President Kovind offers prayers at gurdwara, temple before leaving Patna

PATNA: President Ram Nath Kovind, First Lady Savita Kovind and their daughter visited Takhat Sri Harimandir Ji Patna Sahib in Patna City on Friday morning and paid tributes to Guru Gobind Singh. The President, whose three-day Patna stay ended on Friday, also visited Mahavir Mandir, Buddha Smriti Park and Khadi Mall in the city along with his family members.
Wearing traditional head scarves, the President paid obeisance to the last Sikh Guru at Darbar Hall (the Royal Court) at Takhat Sri Harimandir Ji Patna Sahib amid the chanting of mantras.He was received by Awatar Singh Hit, president of Takhat Sri Harmandir Ji Prabandhak Committee and four other office-bearers. After “parikrama”, the President saw the artefacts and ‘shastra’ of Guru Gobind Singh.
A gold-plated memento with a picture of Guru Gobind Singh, shawl and ‘kirpan’ were presented to Kovind who interacted with the officials at the gurdwara. He also ate “kada” prasad before his departure at 8.50am.
At Mahavir Temple near Patna Junction, the President and his family members offered prayers and “naivedyam laddoo” as prasad to Lord Hanuman and spent around 17 minutes there. During the period, public darshan was restricted at the temple.
They were received by secretary of Mahavir Mandir Trust Acharya Kishore Kunal and temple’s trustee Shweta Maharathi. Kovind was seen briefing his wife about the importance of the temple. Kunal said the First Lady expressed her desire to offer prayer to Lord Hanuman before ‘aarti’. “As there was no ‘karam kandi (ritualistic priests)’ inside the temple, I conducted the prayer for the first time,” Kunal added.
Kunal said the President also enquired about the other institutions and the development of Viraat Ramayan Mandir, which is being built at Kesariya in West Champaran.
The representatives of Mahavir temple presented a shawl and a gold-made replica of Viraat Ramayan Mandir to the President.
Later, Kovind visited Dhamam meditation hall at Buddha Smriti Park, where he did ‘Vipasana’ for 10 minutes with his family members. He also visited the Karuna Stupa and offered prayers.
The President also visited Khadi Mall near Gandhi Maidan where he bought cloth for himself. His wife and daughter bought saris. They paid homage to Bapu’s statue and tried their hand at the eight-spindle charkha at the mall.
State industries minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said the President’s visit to the mall would boost the morale of the weavers across the state.
The President left for New Delhi by a special flight around 11.45am.