Top Opposition leaders skipped the temple inauguration, calling it an RSS-BJP event even though Himachal Pradesh CM of Congress attended it.
Ram Temple in Ayodhya, (X)
By Gunjan Sharma, Kunal Dutt, Arunav Sinha
The new Ram Lalla idol was consecrated at the Ayodhya temple on Monday, 22 January — an event led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and watched by lakhs of people on television in their homes and at temples across the country.
Army helicopters showered flower petals on the newly constructed Janmabhoomi temple as the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony took place — a seminal occasion in India’s political and religious history.
At that moment, celebrations broke out in parts of this Uttar Pradesh temple town with people singing and dancing.
“Our Ram has come,” Modi said in his address that followed the consecration, which also marks the inauguration of the temple. It is expected to open Tuesday to the public.
“The extraordinary moment of the consecration of Shri Ram Lalla’s life in Ayodhya Dham is going to leave everyone emotional. It is my great pleasure to be a part of this divine programme. Hail Siya Ram!” he earlier posted on the social media platform X.
Modi in Ram temple. (X)
Modi performed a series of rituals at the temple, with the ‘pran pratishtha’ taking place during the 84-second ‘Abhijeet muhurta’. At the end of the rituals, the prime minister prostrated himself before the idol, which depicts the child Ram.
The ceremony took place in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
Outside, Ayodhya resident Anil Singh called it a “priceless moment” that he would treasure forever. “As a resident of Ayodhya, I feel proud that I live in this spiritual city,” he said.
Leaving the sanctum sanctorum, the prime minister moved to another location to address a gathering of about 8,000, which included seers, people linked to the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, and celebrities from fields like entertainment, sports, and industry.
He also visited the Kuber Tila shrine and interacted with workers who built the temple.
The prime minister ended his 11-day fast he undertook ahead of the ceremony by accepting “charnamrit” offered by temple trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri.
Senior BJP leaders including party chief JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah watched the live streaming of the consecration ceremony.
The run-up to the consecration ceremony, which takes place just months before the Lok Sabha elections, was marked by sparring between the ruling BJP and the Opposition.
Top Opposition leaders skipped the temple inauguration, calling it an RSS-BJP event. But Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh, who is the son of state Congress chief Pratibha Singh, arrived at the venue.
Several states had declared the day a holiday to allow people to watch the ceremony on TV and also take part in events at neighbourhood temples.
The new idol depicts Ram at the age of five and was carved from black stone by Mysuru-based sculptor Arun Yogiraj. It was draped in a yellow dhoti, and adorned with stone-studded jewellery and flowers in shades of red, yellow, and purple.
Fifty traditional musical instruments from across the country were part of a devotional “mangal dhwani” that resonated during the ceremony. Orchestrated by Ayodhya’s celebrated poet Yatindra Mishra, the rendition was supported by New Delhi’s Sangeet Natak Akademi.
The instruments included the pakhawaj, flute, and dholak from Uttar Pradesh, veena from Karnataka, algoja from Punjab, sundari from Maharashtra, mardala from Odisha, santoor from Madhya Pradesh, pung from Manipur, nagada and kali from Assam, and tambura from Chhattisgarh.
Devotees arrived from several parts of the country to the temple town to be part of the occasion, though they could not attend the main ceremony.
Ceremonial gates depicting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in floral patterns and illumination visible at night added to the aura of the ancient city which has undergone a massive infrastructural growth in the last couple of years, after the 2019 Supreme Court verdict on the temple-mosque dispute.
People gathered for the inauguration. (X)
The 16th-century Babri mosque, which many Hindus believe was constructed on the site of Lord Ram’s birthplace, was demolished by kar sevaks on 6 December, 1992.
After a long legal battle, the top court ruled in favour of the construction of the temple. It also ordered allotment of a five-acre plot for building a mosque.
The invitees who arrived early Monday in Ayodhya included Anupam Kher, Kailash Kher, Jubin Nautiyal, Prasoon Joshi, Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Ravishankar Prasad, and Anil Ambani.
Hema Malini, Kangana Ranaut, Sri Sri Ravishankar, Morari Bapu, Rajnikanth, Madhur Bhandarkar, Subhash Ghai, and Sonu Nigam had reached Sunday.
‘Ramdhun’ played in the streets from early morning, as security personnel kept a tight vigil across the Ayodhya districts.
The invitees were presented a ‘Ram patka’ and welcomed with ’tilak’. All invitees were presented a bell which they rang during the ‘aarti’.
The Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir has been constructed in the traditional Nagara style. Its east-west length is 380 feet, width 250 feet and height 161 feet. It is supported by 392 pillars and has 44 doors.
The pillars and walls of the temple showcase intricately sculpted depictions of Hindu deities.
The consecration rituals began from the Saryu river banks on 16 January and were completed Monday afternoon.
Temples across the country had announced special festivities. From Washington DC and Paris to Sydney, events were planned in various parts of the world as well by the Vishva Hindu Parishad, or the Hindu diaspora.
(Disclaimer: The headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed, and has been edited for style.)
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