What the new Ram Temple will look like

The iconic brick-laying ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Aug 5 brings a long tale of political and social turmoil to an end. A tale that began with the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 will enter its final chapter as the ceremony marks the formal commencement of the much-promised mandir's construction. The design of the temple has been formulated by architect Chandrakant Sompura. The construction of Ram temple will begin in Ayodhya after the said ceremony in which 175 dignitaries from political and religious fields are scheduled to participate via select guest list.The proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya will be almost double the size of what was originally planned as its design was modified following the Supreme Court verdict last year

the project is likely to be completed in the next three years once the work commences. It will now have a shikhara (tower) over the sanctum sanctorum and five domes instead of the earlier plan of two domes. The height of the temple will also be more than what was in the previous plan, the chief architect, Chandrakant Sompura said. Credit: Twitter/ShriRamTeerth

Sompura, 77, who comes from a family of temple architects that have designed over 200 such structures, said that he was asked to prepare a design for the Ram temple by late leader of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Ashok Singhal, around 30 years ago. Credit: Twitter/ShriRamTeerth

Annu Bhai Sompura, Manager of Ram Mandir Nirman Karyashala, had said earlier that silver, gold and copper would also be used in the construction of the temple apart from stones and wood.Moreover, Sompura said two mandaps have been added to the design.

Chandrakant Sompura said designing the Ram temple was an uphill task 30 years back, as he had to prepare drawings using his footsteps as the unit of measurement. Credit: Twitter/ShriRamTeerth

The chief architect said his family designs temples in Nagara style and the structure in Ayodhya will also be built in that style of North Indian temple architecture. Credit: Twitter/ShriRamTeerth