Lok Sabha Elections: PM Modi to Spend Pre-Result Break Meditating at Kanyakumari's Vivekananda Rock Memorial

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the famous Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari district on May 30 for a brief spiritual sojourn following the end of campaigning for Lok Sabha elections 2024. The PM will meditate at the Dhyan Mandapam from May 30 to June 1.

PM Modi is expected to arrive at the picturesque VRM situated close to the monolithic statue of Tamil saint Tiruvalluvar mid-sea off the coast of Kanyakumari on Thursday evening and may leave for Delhi on June 1, a senior BJP leader said.

Kanyakumari is said to be the location where Swami Vivekananda had a vision of Bharat Mata. The Vivekananda Rock Memorial is located on a rock in the sea, about 500 metres from the mainland. People believe that like Sarnath holds a special place in the life of Gautam Buddha, this rock also holds a similar place in the life of Swami Vivekanand. It was here that he is believed to have arrived after wandering across the country, mediated for three days and attained a vision for a developed India.

Kanyakumari marks the southernmost tip of India and this is the place where India’s eastern and western coastlines meet. It is also the meeting point of the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.

The rock on which the memorial is built is said to be where Vivekananda attained enlightenment. The legend also says that it was on this rock that Goddess Kanyakumari prayed to lord Shiva, thus attaining an important place in India’s religious map.

There is a specially preserved portion in the rock which is believed to be the imprint of the goddess’s feet. The memorial showcases an elegant blend of different architectural genres. The Sripada Mandapam and Vivekananda Mandapam are two structures to be explored in the memorial. There is also a life-sized bronze statue of Swami Vivekananda in the premises.

The rock is surrounded by the Laccadive sea where the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea form a confluence.

PM Modi is known to undertake spiritual journeys at the end of election campaigns. At the end of campaigning in 2019, he had visited Kedarnath and was in Shivaji’s Pratapgarh in 2014.

Campaigning for the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha elections will end on May 30 and the voting will take place on June 1. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.

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