JAMMU: Remarking that Dogra rulers were great patrons of religion, Dr Karan Singh on Wednesday said that the erstwhile rulers harnessed spiritualism in a big way, thus instilling a sense of patriotism among the people of J&K especially the ‘Duggar-land’.
The former Member Parliament, who is also the Chairman Trustee of J and K Dharmarth Trust, said this while interacting with media persons at the sidelines of his day-long tour of the old city wherein he visited famous Raghunathji and Natraj temple, besides the Shri Ranbir Sanskrit Research Institute (RSRI) Library.
“The centuries’ long Dogra rule, which was dominated by the temperament well marked with spiritualism, has succeeded in maintaining a sense of Indianness among the people of the erstwhile State of J&K especially the Duggarland which stretches from Lakhanpur to higher reaches of Pir Panjal area and Chenab Valley,” said Dr Singh, son of the last Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir.
Dr Singh said that the Dharmarth Trust has been entrusted to look after the temples and shrines in J&K for the last over 150 years and the organization has been working zealously to ensure that all the temples coming under its jurisdiction remain in best condition offering state of the art facilities to the devotees, who visit these religiously significant destinations from within and outside the UT besides from foreign lands to pay obeisance and seek blessings of Gods and Goddesses.
Earlier in the day, Dr Singh paid obeisance at the historical Shri Raghunathji Temple and prayed for the peace, prosperity and progress of J&K. He took a round of temple premises and also met with devotees. He also visited Natraj ji Temple, one of the temples in the vicinity of Shri Raghunath ji Temple Complex, and inaugurated pure Silver Jhaleri on Sphatik Shivling there. This, it may be mentioned, is the only Natraj temple in the North India and houses as rare Sphatik Shivling, brought by Dr Singh from Germany.
Dr Singh also visited the Shri Ranbir Sanskrit Research Institute (RSRI) Library situated in the Raghunath ji Temple complex. He took stock of the functioning of the library and stressed on giving due care to the Upanishads and other rare and valuable scriptures conserved in the library.
Terming the books present in the library as treasure, Dr Singh said that this is the part of rich heritage of not only J&K but that of the country. He directed that all the Upanishads and other rare and valuable scriptures available in the library should be digitized and converted into e-library which will be very helpful for the scholars and booklovers visiting the place.
Senior Advocate and President J&K Dharmarth Trust, Ajay Gandotra accompanied Dr Singh.
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