Botad: The statue of Hanumanji offering fruits to Nilkanthvarni (AD 1781 to 1830), which was installed in Kundal Swaminarayan Mandir in the Barvala taluka, has been removed. The statue had sparked controversy, along with the controversial murals at the Salangpur temple, among the devotees of Hanumanji.

The statue, which has now been removed, was originally placed in the garden near a river bridge, beside the parking area in the Kundal Swaminarayan Mandir, where Hanumanji was depicted offering fruits to Nilkanth Varni. Kundal Dham Swaminarayan Mandir is operated by Swaminarayan Mandir Karelibag in Vadodara.

The ancient Hindu god Hanuman Ji was shown offering fruits to Nilkanthvarni, also known as Sahajanand Swami, who lived over 200 years ago.

Initially, the Hanuman statue was seated in the sand, with his Gada (mace) placed alongside Sahajanand Swami. However, following the controversy, Hanumanji’s statue was relocated to a stone pedestal, and the Gada  was placed with it. However in a latest the statue of Hanuman has been completely removed.

This removal comes in the wake of the controversial murals being taken down from the Salangpur temple after a successful meeting between Swaminarayan and non-Swaminarayan saints held at Shivanand ashram in Ahmedabad in the presence of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders. DeshGujarat