Delhi: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is on a four-day visit to India, on Sunday arrived in Varanasi and offered prayer at the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple.
He offered his prayer and participated in sanctum sanctorum 'puja' of the temple. The Sri Lankan Prime Minister then visited the Kaal Bhairav temple.
After a brief halt at the hotel, he reached Sarnath and paid his obeisance at the Dhamekh Stupa, the sermon site of Tathagata. Thereafter, he worshipped Lord Buddha at the Buddhist temple at Moolgandh Kuti Vihar and took blessings from the Buddhist monks.
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"Sri Lankan Prime Minister loved the fact that everything related to Buddha has been preserved so beautifully in India," a Buddhist monk said.
Mahinda Rajapaksa also visited the Sarnath Archeological Museum where he was intrigued by the beauty of India.
On Monday, Rajapaksa will visit Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya Centre and later in the day, he would emplane for Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. He would offer his prayers at the ancient hill temple of Lord Venkateswara nearby Tirumala on Tuesday.
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The Sri Lankan PM is on a state visit to India from 8 – 11 Feb 2020 on the invitation of PM Narendra Modi. Rajapaksa is on his first overseas tour and chose India as his first destination after he was appointed the Prime Minister of his country in November last year.
