Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the ‘Statue of Equality commemorating the 11th-century of Vaishnavaite Saint Sri Ramanujacharya in Hyderabad today (February 05). 

The statue is 216-feet tall and erected in the 40-acre land in the outskirts of Hyderabad. It is mounted on a 54-ft high base building named ‘Bhadra Vedi’ and has floors devoted to a digital library and research center, ancient Indian texts, a theatre, and an educational gallery detailing many works of Shri Ramanujacharya.

Moreover, the statue is made of ‘Panchaloha’ which is a combination of five metals - gold, silver, copper, brass, and zinc. The statue will be the tallest metallic statue in a sitting position in the world. The Statue of Equality will be built in the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Being less than half size of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s Statue of Unity, in the Statue of Equality, Shri Ramanujacharya sits on a huge Lotus, sitting upright with a graceful smile and joining his hands together keeping it near the chest. Ramanuja also has the ‘thiruthandam’ (the flag) placed across him with ‘sadari’ (known as god’s feet) below him.

Born in 1017, Ramanujacharya also known as Ilaiya Perumal was born to Kanthimathi and Asuri Kesava Somayaji in Sriperumbadur, Chennai.

He is known for his influential thinking towards devotional Hinduism. The great poet-saint Ramanuja was an eminent teacher and the founder of Vishishtadwaita. He is an expert in Vedic scriptures. A community of Vaishnavites has been following his path called Vedanta. Sri Ramanujacharya was also known for his social reforms. 

He became a disciple of Yadava Prakasa and studied Advaita Vedanta from him. However, Ramanujacharya was not convinced by his teachings and started correcting him in many instances. Yadava Prakasa thought of eliminating him. Ramanujacharya came to know of it and fled from the place.

He had a vision towards Lord Vishnu and his consort Shri and instituted a daily worship ritual for them. He later then moved to Kanchipuram. 

Shri Ramanujacharya wrote nine scriptures called Navaratnas and composed numerous commentaries on Vedic scriptures.

Now, why is this statue called the ‘Statue of Equality? Centuries ago, Ramanujacharya was known to advocate social equality among all sections of people. His greatest contribution is the propagation of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam which means all universe is one family. He traveled across the country and propagated about social equality, and known for his many other social reforms. 

This statue is built to commemorate the 11th century of great Vaishnavite saint Ramanujacharya for his work. He worked tirelessly for the upliftment of people with the spirit of every human being equal regardless of nationality, gender, race, caste, or creed. 

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