President Kovind plants sapling of Bodhi tree at Rashtrapati Bhavan

"President Kovind plants a sapling from the Holy Bodhi tree in the Rashtrapati Bhavan on the occasion of Asadha Poornima, which is observed as Dharma Chakra Day," tweeted Rashtrapati Bhavan.

New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday planted a sapling of Bodhi tree in the Rashtrapati Bhavan on the occasion of Asadha Poornima, which is observed as Dharma Chakra Day.

“President Kovind plants a sapling from the Holy Bodhi tree in the Rashtrapati Bhavan on the occasion of Asadha Poornima, which is observed as Dharma Chakra Day,” tweeted Rashtrapati Bhavan.

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Dharma Chakra Day commemorates Buddha’s first sermon to his first five ascetic disciples at the Deer Park, Rsipatana in the present-day Sarnath near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

The day is also celebrated by Buddhists all over the world as the day of Dharma Chakra Parvattana or “Turning of the Wheel of Dharma”.

This day is also aptly observed as Guru Poornima by both Buddhists and Hindus as a day to mark reverence to their gurus.

This year, Guru Poornima, which is observed on the full moon day in Ashadh month of the Hindu calendar, falls on July 24, which coincides with the lunar eclipse.

It is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists to honour one’s gurus or teachers who guide them through their lives towards the path of enlightenment.

Devotees from different corners of the country come to worship their Gurus living in Haridwar on the occasion. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Haridwar District Administration has said that only a ‘symbolic snan’ (holy bath) will be held. Only ‘Shri Ganga Sabha’ and

‘Teerth Purohit’ will participate in the snan.

The administration has allowed the devotees to enter the district with a negative RT-PCR report of not older than 72 hours. However, they will not be allowed to take the holy bath (snan).