March 06, Colombo (LNW): The International Gita Mahotsav, spanning four days, took place in Colombo from Friday to Monday (1 to 4). The event marked the fifth edition of this international celebration, organized for the first time in Sri Lanka by the Kurukshetra Development Board of the Government of Haryana (KDB), India. The initiative was a collaboration between Sri Lanka’s Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry, and the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, the cultural arm of the High Commission of India in Colombo, along with approximately 30 religious and social organizations in Sri Lanka.
A key moment of the Mahotsav was the presentation of a copy of the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena. Noteworthy events included the Sadhbhavna Yatra from Nelum Pokuna to Vihara Mahadevi Park in Colombo on Sunday (3), featuring nearly a thousand artists displaying local performing arts, accompanied by floats from ISKCON, Ramakrishna Mission, and Mayurapathy Sribhadrakali Temple. Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Transport, Highways, and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana, and Buddhasasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs Minister Vidura Wickramanayaka, along with High Commissioner Santosh Jha and the Indian delegation, witnessed the Yatra.
The second day of the Mahotsav featured an International Discourse on Gita and several seminars by experts exploring the theme of ‘Gita – An Epitome of Peace, Fraternity, and Harmony.’ The panel for the International Gita Discourse included remarks from Minister Vidura Wickramanayaka, High Commissioner Santosh Jha, Swami Gurusharanand, Gita Manishi Swami Gyanand, Member Secretary KDB Sh. Vikas Gupta, and Prof. Asanga Tilakaratne. The discussions highlighted the universality and timelessness of Gita’s message.
This edition of the International Gita Mahotsav in Sri Lanka marked the largest international gathering to date, following previous editions in Australia (2023), Canada (2022), UK (2019), and Mauritius (2019). The Kurukshetra Development Board has been organizing the Gita Mahotsav within India since 1989 in the city of Kurukshetra, where the ‘Bhagwad Gita’ is believed to have been delivered by Lord Krishna to Arjuna as part of the epic Mahabharat.
