E-Paper
Sculptors to test two rocks from Nepal for Ram Lalla idol
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has kept aside other options for chiselling Ram Lalla’s idol. These include stones from Odisha and Karnataka.
Sculptors will test sacred rocks that have been brought from Nepal to Ayodhya to find out whether they could be used for carving out Ram Lalla’s idol which will be placed at the sanctum sanctorum of the upcoming Ram temple on its first floor at the Ram Darbar.
The Trust is referring to the two rocks from Nepal as Dev Shila (sacred rocks).
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has kept aside other options for chiselling Ram Lalla’s idol. These include stones from Odisha and Karnataka.
“Most likely, the sacred stones from Nepal will be used for carving out Ram Lalla’s idol. However, the Trust will take the final decision,” said Kameshwar Chaupal, a Trust member.
But sculptors will first test the two rocks from Nepal to find out whether they could be used for Ram Lalla’s idol, Chaupal added.
Devshila or Shaligram
The two rocks that reached Ayodhya from Nepal are 14 tonne Calcite and 26 tonne Quarzite.
Geologist Dr Kulraj Chalise of Nepal, who accompanied the rocks from Nepal to Ayodhya, said the two rocks were Devshila and not Shaligram.
Rocks lying in close proximity to Shaligram rocks were referred to as Devshila, Kulraj added.
Out of the two rocks, Calcite is most likely to be used for carving Ram Lalla’s idol as it is soft compared to the other rock, Quarzite.
According to experts, Shaligram rocks are black . But the two rocks that reached Ayodhya from Nepal are dark brown.
Search for rocks
Tthe Trust began searching for the rocks for Ram Lalla’s idol since 2020.
After much deliberation, the Trust had decided to procure rocks from Nepal’s Gandaki river in the Muktinath area of the Himalayan nation.
Former deputy Nepal PM Bimalendra Nidhi completed all legal formalities on behalf of the Trust. Nidhi roped in geologists for selecting rocks.
According to the Trust, the former Nepal deputy PM had also played a crucial role in passing the proposal for handover of the rocks to the Trust in the cabinet meeting of the then government in Nepal.
The Trust has roped in renowned sculptors of the country to prepare the Ram Lalla’s idol. It has also decided to install a statue replicating the childhood of the deity.
Sudarshan Sahu and Vasudev Kamath of Odisha, KV Maniya of Karnataka and Shashtrayajya Deulkar of Pune will send models of the Ram Lalla idol. The Trust will select one of them.
According to Champat Rai, general secretary of the Trust, the idol will be around 8.5 feet high so that the sun’s rays can fall on it.
The Trust has roped in top institutes of the country with expertise in architecture and building design to model the Ram temple sanctum sanctorum in such a way that the sun’s rays fall on the forehead of Ram Lalla every Ram Navami at 12 noon to celebrate the birth of the deity, Rai added.
A team of experts from the CSIR-CBRI of Roorkee, the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune and renowned temple architects has been constituted for the purpose.
Celebrations in Ayodhya for the grand opening of the Ram temple will begin in December and end with the installation of the Ram Lalla idol at the sanctum sanctorum of the temple on Makar Sankranti on January 14 or 15, 2024.
