Ram Temple 'bhoomi pujan' rituals begin in Ayodhya

The three-day-long rituals for the Ram Temple 'bhoomi pujan' (groundbreaking ceremony) began in Ayodhya on Monday amid the Covid-19 scare.

The rituals began with the invocation of 'Gauri-Ganesh' (Goddess Parvati and Lord Ganesha) followed by special 'puja' of the 'kuldevis' (family deity) of Lord Ram and his consort Sita.

Twenty-one 'purohits' (priests), specially roped in from Varanasi, performed the rituals at the Ram Janmabhoomi amid chanting of Vedic hymns and 'Jai Shriram'.

The rituals would culminate on Wednesday with the laying of the foundation stone by prime minister Narendra Modi in the presence of a large number of seers, BJP leaders and RSS functionaries.

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Four specially prepared dresses, studded with 'navratnas' (nine precious jewels), were handed over to the chief priest of the makeshift Ram Temple on Monday.

'Ramlala' would be donning white dress on Monday, red on Tuesday, green on Wednesday and yellow on Thursday, the priests said.

Elaborate arrangements have been made in Ayodhya for the groundbreaking ceremony. All the important temples in the town have been illuminated with bright light.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath also reached Ayodhya on Monday to review the arrangements. Adityanath also met the president of Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teert Trust, which was overseeing the construction of the Ram Temple, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das.

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Several important dignitaries, who were extended invitations to attend the ceremony, have preferred to stay away from the event in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

One of the priests at the makeshift Ram Temple and 16 security personnel deployed inside the Ram Janmabhoomi Complex had tested positive a few days back.

Senior BJP leaders L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi would be witnessing the ceremony via video conferencing. It was not clear, however, the two leaders, who had taken an active part in the Ram Temple movement, were invited to attend the ceremony.

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Another senior saffron party leader Uma Bharti said that she would be in Ayodhya on Wednesday but would not attend the event keeping in view the pandemic.

One of the notable invitees included Iqbal Ansari, son of the oldest Babri litigant Hashim Ansari. Iqbal Ansari said that he would be presenting 'Ram Charit Manas' authored by Tulsidas and 'Ramnami' (a scarf on which the name of Lord Rama is written everywhere).

All roads leading to Ayodhya had been sealed and only authorised vehicles were being allowed, police sources said.