Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 9 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has unveiled grand statues of three eminent South Indian musical saints, including Tyagaraja Swami, Purandara Dasa, and Arunachala Kavi in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was also present on the occasion for a historic ceremony at Ayodhya's Brihaspati Kund.

Addressing the gathering, the Finance Minister emphasised that devotion to Lord Ram in South India is not just a matter of faith, but a way of life. She praised CM Yogi's detailed introduction to the saints and noted that Carnatic music, performed in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Sanskrit, historically symbolised unity without linguistic barriers.

Highlighting Tyagaraja Swami's life of devotion, Sitharaman said he refused to sing for kings, dedicating every song solely to Shri Ram. She recalled that his composition Seetha Kalyanam is sung at weddings across South India, including her daughter's wedding.

She added that in Kerala, during the month of Ashadha, homes light lamps and recite the Valmiki Ramayana, reflecting the intangible tradition of devotion as the soul of the nation.

Sitharaman also lauded Arunachala Kavi, whose Tamil epic Ramanatakam deeply reveres Mother Sita, quoting his lines, 'Look at Mother Sita with a hundred thousand eyes, no one is more beautiful than her.'

She further noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited South Indian temples associated with Lord Ram, including Srirangam, before the Ram Janmabhoomi temple inauguration, and shared that Arunachala Kavi himself received divine inspiration in a dream to present Ramanatakam in Srirangam.

The event highlighted the pan-Indian devotion to Shri Ram, reinforcing cultural unity through music, literature, and faith.

Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned that not only male saints but also a woman from the potter community composed Molla Ramayanam in Telugu, setting an example of devotion.

'In Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam, the glory of Shri Ram has been sung; this is the soul of India,' she said.

Concluding her address, Sitharaman said that this day is sacred, and the installation of statues of saints who remembered Ram in each breath in Ayodhya could happen only with Shri Ram's will.

She described the event as a wonderful example of unity between North and South India through devotion. Thanking the Uttar Pradesh government and CM Yogi, she said, 'We did not feel we were in North India; it felt as if we were celebrating in our own home.' (ANI)