3 min readJaipurOct 7, 2016 01:29 AM IST
First published on: Oct 7, 2016 at 01:29 AM IST
Vasundhara Raje at the Rashtra Raksha Yagna. Express Photo
A legendary temple nestled amid the expansive sand dunes of the Thar, hundreds of devotees, including BSF constables, 21 Brahmin priests and a chief minister — the frontier on Thursday came alive with the chants of the Rashtra Raksha Yagna, organised by the Rajasthan government to ensure safety of the troops.
Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje — who had directed the Rajasthan Sanskrit Academy to hold the Yagna — concluded the ceremony with a “sankalp” to ensure the safety of the border and troops, peace and prosperity for cows, Brahmins and people of the state and the country.
Held a day ahead of Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to take stock of the situation at the border, the state-sponsored ceremony coincided with a similar ritual chanting by over 500 staff and students of the Sanskrit Ved Vidyalayas across the state.
The 21 ‘patriotic Brahmins’, chosen specially for the Yagna, were seated in two rows of nine each, with three priests presiding over the main ceremony.
“The Yagna began at 5:15 in the evening and went on for an hour and 55 minutes. It included chanting of the Durga Saptashati and Ganesh Ambika puja,” Rajasthan Sanskrit Academy chairperson Jaya Dave told The Indian Express.
While the number of devotees at the temple has seen a dip this Navaratri, Thursday’s ceremony saw a large participation by local residents, devotees, BSF soldiers, besides the chief minister and her staff.
The opposition Congress, however, attacked Raje — known to seek divine blessings ahead of important events — for endorsing and encouraging superstition in the name of national safety. Claiming that the BJP and the RSS had “their own way” of working in a democracy, former CM Ashok Gehlot retorted, “It’s not about faith. We all revere the Tanot Rai temple, but the government organising such a ceremony only means one thing — to take the attention away from the BJP government’s failure to govern the state.”
The Yagna is touted as a spiritual show of strength meant to boost the morale of soldiers at the frontier. Following the Yagna, Raje spent the night at the BSF unit near the temple. The Tanot Rai temple, the last along the Indo-Pak border in Rajasthan, is managed by the BSF, which even makes food and other related arrangements for devotees during Navaratri. Legend has it that during the Indo-Pak war of 1965, the blessings of the goddess prevented shells fired by Pakistan from exploding.
Vasundhara Raje at the Rashtra Raksha Yagna. Express Photo
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