Career Dhirendra Krishna Shastri

Bageshwar Dham

As peethadhishwar of Bageshwar Dham, Shastri holds a Divya Darbar on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Devotees come to seek spiritual and ritual remedies for personal, health and financial problems. He claims that his abilities come from sadhana and the blessings of his great-grandfather. Rationalist groups have criticised these practices and challenged them legally (see below).

Katha and discourses

He travels widely across India and abroad to deliver Shri Hanumant Katha and discourses on the Ramcharitmanas. His official YouTube channel streams these events, including programmes held in countries such as Fiji and Kenya.

Social and charitable work

• Cancer hospital: On 23 February 2025 Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the Bageshwar Dham Medical and Science Research Institute, a planned 100-bed cancer hospital at Chhatarpur that will offer free treatment to poor patients.
• Kanya Vivah: He organises an annual mass wedding ceremony for girls from poor families.
• Annapurna kitchen: The Dham runs a free kitchen for visitors, and he has announced plans for a Vedic gurukul.

Sanatan Hindu Ekta Padyatra

In November 2024 he led a roughly 160 km foot march, the Sanatan Hindu Ekta Padyatra, from Bageshwar Dham to Orchha (21–29 November). Its stated aim was Hindu unity and an end to caste discrimination. A mobile phone was thrown at him during the march in Jhansi. A second padyatra, from Delhi to Vrindavan, took place from 7 to 16 November 2025, and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta joined it. Shastri has openly called for India to be declared a "Hindu Rashtra".