PM visits Panchvati, associated with Ramayana, prays at Kala Ram temple

Mumbai: Ahead of the pran-pratishtha ceremony of the grand Ram mandir in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday commenced an 11-day special strict ritual and offered prayers to Lord Ram at the Shree Kala Ram Mandir in Maharashtra’s pilgrimage town of Nashik, closely associated with Ramayana. The consecration of the idol of Ram Lalla at the grand temple under construction in Ayodhya is scheduled for January 22, 2024. 

With 11 days remaining, Modi visited the Shree Kala Ram Mandir located along the banks of Godavari in the Panchvati area of Nashik. The prime minister sought the blessings of people, sages and Gods for the undertaking and expressed happiness that he will initiate the ritual from Nashik Dham-Panchavati where Lord Ram spent significant time. 

At the banks of Godavari, he performed jal-poojan and maha-aarti and then went to the Kala Ram temple where he offered prayers to Lord Ram, Mata Sita and Laxman and Lord Hanuman. At the temple complex, the prime minister heard the epic narrative of the Ramayana, specifically the ‘Yudh Kanda’ segment, which depicts Lord Rama’s return to Ayodhya. This was presented in Marathi and the PM listened to the Hindi version through AI translation.

In the temple precincts, Modi took ‘darshan’, performed an ‘aarti’ and was honoured with a shawl and later presented with a photo-frame of the temple idols, a replica of the temple and a plaque. Later, Modi sat with some priests and bhajan singers and took part in the singing of holy hymns and played cymbals.The name Panchavati means the land of 5 banyan trees.

The legend is that Lord Ram set up his hut here as the presence of 5 banyan trees made this region auspicious. “This is a huge responsibility. As it is also said in our scriptures, we have to awaken divine consciousness in ourselves for the yagya and worship of God. For this, fasts and strict rules have been prescribed in the scriptures, which have to be followed before consecration. Therefore, according to the guidance I have received from some pious souls and great men of the spiritual journey and according to the ‘Yama-Niyams’ suggested by them, I am starting a special ritual of 11 days from today,” Modi said in his special message. 

The day also coincided with the birth anniversaries of of Swami Vivekananda, who spread the message of Vedanta and Yoga to the world and Mata Jijabai, the mother of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who laid the foundation of Hindavi-swaraj or self-rule of Hindu people. The temple derives its name from a black statue of Lord Ram and the sanctum sanctorum also houses the idols of Sita Mata and Laxman.

The temple complex also has the deity of Lord Hanuman which is also black.It is believed that they had stayed in the Panchvati area for a few years during their 14-year-exile. Nashik is the pilgrimage capital of Maharashtra - as the Panchvati is associated with Lord Ram and the Godavari River, considered as Dakshin Ganga, flows through it. 

The Shri Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple in Trimbak, around 28 kms from Nashik is one of the 12 jyotirlingas. The linga has three faces embodying Brahma, Vishnu, and Lord Shiva. The origin of Godavari is from Trimbak. In fact, the government has plans for an Integrated Corridor for Panchavati – Trimbakeshwar on the lines of Kashi and Ayodhya corridor.

The temple also has a social relevance, as in 1930, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the social reformer and chief architect of the Constitution, had led a protest at the Kalaram temple to seek entry of Dalits into the temple.

It may be mentioned, as no invitation has been extended to to former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray for the 22 January ceremony he would visit the Kalaram temple in Nashik on that day and perform a ‘maha aarti’ of Godavari River on that day.