The entire country is in awe of the magnificent statue of Adi Shankaracharya that was unveiled by PM Modi during his visit to the holy shrine of Kedarnath on Friday. As pictures of the 12 feet statue started doing the rounds on the internet, the conversation inevitably drifted towards the identity of the person who had sculpted the beautiful idol.
It was Arun Yogiraj, an artist from Mysuru, who is to be credited for the splendid idol of Adi Shankaracharya installed in Kedarnath. He spent nine months of relentless work to build the statue and bring it into its current form.
The ‘Birth’ of the majestic #AdiShankaracharya that was unveiled by our Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji today at Kedarnath is a tale of five generations of sculpting sadhana that @yogiraj_arun from Mysuru inherits.
— D K Aruna (@aruna_dk) November 5, 2021
Read more about it here: https://t.co/O5PJRWN1S1@SwarajyaMag
“It was my privilege to sculpt the statue of Adi Shankaracharya at Kedarnath. The process started in August 2020 and I was selected to make a sculpture by JSW. Before that, I made a model of two feet,” Yogiraj was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
This is the model (2 feet) sculptor Arun yogiraj sent to @PMOIndia & got approval from PM @narendramodi . pic.twitter.com/SRA4VyDG0v
— Ashwini M Sripad/ಅಶ್ವಿನಿ ಎಂ ಶ್ರೀಪಾದ್🇮🇳 (@AshwiniMS_TNIE) November 5, 2021
“It was presented in front of the prime minister in September 2020. There were four-five models brought from all over India. Among those, my model was selected and I got a call to make a 12 feet statue of Adi Shankaracharya,” he added.
Yogiraj thought it was a huge responsibility entrusted upon him, as Prime Minister Modi was himself involved with every single aspect of the making and was constantly updated about the progress of the same.
Blessed sculptor @yogiraj_arun who has chiseled the imposing yet graceful image of Jagatguru #AdiShankaracharya. Such are the ‘unknown’ experts who can offer so much of what is ‘true’ India. Namaskaram 🙏🏽 https://t.co/KJFPVH2bhX
— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) November 5, 2021
After being chosen to sculpt the statue of Adi Shankaracharya, Yogiraj set about studying statues across the expanse of south India to get a better understanding of the crucial facets and measurements that would help him to make informed judgement about an imposing statue of a key spiritual icon of the nation.
The sculptor revealed that the process started in September 2020 and a team of seven worked continuously for nine months, 14-15 hours a day to create the idol. More than 80 tons of raw material was purchased for sculpting the statue which weighs around 28 tons.
It was a privilege for me to sculpt the statue of Adi Shankaracharya at Kedarnath. I am very happy that PM Modi dedicated the statue to the people of India. We worked for 14-15 hours everyday for 9 months to execute this sculpture: Arun Yogiraj, sculptor from Karnataka’s Mysuru pic.twitter.com/elIHu0SkQa
— ANI (@ANI) November 5, 2021
The idol was carved out of a single rock called ‘Krishna shile’ or the black chlorite schist, which has the strength to withstand all vagaries of the weather.
Yogiraj said that the sculptors concentrated on a 360 degrees view of the statue and gave importance to structure, posture, gesture, realistic part, traditional aspects, the divinity in the face among the rest of the things.
Meet Arun Yogiraj, artist who sculpted #AdiShankaracharya ‘s 12 feet statue set up in Kedarnath
— Neetu Garg (@NeetuGarg6) November 5, 2021
He concentrated on a 360 degrees view of the statue & gave importance to structure, posture, gesture, realistic part, traditional aspects, the divinity in the face with other things. pic.twitter.com/zsskTX70u9
Besides, Yogiraj also sought suggestions from the Shringeri Mutt, the Shankara Mutt in Mysuru and other religious sources. Although, he was given specifications for the statue by the PMO office, he was granted enough liberty to make the changes as per his research findings.
Apart from building the magnificent idol of Adi Shankaracharya installed at Kedarnath, Arun’s other work include the famous 14.5-feet white marble stone sculpture of the Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar in Mysuru. So was the life-size White marble sculpture of Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, and various statues at the railway station.
On the occasion of Engineer’s day this year, Mr Arun Yogiraj, also known as Arun Shilpi, created a monolithic stone statue of Sir M V for the Mangalore PWD office.
5.5 ft garuda monolithic stone idol #artist #art #Sculptures #sculptor #traditionalart pic.twitter.com/n6gFYLr5Ta
— Arun Yogiraj (@yogiraj_arun) November 1, 2021
In addition to these, Arun Shilpi has also built an idol of Lord Venkateshwara.
Lord Venkateshwara stone idol #traditional #traditionalart #STONER #India pic.twitter.com/7AmAuanLUk
— Arun Yogiraj (@yogiraj_arun) September 8, 2021
The sculptor is also known for the creation of an imposing statue of Lord Hanuman. A video of his spectacular creation was shared by him on his Twitter account.
One of my Hanuman monolithic stone sculpture work ….. #hanumaji #hanumanchalisa #traditionalart #traditional #idols pic.twitter.com/4lCxfkhrXt
— Arun Yogiraj (@yogiraj_arun) August 28, 2021
Arun Yogiraj, the fifth-generation sculptor
Yogiraj belongs to an illustrious family of sculptors. His father Yogiraj Shilpi, was one among the eight children of B Basavanna Shilpi, a Mysuru palace artist who was appointed to work on the Gayatri Temple, the Bhuvaneshwari Temple and similar other tasks. The idol of Kaveri on the Krishna Raja Sagar Dam was also built by his grandfather.
The revered Shilpa Sri Siddhalinga Swami, a sculptor to the royal family of Mysuru, was the teacher of Basavanna Shilpi. Swami is credited for designing the domes of the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru. Shilpi joined Swami’s gurukul in 1931 and trained for the next 25 years under his guidance.
Speaking about his father, Arun recalls, “He came out of the mutt in 1953 and started independently working on the Gayatri temple as HH Jayachamarajendra gave him an opportunity. Being thankful to the opportunity given to him by PM Modi, Arun says it is a tribute to the legacy he inherits.
The fulfilment of his grandfather’s prophecy and the embracement of the family legacy of sculpting
Although Yogiraj belongs to a family of illustrious sculptors, he did not particularly take interest in the family profession until more than a decade ago. He had completed his MBA and was employed with a private firm till 2008 when his inner calling led him to resign from his job and embrace his family legacy.
Yogiraj says his grandfather’s prophecy turned out to be true as he took up the tools and immersed himself in carving statues. “When I was a toddler, my grandfather prophesised that I would be the one who would pick up the tools and carry the family legacy forward. After 37 years, it is finally coming true.”
Yogiraj’s happiness would have known no bounds had his father been alive today. He passed away two weeks ago and till then he had been telling his son about the making of the Adi Shankaracharya statue, ‘Your voice should reach the rock, then only a good idol can be made.’
