World’s tallest Lord Shiva statue thrown open to tourists in Rajasthan

Rajasthan added another tourist attraction to its long list of sites as the world’s tallest Shiva statue – 369-foot-tall – was inaugurated in Nathdwara, Udaipur during the weekend.

It was inaugurated by Morari Bapu, a spiritual leader in presence of the State Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot and the Speaker, C.P. Joshi. To celebrate the occasion, a series of nine-day religious, spiritual and cultural events was also launched.

The statue was completed in 10 years and 3,000 tonnes of steel and iron, 2.5 cubic tonnes of concrete and sand were used in its construction.

Keeping in mind the speed of wind at that altitude, the design of the statue was subjected to wind tunnel testing in Australia. It can withstand wind speed of 250 kilometres an hour. To protect it from rain and sunlight it is coated with zinc and painted with copper.

For the convenience of tourists and devotees the statue has a lift, staircase, and hall. There are four lifts and three stairs which can be used by visitors to reach the top. A fully equipped water tank has been installed with firefighting equipment to ensure safety of Lord Shiva’s statue and the visitors.

The statue erected by Tat Padam Sansthan is situated in Ganesh Tekri which is 45 kilometres from Udaipur.

What makes the Lord Shiva statue special is that it can be easily spotted even from a distance of 20 km and at night when it is lit the scene is picturesque.

Earlier the 143 feet tall Kailashnath Mahadev statue in Nepal was the world’s tallest statue. Apart from this statue in Udaipur there are two more tall statues of Lord Shiva in India. One located in Karnataka’s Murudeshwar Temple is 123 feet tall while the other one is Adiyogi Shiva statue in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore which is 112 feet tall.