[Watch] Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram & Vaishnava Jana To: How Putin Salutes Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat

New Delhi: On the morning of 5 December 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Rajghat, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi, to pay homage — and the tribute was suffused with the soul-stirring strains of two deeply evocative bhajans: Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram and Vaishnava Jana To.

Visuals from the site showed Putin laying a wreath at Gandhi’s memorial, offering floral tributes, and signing the visitors’ book — all while prayers in melodic form echoed around Rajghat. According to reports, the bhajans played in the background were not incidental: both songs are closely associated with Gandhi’s spiritual and moral philosophy.

The rendition of “Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram” — long recognized as a favourite of the father of the nation — resonated especially deeply, given its legacy of communal harmony and simplicity. Meanwhile “Vaishnava Jana To,” penned by 15th-century poet Narsinh Mehta, has remained emblematic of empathy, humility and selfless service — values Gandhi championed.

After the wreath-laying and a moment of silence, Putin penned a thoughtful note in the visitors’ book, describing Gandhi as a global symbol of peace, non-violence and humanistic values — ideals that, he suggested, continue to hold relevance in today’s turbulent world.

“One of the founders of the modern Indian state, the great philosopher and humanist – Mahatma Gandhi – made an invaluable contribution to the cause of peace on our planet. His ideas about freedom, virtue, and humanity remain relevant to this day. Mahatma Gandhi, in essence, anticipated the thesis of a new, more just multipolar world, which is gaining strength before our eyes. In this regard, he has much in common with Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy: they both reflected on the future of the world – free from hegemonism, based on the principles of equality, mutual respect, and cooperation of nations. And it is precisely these principles that Russia and India uphold today in the international arena,” he wrote.