Shaligram stones, likely to be used for Ram Lalla idol, dispatched to Ayodhya from Gorakhnath temple
Brought from the Kali Gandaki waterfall in Nepal, the Shaligram stones were transported to Uttar Pradesh from Bihar and reached the Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur late on Tuesday night.
Two large Shaligram stones (holy stones) that are most likely to be used for carving an idol of Rama Lalla for the Ram Janmabhoomi temple were dispatched to Ayodhya from the Gorakhnath temple here on Wednesday after ceremonial worship.
Brought from the Kali Gandaki waterfall in Nepal, the Shaligram stones were transported to Uttar Pradesh from Bihar and reached the Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur late on Tuesday night.
Considered to be centuries old by the faithful, the Shaligram stones are being accompanied by around 100 Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) office bearers and a five-member delegation from Nepal on a Sheela Yatra (procession).
All of them left for Ayodhya on Wednesday after a night halt at the Gorakhnath temple on Tuesday.
For the yatra, the stones, one weighing 26 tonnes and the other 14 tonnes, were loaded onto two trailers.
A large number of devotees reached National Highway 28 connecting Kushinagar to Gorakhpur to welcome the Shaligram stones at Sukrauli and Hata Jagdishpur. They raised religious slogans and performed puja.
The Kushinagar district administration made arrangements for worship of the Shaligram stones at different places.
While the Shaligram stones are an option as for carving the Ram Lalla idol, stones from Karnataka and Odisha would also reach Ayodhya for the same purpose, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai had said on January 28 after a two-day meeting of the Ram temple construction committee in Ayodhya.
The stones will reach the Ram Katha Kunj in Ayodhya where they will be opened for worship by the devotees, the news agency ANI had quoted Rai as saying on Tuesday.
“There is a waterfall named Kali Gandaki in Nepal. It originates from Damodar Kund and is around 85 km north of Ganeshwar Dham Gandki. Both these stones have been brought from there. The place is situated at a height of 6,000 feet above sea level. People even say that it is crores of years old,” he had said.
“I have heard that people are coming out on streets to worship the stones, and it took around three hours to complete the distance of 40-45 km in Bihar,” he had said.
“The stones will finally be handed over to the Ayodhya temple on February 2. The devotees willing to worship them can reach Ramsevak Puram by 10.30 pm,” he had added.
He also said the place where the stones would be kept was being cleaned.
“I have heard that the stone of Gandaki is called Shaligram, which is considered a form of Lord Vishnu. When the black Gandaki stone comes from Nepal to Bihar, it is called Narayani,” he further said.
Ram Katha Kunj in Ramsevak Puram is an old workplace of the Ram Mandir where the boulders of Shaligram stone will reach.
