Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi, who is on a visit to Nepal, paid homage to the Muktinath temple on Saturday morning. Arriving in Mustang via a Nepal Army helicopter, General Dwivedi performed the ritual of pouring water over his head from the 108 spouts and offered prayers at the Muktinath temple.

The Indian Army Chief landed at the Muktinath helipad at 8:40 AM on Saturday, specifically to visit the sacred site. His delegation included four women.

Upon his arrival at Muktinath, General Dwivedi was welcomed by Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Lekhnath Katuwal of the Narayan Dal Battalion in Jomsom, Mustang, and Major General Khemraj Sharma of the Nepal Army’s High Altitude Warfare School. The Directorate of Public Relations and Information of the Nepal Army confirmed that General Dwivedi completed his visit to the temple. The directorate emphasized that his visit to Muktinath was purely personal.

General Dwivedi worshipped at the temple like any ordinary pilgrim. For his security, personnel from the Nepal Army, Nepal Police, and Armed Police Force were deployed.

While pouring water from the 108 spouts at the temple, General Dwivedi reportedly felt the chill of the cold water, as Mustang experiences extreme cold during the winter season. He spent a total of 1 hour and 50 minutes in the Muktinath temple premises.

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Following the spiritual visit, General Dwivedi proceeded to the Nepali Army’s Western Division Headquarters in Pokhara, where he was welcomed by the Division Commander, Major General Shantosh Ballave Poudyal.

“General Upendra Dwivedi visited Pokhara and addressed a big Ex-servicemen Rally of Nepal Domiciled Gorkha Ex-servicemen in the sprawling lawns of PPO Pokhara. Gen Upendra Dwivedi and Mrs Sunita Dwivedi, President, AWWA (IA) interacted with and felicitated the gallantry awardees and Veer Naris present during the occasion,” the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said.