Tallest bronze statue in S Africa installed at BAPS temple complex...

Key Highlights

• Posing in a variation of the Yogic posture known as Vrikshasana, the statue rises at the entrance of the massive complex and is intended to be a highly visible public symbol of discipline, youthful idealism, and inner balance, BAPS said.
• “More than a religious installation, the Nilkanth Varni murti (sacred image) represents values of self-discipline, perseverance, clarity of purpose, and service to society,” BAPS media spokesperson Hemang Desai said.
• Cast primarily in copper and brass and weighing approximately 20 tonnes, the sacred image is uniquely poised on a single leg, described by local experts as an extraordinary feat of engineering.
• On Sunday evening, Swayamprakash Swami, one of the most senior monks in the BAPS Swaminarayan order, led the official handover ceremony to South Africa in the presence of South African Deputy Minister of Finance Ashor Sarupen, after which a 60-man Indo-African orchestra entertained the hundreds of guests who attended.
• Shri Nilkanth Varni represents the teenage pilgrimage of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, who at the age of 11 embarked on a seven-year journey covering over 12,000 kilometres across the Indian subcontinent.