VIVEKANANDA ROCK MEMORIAL

VIVEKANANDA ROCK MEMORIAL

Swami Vivekananda 

has said that even after he laid down his body, he would continue to work and inspire generations to come to carry on his unfinished work.

We see it still happing

 Swamiji doesit in innumerable ways. 

The magnificent Vivekananda Rock Memorial at Kanyakumari is one such undying source of inspiration.

The Vivekananda Memorial, as it stands today, is a memorial to Swamiji as to Shri Ekanthji Ranade whose devotion to the work he had undertaken was inspired not by mere faith but by intellectual conviction.

At Kanyakumari - a unique symbol of unity and purity - is the Memorial of Swami Vivekananda, another symbol of the united aspiration of Nation. In the Memorial, there is a happy and harmonious blend of all the architectural beauty of the country.

 It is a symbol of unity because the whole nation wished, worked and contributed for it. Person from all states participated in its inauguration. 

It is also a Memorial, conceived and laboured for mainly by RSS swayamsevaks, blessed by Ramakrishna Mission, designed by Paramacharya of Kachi Kamakoti Peetham, and for which Swami Chinmayananda of Chinmay Mission gave the first donation.All the spiritual,culture and national organisations supported it.It is also a Memorial for which all State Governments and Central Government contributed.

Thus, the memorial became a focal point just as Kanyakumari is a meeting point for three seas.

Inaugurating the Rock Memorial on September 2, 1970, the President of India Shri V.V. Giri called upon fellow Indians to rise to the call of the nation.

Eknathji described beautifully uniqueness of Kanayakumari in his one speech in 1966.He gave the series of inspiring speeches on Vivekananda Rock Memorial to the first batch of Workers of Vivekananda Kendra which helped to clear idea behind VRM (Vivekananda Rock Memorial) and VK (Vivekananda Kendra).

Those series of speeches also available in different Indian languages

Thiruvalluvar Statue

Greatness of Thirukkural :

Thirukkural is a precious gem among the classics, unique in the deliverance of code of conduct to the mankind to follow for all time to come.

 It enshrines in it 1330 couplets under 133 chapters, each chapter comprising 10 verses. The chapters again fall under three major divisions. Virtue, Wealth and Love. This treatise encompasses the whole gamut of human life and by Thiruvalluvar, its illustrious author illuminates every bit of it! This classical work written in Tamil, has been translated in over 60 languages of the world.

The Government of Tamil nadu had a vision (for beyond) the Horizon. Yes to rise a statue for Thiruvalluvar in Kanyakumari, the southern tip of the mainland at the confluence of the three seas befitting the stature of this Saint-poet. The statue that was dedicated at the dawn of the new millennium, stands out as a beacon of light to guide human life for ever

Measures adopted for the statue of Thiruvalluvar :
The statue with 95' and the pedestial supporting it with 

38ft, the structure is thus a standing mammoth commanding a total height of 133 feet. An artistic peripheral wall around the statue, thereby forms a captivating mandap.

The measures what they stands for? :

The pedestal represents the 38 chapters on 'Virtue' and the 95' statue standing on the pedestal represents 'Wealth' and 'Pleasure' signifying that Wealth and Love be earned and enjoyed on the foundation of Virtue solid.

The rocks for the sculpture came from :

Sirudhamoor,Pattumalaikuppam Hills and Ambhasamudram Hills.

Statistical details of the statue :

Height of the statue	95 feet
Height of the pedestial	38 feet
Statue along with the pedestial	133 feet
Height of the face	10 feet
Height of the body part	30 feet
Height of the thigh part	30 feet
Height of the leg part	20 feet
Fore arm	10 feet
Length of the manuscript	10 feet
Width of the shoulder	30 feet
Length of the hairdo	5feet
Peripheral wall including the statue & mandap	60 * 50feet
10 Elephants, each as tall as	5' 6 inches
Weight of the pedestial, statue and the wal	7000 tones
Sculptures and other worksmen	500
Cheif Scultptor : Thiru V.Ganapathi sthapathi