Ayodhya: The holy city of Ayodhya is gearing up for the historic Pran Pratistha ceremony of the Ram Mandir, which will mark the installation of the idol of Ram Lalla (the infant form of Lord Ram) in the temple. The ceremony, scheduled for 22 January, will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several dignitaries, and thousands of devotees from across the country and abroad.
The Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which is overseeing the construction and management of the temple, has been sharing new pictures of the temple complex on Twitter every day. The latest pictures show the work’s progress and the workers’ enthusiasm, who are working round the clock to complete the project. The trust has also invited 56 countries to participate in the ceremony, which will be broadcast live on various platforms.
The Pran Pratistha ceremony is a sacred Hindu ritual that involves consecrating a deity idol in a temple, making it sacred or divine. The ritual involves reciting hymns and mantras to invite the deity to be a resident guest and then opening the idol’s eyes for the first time. The ceremony will be preceded by seven days of rituals starting on 16 January, which will include various pujas, havans, and Shobha yantras.
The Ram Mandir is being built at the site of Ram Janmabhoomi, the birthplace of Lord Ram, a principal deity of Hinduism. The site was the former location of the Babri Masjid, which was demolished in 1992 by Hindu activists, sparking communal violence. In 2019, the Supreme Court of India delivered the verdict to give the disputed land to Hindus for construction of a temple, while Muslims would be given land elsewhere to construct a mosque. The bhumi pujan (groundbreaking ceremony) for the commencement of the construction of Ram Mandir was performed on 5 August 2020, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Ram Mandir, which is expected to be completed by 2024, will have a grand and majestic design, inspired by the Nagara style of Hindu temple architecture. The temple will have a central shrine with six more shrines joined around it as one temple complex. The temple will also have a museum, a library, a research center, and other visitor facilities.
The consecration of the Ram Mandir is a matter of joy and pride for millions of Ram devotees, who have been waiting for this moment for decades. According to the trust, more than 75 thousand people will visit Ayodhya every day to have the darshan of Lord Ram after the ceremony. To ensure the smooth and safe conduct of the event, the Uttar Pradesh government, led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has done excellent work on the state’s infrastructure, including roads, bridges, parking, security, sanitation, and hospitality.
