MP CM to unveil 108 feet tall statue of Adi Shankaracharya in Omkareshwar on Sep18

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will on September 18 unveil a 108 feet tall statue of Adi Shankaracharya at Omkareshwar, a temple town which houses one of the 12 Jyotirlings dedicated to Lord Shiva, it was announced on Tuesday.

The towering structure dedicated to the 8th century philosopher, an influential and revered figure in Hinduism, has been named "Ekatmata Ki Pratima" (statue of oneness).

Work was underway to develop Omkareshwar, located about 80km from Indore on the Narmada river banks, as a global centre of the Advaita Vedanta philosophy promoted by Adi Shankaracharya, an official release said.

The construction of the statue on the Mandhata mountain in the temple town is part of the first phase of the development project, it said.

The multi-metal 108 feet high statue depicts Adi Shankaracharya as a 12-year-old boy and it will be unveiled by Chouhan, said the release.

The statue is being unveiled just months ahead of the year-end assembly elections in the state.

Born in present-day Kerala, Adi Shankaracharya is believed to have reached Omkareshwar after becoming a 'sanyasi' (monk) at a very young age, where he met his guru Govind Bhagwadpad and stayed in the religious city for four years and attained education.

According to religious beliefs, he left Omkareshwar at the age of 12 and travelled across the country spreading the Advaita Vedanta philosophy and explaining its tenets to people.

The release said along with the establishment of a museum named ''Advaita Lok'' in Omkareshwar and an international Vedanta institute, an ''Advaita Forest'' is also being developed across 36 hectares in the town.

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