Statue of equality: All you need to know about Saint Ramanujacharya's structure
New Delhi : The grand 216-feet tall 'statue of unity' will be unveiled on February 5, 2022. The giant statue of 11th-century Saint Sri Ramanujacharya has been made of pancha-loha. The grand statue has been made near the Hyderabad international airport at Shamshabad.
Who was saint Ramanujachayra?
Saint Ramanujacharya was born in 1017 in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu; he is best known for his actions to revive Bhakti movement. As per noted history, the saint loved for 120 years; in his life time, the saint travelled all across the nation to promote equality and social justice.
It is a belief among his followers that the saint was among the firsts who stood up and fought against social, cultural, gender, educational and economic discrimination. In his teachings, he promoted equality regardless of nationality, gender, race, caste and creed.
Credit to his work and efforts in shaping up the society, he is considered as a timeless icon of equality. Saint Ramanujacharya made his attempts in making education accessible for all; he also came up with the concept of 'Vasudhaiva kutumbakam', which means that the universe is a one big family.
Among his great teachings is to protect the air, water and soil.
All you need to know about the statue of equality
The iconic statue has been made by using five metals (panchaloha) – gold, silver, brass, copper and zinc. The 216-feet height makes it the second tallest statue in the world in sitting posture; on the first position is lord Buddha's statue in Thailand that is 301-feet tall.
To make people more aware about the statue, a digital library has been created at the base of the statue. In the library, the great work done by saint Ramanujacharya will be featured.
The statue has been built in Muchintal (Telangana), near the Hyderabad airport. The foundation stone for the statue was laid back in 2014.
The total cost of making the statue and its surroundings is estimated at Rs 1000 crores; the entire amount of it has been collected via donations.
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