President Murmu Performs Prayers At Baba Baidyanath Temple On 1st Day Of Jharkhand Visit

The president performed special prayers of the 12 'jyotirlingas'. She was assisted by a team of priests to perform the prayers at the Baba Baidyanath temple.

President Droupadi Murmu, who embarked on a three-day visit to Jharkhand on Wednesday, paid her respects at the Baba Baidyanath temple in Deoghar district of the state. At the temple, she performed special prayers of the 12 'jyotirlingas'. President Murmu was assisted by a team of priests to perform the prayers which were conducted amid tight security in the temple complex, reported PTI. The President performed a special puja in the temple amid the chanting of Vedic mantras by the priests, one of the priests said. 

"President reached the Baba Mandir and offered prayers and prayed to Baba Baidyanath for the happiness and prosperity of the country. The worship of Baba Baidyanath was done by the President through 'Shodshopachar' method," an official was quoted as saying by PTI, adding that Murmu was felicitated by the Temple Shrine Board.

Murmu is the fourth President after Dr Rajendra Prasad, Pranab Mukherjee and Ram Nath Kovind to have offered prayers at Baba Baidyanath temple while holding the highest constitutional post.

Earlier, the president was received by Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan at the Deoghar airport besides Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, MP Nishikant Dubey and others. This is her second visit to the state since assuming the office. Murmu was the governor of Jharkhand from 2015 to 2021.

During this visit, the president will inaugurate the new complex of Jharkhand High Court. The High Court campus has been built on an area of 165 acres of land at a cost of Rs 550 crore. It is considered one of the largest in the country in terms of area. The president is scheduled to inaugurate the new building of the Jharkhand High Court in Dhurwa at 5 pm.

She will also attend the second convocation of IIT Ranchi and participate in a programme in Khunti.

“On May 25, 2023, the President will grace a Women Conference organised by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs at Khunti," a statement from the President's Secretariat said. She will attend a civic reception to be hosted in her honour by the Government of Jharkhand at Raj Bhavan, Ranchi, the statement said.

On Wednesday, Murmu arrived in Ranchi from Deoghar at the Birsa Munda airport where she was greeted by Governor Radhakrishnan and Chief Minister Hemant Soren. From here, she headed to Birsa Chowk to garland the statue of Birsa Munda and then proceeded to Albert Ekka Chowk.