BHUMI PUJA FOR RAM MANDIR

As vedic chants reverberated in a large profusely flower-bedecked temporary hall, Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed Bhumi Puja on Wednesday for a magnificent temple for deity Ram at his birth place in Ayodhya. The Prime Minister sat on the floor in front of a rectangular pit containing some of the “bricks” received for the ceremony and a few other religious articles.  The priests and a few prominent persons sat around the pit.  The leisurely puja culminated at 12-44 p.m., exactly at the auspicious moment set by the astrologers for the purpose.

The profusely flower-bedecked hall for Bhumi Puja

Earlier, after arriving from Delhi the Prime Minister straight proceeded, accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, to the ancient Hanuman Garhi temple in the city and offered prayers as per the traditional practice.  He then went to the provisional temple of Ram Lalla, the infant Ram, and prayed there after prostrating.  In that premises he also planted a Parijat sapling (the night jasmine).

After the Bhoomi Puja, Modi addressed an invited gathering.  He made an assurance that a grand temple will be built for Ram Lalla, who had been living in the temporary pavilion for years.  “Ram is a thread that strings together various entities and ensures India’s unity in diversity.  The temple will fulfill the longstanding desire of the people,” he said.

The Prime Minister unveiled a plaque to commemorate the ground-breaking ceremony and also released a special postal stamp to mark the occasion.

Crores of people and devotees all over the world watched the entire programme live on television sets or other electronic devices .  The entire city of Ayodhya wore a festive look. 

A COMPILATION OF PHOTOS

(By Subbaram Danda)

Hanuman Garhi temple

Modi praying at Hanuman Garhi temple

The provisional shrine of Ram Lalla, infant Ram

Modi offering prayers at Ram Lalla shrine

The Prime Minister planting a Parijata sapling

Modi performing Bhumi Puja sitting in front of a pit

The Prime Minister addressing a select gathering of invitees

The invitees

August 06, 2020

RAM MANDIR: A CURTAIN RAISER

The stage is all set for a historic spiritual event on Wednesday, August 5, 2020 – bhoomi puja at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh for a magnificent temple for Hindu deity Ram gloriously celebrated in the Indian epic Ramayana. Ram is an avatar of Vishnu and Ayodhya on the banks of the Sarayu river is his birth place. The occasion will be grand but serene in view of the prevailing Corona pandemic.

MARVELLOUS MANDIR FOR RAM

(By Subbaram Danda)

When completed in the next few years, the temple will be a spectacular edifice of its kind in the world. According to present indications, it will be a three storeyed ornate structure with an octagonal garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum). It will stand 161 feet tall, 268 feet long and 140 feet wide with 5 domes and 318 pillars. Another sparkling feature is that there will be 24 marble doors. Around the main building there will be several smaller shrines for various other deities. A wide pathway will take devotees to the temple. 

A model of the proposed Ram temple

On completion, the temple will be the third most marvellous Hindu shrine in the world. The first one, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, was built in the 12th century dedicated to Vishnu. It was later converted into a Buddhist place of worship. The second one is the architecturally splendorous Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, also dedicated to Vishnu.

At the ground breaking ceremony, a 40-kg silver brick will be laid at the site of the sanctum along with several smaller ones of the same precious metal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, vedic scholars and priests.

Ayodhya is full of heritage buildings. The most visited place is Hanuman Garhi temple. From a distance it looks like a small fort. It can be reached by climbing 76 steps. Hanuman appears in an unusual style in this temple. Young Hanuman is sitting on the lap of his mother Anjani. While scholars date the shrine as belonging to the 10th century, local traditions take it to more ancient times. There is also Dasarath Mahal, said to be the place, where Ram’s father Dasarath stayed. Kanak Bhavan is a temple dedicated to Sita, Ram and his three brothers. Looming over the city is Rajdwar temple with its soaring shikara. It is one of the town’s most distinctive structures with a huge circular mandap.

Towers of the Hanuman Garhi temple

Dasarath Mahal

Kanak Bhawan

For the bhoomi puja, soil from many holy places and water from several sacred rivers have been collected. Special mention should be made of the collection of the ash offered during Bhasmaarthi at the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. According to scriptures, Ram during his stay in forests had visited Ujjain and offered prayers for Mahakaleshwar. Hanuman had also visited Ujjain and collected water from the Kshipra river there for an Ashwamedha yaga performed by Ram. Other places from where soil has been collected include Kamakhya temple in Assam, Ramanathaswami temple in Tamil Nadu, Chardham shrines, Gurudwaras and Jain temples.

Holy water has been procured from the Triveni sangamam of the Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi at Prayagraj, Tala Kaveri, Agni teertham at Rameshwaram, the confluence of the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea and almost all Indian rivers.

Ram Janma bhoomi, where Ram was born in Ayodhya, has been a place of legal dispute for long. Originally there was a temple at the site and the Mughal King Babar constructed a mosque there razing it down. In 1850s the dispute surfaced in a violent form and in 1992 demolition of the Babri masjid was attempted. This led to further legislative and legal wrangles. Finally in 2019 on the orders of the Supreme Court the disputed land was handed over to a Hindu trust and an alternative site given to Muslims. Thus, the way was cleared for the setting up of a long-cherished temple for deity Ram.

Leading up to the great ground-breaking ceremony, preparations have been going on to deck up Ayodhya. Buildings on all main roads have been painted yellow. Scenes from Ramayana have been portrayed on walls at vantage points. Colourful lights in the night have turned the city into a magic land. The banks of the Sarayu river have received a make-over.

Bird's eye view of a section of Ayodhya

Sarayu river has a make-over

Buildings on leading roads have been painted yellow

Bihar’s Sitamarshi, birth place of Ram’s consort, has been tastefully decked up for the occasion. The town will hoist 2,100 saffron flags and the people will burst into bhajans and keertans to mark the occasion.

Façade lights have been installed at the numerous temples in Ayodhya.  Appeals have gone out to people all over the country and abroad to light diyas on August 4 and 5.

Several schemes have been announced to beautify the city on a permanent basis. A 16-kilometre stretch of a bypass road leading to Ayodhya will be spruced up with water fountains, Hanuman statues at intervals and gardens.

Ayodhya has become the cynosure of all eyes. No doubt, once the Ram temple comes up with all its splendour it would become the new wonder of the world.

August 04, 2020