As part of the ongoing Gau Dhwaj Sthapana Bharat Yatra, Jagadguru Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Maharaj of Jyotirmath will arrive in Jammu, J&K, on October 22, 2024. The event will include the installation of the Gau Dhwaj and an address by Shankaracharya at the Gau Mahasabha from 12 PM to 3 PM, before the Yatra continues to Leh, Ladakh.
At a press conference today, co-convener of the Yatra, Gobhakt Vikas Patni, along with Akhilesh Brahmachari and state convener Deepu Raina, spoke about the importance of this national movement. The Gau Dhwaj Yatra aims to elevate the cow to the status of “Rashtra Mata” (Mother of the Nation) and to press for constitutional amendments, moving cow protection from the state list to the central list, and abolishing cow slaughter across India.
The movement to honor and protect the cow, regarded as a sacred mother figure in Sanatan Dharma, has been ongoing since India’s independence. It was notably led by Dharma Samrat Yatichakrachudamani Pujya Karpatri Maharaj in the 1966 GauRaksha Andolan, where thousands of devotees sacrificed their lives. Now, under the guidance of Param GauBhakt Pujya Gopal Mani and the blessings of the four Jagadguru Shankaracharyas, this nationwide Gau Pratishtha Andolan continues with renewed vigor.
Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Maharaj declared 2024 as the *Gau Samvatsar* (Year of the Cow) and initiated this year’s Yatra, beginning on September 22nd, to spread the movement across all Indian states and union territories. The Yatra, which started in Ayodhya, will culminate in Delhi on October 26th, with a grand Gau Pratishtha Mahasammelan scheduled for November 7–9 in the capital to decisively appeal to the Government of India to honor the cow as Rashtra Mata and put an end to cow slaughter.
