On Friday January 27th 2023, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot approved a proposal to declare the birth anniversary of Lord Devnarayan, a folk deity revered by the Gujjar community, as a state holiday.
The decision was taken by the Chief Minister keeping in mind the faith of the common man and the demand of the public representatives, sources said.
Devnarayan board president Jogendra Singh Awana, Industries Minister Shakuntala Rawat, and Minister of State for Sports Ashok Chandna, among many others, had written to the CM demanding that Devnarayan Jayanti be declared a state holiday.
About Lord Devnarayan
Devnarayan is a folk deity from Rajasthan, India. He is worshipped mostly in Rajasthan and north-western Madhya Pradesh. Lord Devnarayan is worshipped as a protector of cows, a folk deity who removes the sufferings of helpless people and as a mighty warrior.
According to tradition, he was born to Sri Savai Bhoj and Sadu mata on the seventh day of the bright half (shukla saptami) of the month of Maagh in the Hindu Calendar in Vikram Samvat 968 (911 AD).
The epic of Devnarayan is one of the longest and most popular religious oral narratives of Rajasthan.
