First anniversary of bhoomi pujan for Ram temple to be marked in Ayodhya today
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath will be present in Ayodhya on the occasion to participate in a special puja
The first anniversary of the Ram temple’s bhoomi pujan (groundbreaking ceremony) on Thursday is likely to be a low-key affair due to Covid-19 restrictions though special prayers would be offered and yajnas (oblations) organised on the occasion in Ayodhya after which devotees would get a special “poori, sabzi and kheer” as prasad (edibles offered to the deity and then given to the faithful).
“Chief minister Yogi Adityanath would be there on the occasion to participate in a special puja. He will also offer a Ram naami (a cloth with Lord Ram’s name inscribed on it) and perform aarti at the temple,” Satyendra Das, the head priest of the Ayodhya temple, confirmed.
“Ram Lalla (baby Ram) would don new clothes and special poori-sabzi and kheer prasad would be distributed among the devotees,” Das said.
“The special prasad would be for all the devotees who turn up but if we run out of it, then devotees would be given fruits,” the head priest said.
“We spent a lifetime waiting for the day when Ram Lalla would move out of the makeshift arrangement and get an abode befitting the Almighty. Naturally, grand celebrations were in order but the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust that is overseeing the temple construction would take a final call on the nature of celebrations,” the head priest said.
“Nothing newsworthy,” said Champat Rai, the general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, when asked if any special programmes were lined up for Thursday on the completion of one year of the bhoomi pujan that was done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5, 2020. “Oblations or yajna too would be organised, but the celebrations would be low-key,” said a saint.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who is spending the night at Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur of which he is also the head priest, would leave for Ayodhya by a helicopter at noon (Thursday), officials said.
“After landing at the Ram Katha Park in Ayodhya, the chief minister would attend a government function at Vasudev Ghat to mark Anna Mahotsav before arriving at the Ram Janmbhoomi site for holding special prayers on the occasion,” a senior official privy to the chief minister’s plan said.
After the prayers, the CM is expected to gather details about the temple construction and leave for Lucknow.
Volunteers of the Bajrang Dal, too, have been advised to stay indoors, offering prayers and reciting Hanuman Chalisa (prayers glorifying Hanuman).
“We may gather in small numbers at temples to chant Hanuman Chalisa (prayers for lord Hanuman) and offer special puja. The moment is big but due to Covid-19 concerns and government advisory, it would be best if the cadres offer prayers from their houses,” said Rakesh (he goes by one name), a senior functionary of the Bajrang Dal.
