Vadodara: The 111 feet tall statue of Lord Shiva in the center of Sursagar lake in Vadodara city has been gilded at a cost of 12 crore rupees. The statue was inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Mahashivratri. 17.5 kg of gold was used to gild the statue of Shivaji. With the inspiration of Savaliwala Swamiji, it was decided to take out the pilgrimage of the entire Shiv family to Shivnagari Vadodara, like the Shivji ki Waraya, which starts only in Ujjain in the country. Since 2013, Shivji ki ride is being conducted and in this Shivji ki ride, the people of Vadodara city participate enthusiastically.
In 2017, a resolution was taken to gild the 111 feet tall statue of Sarveshwar Mahadev. Many donors from Vadodara city-district, country and abroad expressed their desire to contribute generously. Coincidentally, on August 5, 2020, on one hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi started the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and on the other hand, the work of gilding the statue of Lord Mahadev in Shivanagari Vadodara started. Dr. settled in America to gild the statue of Shivaji. Kiran Patel and many donors from home and abroad have generously donated to meet the estimated cost of Rs 12 crores for plating 17.5 kg of gold on the 111 feet tall Sarveshwar Mahadev statue.
In the afternoon of Mahashivratri, according to tradition, the Shiv Parivar, seated on Mahakaya Nandi, set out for a city yatra from the temple of Ranmukteswar Mahadev located in Pratapnagar, and as per the tradition of years, Shivji ki Swariya wadi, Chokhandi, Mandvi, Nyayamandir, Market, Dandiabazar reached Sursagar, where Maha Aarti was performed. In which thousands of prospective devotees joined. The gold plated statue was unveiled by the chief guests present and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
The 111 feet statue of Lord Mahadev seated in the middle of the Sursagar Lake, the platform and the structure of the pillars are designed on the ‘Ashtasiddhi Yantra’ technique. From the statue and its plinth to the entire structure, Numerology, Astrology, Planetology, Colorology, Vibrations and Rashi-Kundali have been used. The gilding of the statue was done by artisan Rajendra Nayak and his team, originally from Odisha. Rajendra Nayak and his team have done the work of gold coating in around 50 religious places of the country including Ambaji, Sherdi Saibaba Mandir.
