18,000 recite ‘shlokas’ as Gita Mahotsav ends

KURUKSHETRA: During the closing ceremony of the International Gita Mahotsav (IGM) 18,000 schoolchildren together recited 18 Bhagavada Gita ‘shlokas’ at Theme Park in Kurukshetra on Tuesday.

Union minister Sushma Swaraj, Odisha governor Prof Ganeshi Lal, Yog guru Ramdev, Gita Manishi Gyananand, Sudhanshu, Swami Chidanand were among key personalities attending the event. They also recited the ‘shlokas’ to start the Global Gita Recitation event, along with an announcement and Shankhnaad (blowing of conch).

While addressing the gathering, Swaraj said, “For the welfare of the world every youth needs to be the messenger of Jiyo Gita and for achieving this they need to live in the Gita and must read and adopt in life at least two shlokas from the scripture every day. This is for the third time that 18,000 students together are reciting 18 ‘shlokas’ from its 18 chapters and they have made a new history by doing so. These students have given the message to the entire society to follow the path of karma, knowledge, and devotion. Not only this, 108 brahmins recited Gita Shloks at the holy place Jyotisar which is the origin place for this granth.”

Swaraj and the Gita Manishi Swami Gyananand also honoured a student from Panipat Harshvardhan Jain who has learned 700 Shloks of the Bhagavada Gita and who recites these Shloks without reading from the granth. He is also awarded Rs 20,000 cash reward from Baba Ramdev.