Maha Kumbh 2025: Prayagraj's Kotwal returns after 700 years to oversee spiritual event
No previous administration had envisioned giving this nearly 700-year-old temple such a majestic makeover. For the first time, CM Yogi took the initiative, and the results are now visible, with the temple undergoing a historic beautification.
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FollowChief Minister Yogi Adityanath has deployed a team of his top officers in Prayagraj to oversee preparations for the Maha Kumbh 2025. Following CM Yogi's vision, these officers have been working tirelessly to make the event truly historic.Â
Special attention is being given to enhancing the beauty of the banks of Sangam and renovating the iconic Bada Hanuman Temple, regarded as the 'Kotwal' (spiritual guardian) of Prayagraj. Â
No previous administration had envisioned giving this nearly 700-year-old temple such a majestic makeover. For the first time, CM Yogi took the initiative, and the results are now visible, with the temple undergoing a historic beautification.
Alongside the temple's beautification, the corridor construction is progressing rapidly. CM Yogi recently visited the site to review the work firsthand. Since his visit, the number of devotees has surged in anticipation of the upcoming Maha Kumbh.
Ahead of Maha Kumbh 2025, the Yogi government is transforming Prayagraj and its sacred sites. Under the directives of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, administrative teams are working around the clock to ensure the event is divine, grand, and unprecedented. As part of the transformation, the temple's sanctum sanctorum will be expanded.Â
New facilities, including Parikrama Path, shops, parking areas, entrance gates, night shelters, and havan kunds, are being constructed. For the first time, after the Sangam bath, the Bada Hanuman Temple will captivate the attention of devotees and visitors extraordinarily.
The beautification of the Lete Hue Hanuman Temple, revered as the spiritual guardian of Prayagraj, is progressing nonstop, with work continuing 24 hours a day. This unique south-facing statue of Hanumanji is 20 feet long, with an estimated 6 to 7 feet of it below ground level.Â
The deity is also known by various names, including Bade Hanumanji, Qila Wale Hanumanji, Lete Hanumanji, and Bandh Wale Hanumanji. The statue depicts Hanuman pressing Ahiravan under his right foot, holding Ram and Laxman in his right hand, and a mace in his left.
According to mythology, the origins of the Lete Hanumanji Temple date back to when Hanuman, exhausted after leading the army to victory in Lanka, rested on the banks of the Sangam at the request of Mother Sita. This sacred legend inspired the construction of the temple, and it is said that the waters of the Ganges touched the statue before flowing away.
The Bade Hanuman Temple holds many historical and mythological beliefs in the pilgrimage city of Prayagraj, one of which states that in 1582, Emperor Akbar, aiming to suppress uprisings in Bengal, Awadh, Magadh, and eastern India, attempted to enclose the temple within his fort.Â
Despite deploying 100 soldiers to relocate the statue, they were unable to move it even an inch, leading Akbar to adjust the fort's wall to accommodate the temple's position.
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