Excelsior Correspondent
SAMBA, Jan 21: In a significant initiative to revive the ancient Gurukul system and preserve the region’s cultural heritage, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed today between the Shri Narsingh Dham Mandir Management Committee, Ghagwal and Churamani Sanskrit Sansthan, Basohli for setting up Shri Narsingh Dev Sanskrit Gurukul at the historic Shri Narsingh Dev Mandir premises.
A statement said the MoU was signed by SDM Ghagwal KS Bali and Principal, Churamani Sanskrit Sansthan, Basohli, Dr Soumya Ranjan in the presence of Director ACB J&K Shakti Kumar Pathak, DC Samba Ayushi Sudan, ADC Samba Jagdish Singh, DDC Ghagwal Suresh Kumar Falli, district officers, prominent citizens and temple volunteers.
It said the move aimed at restoring the temple’s long-lost educational role, as the over 1700-year-old shrine is traditionally believed to have been major centre of Vedic learning under the Guru-Shishya Parampara.
According to historical traditions, the temple once imparted education in Vedic scriptures, Sanskrit grammar, philosophy and moral sciences.
Over the centuries, while the shrine continued to remain an important spiritual centre attracting large congregations during festivals such as Shri Krishna Janmashtami Mela, Rathkhada Mela and Narasimha Jayanti, its educational activities gradually declined due to changing socio-historical conditions.
The new Gurukul is expected to revive this legacy and re-establish the temple as a hub of learning.
The proposed Gurukul will provide residential Vedic-cum-modern education by integrating traditional Sanskrit studies with contemporary subjects in accordance with the National Education Policy 2020.
The institution will initially function under a two to three-year hand-holding phase before becoming an independent Sanskrit educational centre, with the first academic session proposed to commence in March-April 2026.
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