Varanasi. Great Vedic scholar and head acharya Pt. Laxmikant Dixit, who was the head of the ritualistic team that performed the Pran-Pratishtha of Lord Ram Lalla in the newly built Shri Ram Temple at the birthplace of Ayodhya, has passed away. He left his mortal body at his residence near the Mangala Gauri Temple at 7 am on Saturday.
As soon as the news of his death spread, a wave of mourning ran through the learned society and spiritual and religious circles of Kashi. He was 82 years old and did his work himself. The last rites of Acharya Dixit were performed at the cremation ground Manikarnika Ghat at 1 pm as per Vedic rituals. His eldest son Jai Krishna Dixit lit the funeral pyre.
When his last journey started from his residence at 11 am, hundreds of learned people, his disciples, leaders of several political parties, local citizens, MLA Dr. Neelkanth Tiwari, Divisional Commissioner Kaushal Raj Sharma, Pt. Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid, Pt. Vishveshwar Shastri, Prof. Patanjali Mishra, Santosh Solapurkar, Nalin Nayan Mishra, Councilor Kanaklata Mishra etc. along with people from Maratha society were prominently present.
Relatives said that he was taking bath in the bathroom of his residence near Mangala Gauri Temple at 7 am in the morning when he suddenly fell down and by the time people could handle him, he died of cardiac arrest. The full name of Acharya Laxmikant Dixit was Ven. Mool Laxmikant Mathuranath Dixit.
His ancestors were originally residents of Maharashtra. His father’s name was Pt. Mathuranath Dixit and mother’s name was Rukminibai Dixit. He was born in Moradabad in 1942. He came to Kashi to study Shukla Yajurveda branch and Ghanant. Although his family had been living in Kashi for generations. He had done special study of Shrauta Smarta Yagas.
His Guru and uncle eminent scholar Ven. Mu. Ganesh Dixit (Javji Bhatt) and late Ven. Mu. He acquired vast knowledge of various Vedas, Vedangas and Upanishads from Mangalji Badal and studied Shukla Yajurveda in detail. He was a senior Acharya in Sangved Mahavidyalaya situated at Ramghat. At present, hundreds of his disciples are engaged in propagating Vedas and rituals in the country and abroad.
Directed many Shrouta Yagyas and Smarta Yagyas in the country
Acharya Pandit Laxmikant Dixit directed many Shrouta Yagyas and Smarta Yagyas in the country. He constructed Shrouta Yagyashala in Sampurnanand Sanskrit University and conducted a special Shrouta Yagyas (Somyaag) ritual in Nepal in 1998. He had the special blessings of Dharma Samrat Karpatriji Maharaj and Niranjandev Tirtha Swami.
Selected for the Pran-Pratishtha of Ramlala
Considering Pandit Laxmikant Dixit’s scholarship, yagya and extremely detailed knowledge of rituals, he was entrusted with the responsibility of Pran Pratishtha of Lord Shri Ramlala in the newly built grand temple at the birthplace of Lord Shri Ram in Ayodhya. Under his guidance, a team of 121 Vedic scholars and ritualistic Brahmins completed that ritual from 16 January to 22 January.
The Prime Minister had touched his feet after getting the Raksha Sutra tied
When Pandit Laxmikant tied a Raksha Sutra to Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the completion of the Pran-Pratishtha ritual of Lord Shri Ramlala in Ayodhya, he touched the feet of Pandit Dixit with full devotion and took his blessings.
Received many honors and awards
- Pandit Laxmikant Dixit was given many awards and honors due to his scholarship and promotion of the Vedas.
- Special honor by the Shankaracharya of all the four Peethas.
- ‘Vedic Ratna Award’ by Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati of Dwarka Jyotish Peeth in 2012
- ‘Vedasamrat Award’ in 2014
- ‘Vedic Bhushan Alankaran’ in 2015
- ‘Vedamurti’ Award by Shankaracharya Institute of Shringeri
- ‘Vedasamman Ghanpathi’ Award received.
- ‘Samman Patra’ and ‘Vedamurti’ Award by Sang Veda Vidyalaya
- ‘Devi Ahilyabai National Award’ by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan in 2016 and honours by various other institutions in the country
- Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati Award by Sampurnanand Sanskrit University in 2019. Special honour by Shringeri Peetha in 2010
- Bharatma Award by Lok Sabha Speaker in 2022
Prime Minister and Chief Minister expressed grief
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath posted on x and expressed their condolences on the demise of Pt. Laxmikant Dixit and paid tribute to him and expressed their condolences. The Prime Minister wrote in his post that, ‘Received the sad news of the demise of the country’s eminent scholar and Yajurveda professor of Sangveda Mahavidyalaya, Laxmikant Dixit ji. Dixit ji was a renowned man of the scholarly tradition of Kashi. I got his company on the inauguration festival of Kashi Vishwanath Dham and Ram temple. His demise is an irreparable loss to the society.’
At the same time, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath wrote that ‘The demise of Vedamurthy Acharya Shri Laxmikant Dixit ji, a great scholar of Kashi and the chief priest of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Prana Pratishtha, is an irreparable loss to the spiritual and literary world. He will always be remembered for his service to Sanskrit language and Indian culture. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to give the departed soul a place in his feet and give strength to his disciples and followers to bear this sorrow. Om Shanti.