View of the Ram Mandir in the evening ahead of its consecration ceremony, in Ayodhya.
Credit: PTI Photo
All eyes are on Ayodhya, as the 'pran pratishtha' ceremony is set to take place on Jan 22. After this, the temple will open its doors to devotees to worship "Ram Lalla", even though the temple itself is technically still unfinished. Here are the top 10 most interesting facts about the consecration ceremony.
1. Though Jan 22 is the date on everyone lips, the preparatory rituals for the consecration actually began a week early on January 15, and will culminate on the seventh and final day on Monday (Jan 22). Here is the list of ceremonies being conducted.
January 16 - Prayaschita and Karmakuti Poojan
January 17 - Parisar Pravesh of the Murti
January 18 (Evening) - Teerth Poojan, Jal Yatra, and Gandhadivas
January 19 (Morning) - Aushadhadhivas, Kesaradhivas, Ghritadivas
January 19 (Evening) - Dhanyadhivas
January 20 (Morning) - Sharkaradhivas, Phaladhivas
January 20 (Evening) - Pushpadhivas
January 21 (Morning) - Madhyadhivas
January 21(Evening) - Shaiyadhivas.
2. There will be 121 acharyas conducting the ceremonies. Shri Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid will oversee, coordinate, anchor, and direct the activities of the 'anushthan', with Shri Lakshmikant Dixit of Kashi serving as its head acharya.
3. The main 'pran pratishtha' ceremony is expected to take place between 12:20 pm and 1:00 pm. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will preside over the consecration ceremony as 'yajman'.
4. Acharyas of all schools of Indian spirituality, religion, sects, methods of worship, traditions, and saints of more than 150 traditions like Mahamandaleshwar, Mandaleshwar, Srimahant, Mahant, Naga and also 50 tribal tradition representatives will be present to witness the consecration ceremony.
5. The Jan 22 ceremony is being touted as the first mainstream Hindu religious event that has tribal participants, hailing from India's mountains, forests, coastal areas, and islands.
6. After the completion of the 'pran pratishtha' program in the sanctum sanctorum, all the witnessing dignitaries will be given darshan.
7. The idol chosen for the Ayodhya temple is that of Lord Ram in his child form. The 51-inch idol was sculpted by Mysuru-based artist Arun Yogiraj. It was placed in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple on Thursday, Jan 18, following its arrival on Wednesday night amidst prayer chants.
8. India's largest light-emitting diodes (LED) floating screen was installed at Sarayu Ghat in the temple town to telecast the 'pran pratishtha' programme live to the devotees. The length of this entire screen is 69 feet and the height is 16 feet, which makes the entire floating LED screen approximately 1100 square feet.
Jal (water) brought from different states at Karyashala, ahead of the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir, in Ayodhya, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
9. Most notable among the items received by the Ram temple is the bhaaras (gifts) sent by what is considered Sita's maternal home in Janakpur (Nepal) and Sitamarhi (Bihar). Gifts have also been sent from Ram's maternal home located in Raipur, Dandakaranya area.
10. Security has been beefed up in the temple town as it will be attended by nearly 8,000 VIP guests. The police force of Uttar Pradesh, which was scheduled to come to Ayodhya, arrived in the town on Saturday, Jan 20. Patrolling being done from all three areas — land, water, and air. Drones have also been deployed.