One of the most important and significant parts of the Rig Veda is the Purusha Sukta, which deals with the concept of Purusha, the supreme cosmic being. One of the most famous verses in the Vedas and Upanishads begins with the invocation Om Sham No Mitrah Sham Varunnah, which is a prayer to Mitra, the Sun God and Varuna, the God of the Oceans. It literally means “May Mitra and Varuna be auspicious upon us”.
The motto of our pride, the Indian Navy is almost similar to this verse. The motto of our navy is Sham no Varunah, which is an invocation to Varuna and means “May the Lord of the oceans be auspicious upon us”. In the Purusha Sukta, the term Viraata, which literally means a giant is used synonymously with Purusha, the supreme being to illustrate the giant like character of the supreme being.
INS Viraat was undoubtedly a giant as per the name in the service of the nation.
Originally built as HMS Hermes in the service of the British Royal Navy, she was acquired by India in 1986. She was commissioned a year later, on 12 May 1987. In 1993, her engine room was flooded due to which the giant had to be put out of service for a while.
But Viraat was back with a bang a couple of years later and was fitted with a new radar. From 1997 to 2013, INS Viraat was the lone aircraft carrier in the Indian Navy. In 2009, INS Viraat celebrated 50 glorious years and underwent another refit. (http://www.thehindu.com/…/INnS-Virat-re…/article16875374.ece)
In 2011, INS Viraat was deployed in the Gulf of Eden, the hub of piracy off the coast of Somalia. (http://www.dnaindia.com/…/report-insviraat-out-of-dry-dock…) After a year of service, she returned back to Kochi for another refit. (http://www.thehindu.com/…/insviraat-arr…/article4059156.ece)
With the INS Vikramaditya being commissioned in 2013, the Indian Navy began the process of decommissioning the aging ship with regular consultations with the Ministry of Defence and a review board was set up in 2014 to determine the future of the ship.
The ship participated in the International Fleet Review in February 2016. By now, already discussions were going on to decommission the aging ship. States like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh put a proposal to convert the giant into a floating museum (http://www.thehindu.com/…/insviraat-to-…/article7457329.ece).
On 23 July 2016, she sailed from Mumbai to Kochi for the last time under her own steam; by then, she had spent a total of 2,250 days at sea and had steamed a total of 1,094,215 kilometers. This was the beginning of what had been a glorious journey. Viraat’s motto is “Jalameva Yasya, Balameva Tasya”, which means “He who rules over the seas is all powerful”.
Viraat ruled the seas for 58 long years and was indeed all powerful as per her motto. Today, on 6 March 2017, the glorious ship, upon which 5 naval commanders of the Indian Navy have served, which was the oldest aircraft carrier in the world, has finally been decommissioned. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/…/articlesh…/57488149.cms).
It is time for the nation and its 1.3 billion people to say goodbye to one of the most loyal servants this nation has ever had. Most people would probably be hoping that glorious ship is converted into a maritime museum so that people can get one glimpse of the mighty ship. Hope that this becomes true. Thank you INS Viraat, for your glorious service to the nation!