On 5th September, the Salangpur Temple controversy ended after the temple administration removed the Lord Hanuman murals in the wee hours. Notably, on 4th September, the saints of the Swaminarayan sect and other saints of Hinduism met at Ahmedabad and decided to remove the disputed murals before sunrise on 5th September. The meeting was organized by Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).
Shri Kashtbhanjan Temple where the controversy erupted is located at Sarangpur in Botad district of Gujarat. The temple is one of the most prominent temples of Swaminarayan sect. The disputed murals were installed as part of the renovation and beautification of the temple premises. A 54-feet idol of Lord Hanuman was installed and murals were placed around it.
ભારે વિવાદ બાદ સાળંગપુરમાં સૂર્યોદય પહેલા જ વિવાદીત ભીંતચિત્રો કરાયા દૂર#botad #kashtbhanjandev #salangpurhanumanji #hanumanji #ZEE24kalak #Gujarat #BreakingNews #News #SalangpurTempleControversy pic.twitter.com/kon8qYyZA2
— Zee 24 Kalak (@Zee24Kalak) September 5, 2023
The process to remove the murals started late at night on 4th September. The lights were shut off in the temple premises, and curtains were erected around the murals amid tight police security. New murals were added to replace the disputed ones.
સાળંગપુર મંદિર વિવાદનો અંત: આજે વહેલી સવારે ભીંતચિત્રો હટાવાયા, મંદિર પરિસરમાં ચુસ્ત પોલીસ બંદોબસ્ત ગોઠવાયો #gujaratnews #botadnews #salangpur #salangpurdham #SalangpurHanuman #salangpurhanumanji #salangpur_temple #salangpurdham_hanumanji #salangpurvivad #salangpurcontroversy… pic.twitter.com/5cOXQI6VwN
— VTV Gujarati News and Beyond (@VtvGujarati) September 5, 2023
Saints announced the removal of disputed murals on 4th September
On 4th September, the Salangpur Temple administration announced that they would remove the disputed mural of Lord Hanuman by the 5th of September morning. The decision was taken during a meeting of saints where Vadtal Swaminarayan Sanstha assured that the murals would be removed. An official statement on the matter was released following the meeting.
આવતીકાલના સૂર્યોદય પહેલા સાળંગપુર મંદિરમાંથી હટાવી લેવાશે વિવાદિત ભીંતચિત્રો #Gujarat #BreakingNews #Live #SalangpurHanuman pic.twitter.com/DQXX0xpumq
— Zee 24 Kalak (@Zee24Kalak) September 4, 2023
As per reports, the meeting was organised by Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). The saints and Vadtal Temple saints met at Shivanand Ashram to discuss the matter. In the two-hour meeting, they decided to remove all the disputed murals by the morning of 5th September.
#Gujarat #sarangpurhanumanji ના વિવાદિત ભીંત ચિત્રો આવતી કાલે સૂર્યોદય પહેલા હટાવશે.#shivanandashram ના સંતો ની બેઠક માં થયો ઠરાવ. pic.twitter.com/hQAbjA3N4M
— kinjal mishra (@kinjalmishra211) September 4, 2023
Furthermore, VHP said they would meet different sects of Swaminarayan Sampraday and saints and acharyas of the Hindu religion to solve other controversies to ensure Hindus function as one community.
Saints and Hindu leaders met at Gandhinagar in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi. They came to a resolution to solve the controversy as soon as possible.
Salangpur Temple mural controversy
On 2nd September, it was reported that a controversy erupted in Gujarat over the murals depicting Lord Hanuman in Salangpur, where the Hindu deity is portrayed as a servant of Sahajanand Swami. There was a lot of opposition to this on social media, so saints of Sanatan dharma came ahead to protest this display of God as a servant of a Saint. Many Hindu saints and mahants publicly expressed their anger, including Morari Bapu, famous saint Harshad Bharti Bapu, and Mahant Manidhar Bapu of Kabrau Mughal Dham in Kutch.
The Swaminarayan sect, which is divided into various factions, venerates Sahajanand Swami (1781-1830) as Lord Swaminarayan, around whom the sect coalesced. The Hanuman temple in Salangpur, under the management of the Vadtal Gadi faction, erected an impressive 54-foot-tall statue of Hanumanji Maharaj. On the base of the statue, numerous murals were created. However, in the murals, Hanumanji has been depicted as a devoted disciple of Sahajananda Swami.
In these murals, Hanumanji is portrayed standing before Sahajananda Swami, displaying deep reverence with folded hands in a salutation pose. Another mural depicts Hanumanji seated in an asana, once again with hands folded in a gesture of profound respect. Controversy ensued when images of these murals began to circulate widely.
