Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray, along with his mother Rashmi Uddhav Thackeray and party MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, inaugurated the five-century old refurbished Thakur Shyama Shyam temple in the pilgrim town of Mathura on Monday.

Thackeray Jr. arrived in Mathura early on Minday on a visit to the birth place of Lord Krishna and later went on a tour of several important temples, ghats on Yamuna river, and attended other devotional programmes, including the temple inauguration on the auspicious occasion of Kartiki Purnima on Monday.

“The faith of many devotees is linked to the Thakur Shyamaji Shyam temple of the Vallabha Sect of Vaishnava community. It has religious, spiritual aspects besides cultural heritage,” said Aditya Thackeray after the inauguration.

He noted that the historic monument, renovated with the efforts of Chaturvedi and N.R. Alluri’s Nagarjuna Foundation, has been restored to its past glory, while preserving hundreds of years of heritage.

Thackeray Jr. also visited the Vishram Ghat on the banks of Yamuna, prayed at the famed Banke Bihari temple in the Vrindavan, and said that “the serene atmosphere and pious vibes of this holy place have a rejuvenating effect on all of us”.

The Thakur Shyama Shyam temple, a heritage shrine situated at the Shyam Ghat in Mathura, is steeped in a rich spiritual legacy of over 500 years, said Chaturvedi.

It was in a very dilapidated condition and she was approached for help either from the MPLAD or CSR, but these are barred from being used for restoring historical or culturally important heritage temples.

After a lot of efforts, industrialist N.R. Alluri’s Nagarjuna Foundation finally came forward with help to revamp the ancient temple.

Explaining the background, the Shiv Sena (UBT) MP said that Shri Vallabhacharya (1479-1531 AD), founder of Pushti Marg, had designated eight ashta-sakhas (eight gems) to add to the Bhakti movement of Lord Krishna and promote the language of Braj, the Brij Bhasha.

One of the designated gems, Shri Cheet Swamiji, built this temple dedicated to the yugal form of ashta-sakha. It has been maintained by the Cheet Swami lineage (like Banke Bihari at Nathdwara), and is part of the very first step in every Vaishnav’s 84 Kosi Braj Yatra (pilgrimage).