temple and reached the rock memorial by a ferry service and started meditation that is scheduled to go on till June 1. Clad in a dhoti and a white shawl, Modi prayed at the temple and circumambulated the 'garbhagriha'.
Priests performed a special 'arthi' and he was given temple 'prasad' that included a shawl and a framed photograph of the presiding deity of the temple. Before he embarked on the dhyan exercise, for a while, Modi stood on the stairs leading to the mandapam that offers breathtaking views of the sea that surrounds the memorial from all sides.