In a rare feat that has stunned Vedic Scholars, 19-year-old Devvrat Mahesh Rekhe from Maharashtra completed the near-impossible Dandkarma Parayanam—a 50-day non-stop recitation of 2,000 Shukla Yajurveda mantras in one of the eight highly complex Vedic chanting styles—at Sangveda Vidyalaya near Ramghat on November 30, 2025. The teenager recited continuously from dawn to dusk without a single day’s break, adhering to intricate rules of rhythm, pauses, and phonetic reversal that make Dandkarma one of the toughest oral disciplines in the world.

Rekhe began his Vedic journey at age seven in a traditional gurukul, waking at 4 a.m. daily for 12 long years of rigorous training. Speaking after the ceremony, the soft-spoken teenager called it “the ultimate test of memory, voice, and devotion”, adding that even a minor mistake in pronunciation or sequence would have forced him to restart from day one. Scholars confirm this was only the fourth recorded successful Dandkarma Parayanam in modern history.

The Sringeri Sharada Peetham, one of Hinduism’s most revered institutions, flew its Jagadgurus to Varanasi to personally honour Rekhe with the title “Vedamurti” and present him a gold bracelet worth ₹5 lakh along with a cash award of ₹111,116. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath sent personal messages praising the young scholar for keeping alive India’s ancient oral heritage at a time when such traditions are fading.

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Dandkarma is considered the toughest of the eight Vedic “vikrutis”, or chanting variations, because it requires reciting mantras forward, backward, in pairs, skipping every second word, and other mind-bending patterns—all from memory and in perfect pitch.

The entire 50-day recitation was supervised by senior pandits at Sangveda Vidyalaya, who verified zero errors. Video documentation of the marathon has been preserved for posterity, and the vidyalaya plans to submit it to Guinness World Records and the Limca Book of Records.

Rekhe’s achievement has sparked fresh hope among traditionalists that a new generation can still master India’s most esoteric spiritual sciences. Speaking modestly to reporters, the teenager said he hopes his effort inspires at least a few youngsters to choose the path of the Vedas over smartphones. In a country racing toward modernity, Devvrat Rekhe’s 12-year penance and flawless 50-day performance stand as a quiet but powerful reminder of the depth of Sanatan knowledge systems.

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