Ram Temple in Ayodhya set for a grand opening today

PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate the temple, marking the culmination of an event likely to shape the electoral narrative in general elections later this year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will throw open a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Monday and preside over a consecration ceremony of the idol of the infant god Ram, or Ram Lalla, marking the culmination of an event that is likely to shape the electoral narrative in general elections later this year.

A view of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on Sunday evening. (Deepak Gupta/HT )

Thousands of people, including many celebrities from the film, political and sports worlds, arrived in Ayodhya on Sunday ahead of the ceremony as the temple town decked itself up in flowers and spruced up its roads and pavements.

“Immersed in devotion, the prana pratishtha ceremony at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya will be graced by the majestic mangal dhwani at 10am. Witness over 50 exquisite instruments from different states come together for this auspicious occasion, resonating for nearly two hours,” said the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which is overseeing the construction of the temple.

The rituals leading up to the event spanned a week and saw a variety of prayers being offered by 121 priests who chanted Sanskrit hymns and performed Vedic rites. The final leg of the consecration ceremony, to be presided over by Modi, will start at 12.20pm on January 22 and end by around 1pm. The 51-inch stone idol by renowned sculptor Arun Yogiraj of Karnataka has been enthroned at the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Temple.

In the run-up to the temple’s opening, the state government is sprucing up the centuries-old town — roads are being widened, newly built footpaths polished, the facade of buildings washed in a uniform yellowish hue, temple motifs painted on shopfronts and smashed skeletons of buildings feverishly being worked upon.

“Our hopes of a turnaround in our fortunes, be it in our business or other aspects of our life, rest on this temple which for years was locked in dispute,” said Akash Dubey, who sells construction material near Karsevakpuram.

Two helicopters of the Indian Air Force dropped flowers over the Ram Temple on Sunday in a rehearsal for the big event. They will again fly over the Ram temple on Monday to greet the deity and all dignitaries with flower showers. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya visited Ayodhya on Sunday to take stock of the preparations.

The ceremony will be attended by representatives of all major spiritual and religious sects of the country, a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said. People from all walks of life including representatives of various tribal communities will also attend the ceremony, it said.

The Prime Minister will interact with workers associated with the construction of the temple and visit the Kuber Tila, where an ancient Shiva temple has been restored.

Built in the Nagara style of architecture, the Ram Temple is held up by 392 columns and accessible through 44 doors, 14 gilded in gold. In addition to the main shrine, temples will be built at each of the four corners of the two-storey and 14-feet-wide circumambulation path, adorned with 125 bronze figurines depicting the Ramayana. Seven additional temples will be built south of the main structure, dedicated to various sages and figures in the Ramayana such as Nishadraj, Ahalya and Shabri. Around 70% of the sprawling 70-acre plot will be left vacant for 600 trees.

“In the main sanctum sanctorum at ground floor, the childhood form of Bhagwan Shri Ram (the idol of Shri Ramlalla) has been placed,” the PMO statement said. The main entrance to the temple is situated on the eastern side, which can be approached by ascending 32 stairs through the ‘Singh Dwar’.There are a total of five halls in the temple - Nritya Mandap, Rang Mandap, Sabha Mandap, Prathana Mandap and Kirtan Mandap.

The foundation of the temple has been constructed with a 14-metre-thick layer of roller-compacted concrete (RCC), giving it the appearance of artificial rock. No iron is used anywhere in the temple, according to the statement.

Sanjay Dhawalikar, head of the floral decoration team, also said that over 3,000kg of flowers of more than 20 varieties have been used for decoration of the grand structure.

“About 85-90% work on decoration of the temple complex has been completed. Over 3,000kg of various varieties of flowers brought from different parts of India, have been used for it,” Dhawalikar told news agency PTI.

On Sunday, the idol was bathed with sacred water from 114 kalash (urn), containing medicated water and holy water from various pilgrimage sites from across the country.

The ceremony included daily worship, havan, and chanting, which continued until late in the evening. The idol of Lord Ram Lalla was placed in the Madhyadhivas and Jagran at night was also held on the same day.

The ceremony began on January 16, in the afternoon, starting from the Saryu river. The arrival of the idol of Lord Rama in the temple complex took place on January 17. The Pran Pratishtha will be completed on Monday afternoon during the auspicious Abhijit Muhurat.

Many film stars such as Rajnikanth, Kangana Ranaut arrived in chartered flights at the newly inaugurated Maharishi Valmiki International Airport. Satyendra Das, the octogenarian head priest of the Ram Temple, said that the set of rituals to be performed as per the directions of the high priests of Varanasi — Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid and Laxmikant Shastri — would include bathing the idol sculpted by Mysuru-based Arun Yogiraj, lifting the veil from the eyes and applying kohl on them.

Devotional tunes played out across Ayodhya on the eve of the grand event though the temple town was virtually cordoned off, with only VIPs invited for the event, media persons carrying valid passes and officials being let in. On the eve of the celebratory event, the culture department put up 100 stalls where 2,500 folk artistes performed for an audience.