A picture of Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati is being shared on social media, showing bees attacking him. Users are circulating this image with the claim that the incident took place in Varanasi. While sharing the image, several users are also criticizing Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati.
A user named Janardan Mishra shared the picture and wrote, “Bees are considered an embodiment of Maa Bhramari Devi. According to the Puranas, she destroyed the demon Arunasura with an army of bees. This deceitful demon-like Kalnemi, disguised as Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, is running a campaign against Yogi Ji. Maa Bhramari has punished him for this by attacking him in Kashi. If he still does not relent, Mahadev knows what will happen to him next. But yes, does it look like the bees have also become Sanghi?” (English Translation)
Another user shared the image and wrote, “Honeybees are considered the manifestation of Maa Bhramari Devi. It is described in the Puranas that she destroyed the demon Arunasura with her army of honeybees. It is said that whenever unrighteousness and deceit increase, nature gives its signs…”
Fact Check:
The DFRAC team’s investigation found that the viral image is AI-generated. We first examined the image using AI detection tools such as Undetectable.ai and ZeroGPT. Our investigation revealed that the image is not authentic and was created using AI.
Taking the investigation further, our team reviewed the social media handles of Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati. We found a live video on his Facebook page, “1008.Guru,” in which a bee attack during the gathering can be seen. However, the video does not contain any scene resembling the viral image. In the Facebook Live video, the gathering continues despite the bee attack, and Swami Avimukteshwaranand can be seen appealing to people to remain patient and calm.
During the investigation, we also found a press release on a Facebook page stating that Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati’s cow protection journey (Goraksha Yatra), titled “Gavishti (Gouraksharth Dharmyudh),” is currently underway. We searched Google using keywords related to the journey and the bee attack and found several media reports, including reports by News18 Hindi and ETV Bharat. However, the viral image did not appear in any credible media coverage.
According to the News18 Hindi report, “Chaos broke out at Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand’s gathering when a swarm of bees suddenly attacked the devotees. People started running in panic. As the situation worsened, the program was concluded ahead of schedule. During the attack, the Shankaracharya told the people that some individuals do not like good work and may have disturbed the beehive intentionally. He urged everyone to sit calmly like stone statues, saying the bees would not harm them. During the event, he also made the attendees pledge to support the campaign to declare Gau Mata as the Mother of the Nation.”
Similarly, ETV Bharat reported, “Chaos erupted during the assembly of Jyotish Peethadheeshwar Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati in Rohania, Varanasi, when a swarm of bees suddenly attacked the devotees. Due to the resulting disorder and safety concerns, the gathering had to be concluded early. Meanwhile, the Shankaracharya appealed to everyone to remain patient and calm. Commenting on the incident, he said that some people had intentionally disturbed the beehive to disrupt the auspicious event.”
For further clarification, our team contacted Sanjay Pandey, the media coordinator of Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati. Declaring the viral image fake, Sanjay Pandey stated that the gathering was being held at an ancient Shiva temple in Rohania, where someone may have mischievously disturbed the beehive, leading to the incident.
Conclusion:
DFRAC’s fact-check confirms that the viral image showing a bee attack on Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati is fake and was created using AI.
