Laxmikant Dixit, the chief priest who had performed the consecration of the Ram mandir in Ayodhya, passed away on Saturday in Varanasi.
Acharya Satyendra Das Ji Maharaj, the Chief Priest of Ram Mandir, expressed his condolences and said, “The passing away of Laxmikant Dixit is very painful. He was a great scholar who led the Pran Pratishtha of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya. And now, such a great scholar is no longer among us. He was very humble and he was a person with simple thoughts.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the death of Acharya Laxmikant Dixit.
In a post on X, he said, “I received the sad news of the demise of the country’s eminent scholar and Yajurveda teacher of Sangveda Vidyalaya, Laxmikant Dixit ji. Dixit ji was a renowned man of the scholarly tradition of Kashi. I got his company on the inauguration day of Kashi Vishwanath Dham and Ram Mandir. His demise is an irreparable loss for society.”
देश के मूर्धन्य विद्वान और साङ्गवेद विद्यालय के यजुर्वेदाध्यापक लक्ष्मीकान्त दीक्षित जी के निधन का दुःखद समाचार मिला। दीक्षित जी काशी की विद्वत् परंपरा के यशपुरुष थे। काशी विश्वनाथ धाम और राम मंदिर के लोकार्पण पर्व पर मुझे उनका सान्निध्य मिला। उनका निधन समाज के लिए अपूरणीय क्षति…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 22, 2024
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth also took to his official X handle and expressed his condolences. He said, “The demise of Vedmurti, Acharya Shri Laxmikant Dixit, the great scholar of Kashi and the chief priest of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Pran Pratishtha, is an irreparable loss to the world of spirituality and literature.”
He added further, “He will always be remembered for his service to Sanskrit language and Indian culture. It is a prayer to Bhagwan Shri Ram to grant the departed saint a place at his feet and his disciples and followers the strength to bear this sorrow.”
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) media in-charge Sharad Sharma called the demise of Pandit Laxmikant Dixit a national loss and said, “Pandit Laxmikant Dixit, who performed the consecration of Ram Lalla was soft-spoken and the demise of such a great sage who enlivened religious, social and Vedic traditions is sad and shocking. He died in Varanasi.”
The ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony of Bhagwan Ram was held on January 22, with the main rituals performed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The idol of Ram Lalla was unveiled after the rituals.
(With inputs from ANI)
