Pawan Kalyan during his temple tour.
Credit: X/ @Jana Sena Party
Hyderabad: Jana Sena chief and Andhra deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan, had embarked on the 'Sanatana Dharma Tour' in South India. He kicked off the tour on Wednesday in Kerala. His tour comes at a time when the BJP has been trying to position Pawan Kalyan as a Hindutva and Sanatana Dharma mascot in the south.
Pawan Kalyan's first stop was at Sri Agastya Maharshi Temple near Kochi and the Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram. From there, he will head to Tamil Nadu to visit the Madurai Meenakshi Temple, Sri Parashurama Swamy Temple, Agastya Jeeva Samadhi, Kumbeshwara Temple, Swamimalai and Thiruthani Subramanya Swamy Temple. His spiritual Sojourn is seen as a move to promote Sanatana Dharma and protect Hindu temples.
However, he said it's purely his personal visit to the temples in the southern states. Interestingly, Kalyan has been not seen much in public in the past few days citing ill health. He skipped the state cabinet meeting and a meeting chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu with ministers and state secretaries in the last week.
In October last year, declaring himself as an unapologetic Sanatani Hindu, Pawan Kalyan at a public meeting in the temple town of Tirupati released the 'Varahi Declaration,' demanding a Sanatana Dharma Parirakshana (Protection) law and a board at national and state levels to implement it to safeguard Sanatana Dharma.
He also made strong remarks about the judiciary, asserting that courts provide security to those who insult Sanatana Dharma. Pawan Kalyan at that time cited the example of Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin's previous remarks, which compared Sanatana Dharma to a virus and called for its eradication. He stated that courts nationwide react to insults to Islam, but they hesitate to respond to insults to Hindu gods.
At Sri Agastya Maharshi Temple in Chottanikkara, Kerala on Wednesday Kalyan was accompanied by his son Akira Nandan and TTD Board member Ananda Sai.
The deputy chief minister offered special prayers at the temple and enquired about Ayurvedic treatments and herbal medicines used at the Agastya ashram. He also asked about the significance of Kalarippayattu, a traditional martial art form, and the Shiva Linga that is present in the ashram.
The ashram's doctors also briefed Pawan Kalyan on the treatment methods mentioned in the Vedas by Agastya Maharshi. They explained the significance of Ayurveda in treating various health issues and its long-term benefits, said a Jana Sena source.
At Agatsya Ashram Pawan he also brought up his concerns over the recent adulteration issue with Tirumala's laddu prasadam. He emphasised the need to protect the sentiments of devotees and ensure such incidents Don't let it happen again in the future.
He also said that his visit to temples in the south is a personal pilgrimage and not related to politics at all.