The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has begun creating a list of those who will be invited to attend the pran pratistha (the consecration ritual) of Ram Lalla idol at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, which is scheduled for January.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to attend the ceremony as the prime guest, the Trust intends to invite 6,000 to 8,000 people.
“Efforts are being made to ensure that sants and seers from all traditions and practises, as well as leaders from all castes and biradaris, attend Ram Lalla’s pran pratistha at the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram temple in Ayodhya,” Champat Rai, the Trust’s general secretary, told The Indian Express on Tuesday.
“Various persons are working on the guest list. “However, between 6,000 and 8,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony,” Rai added, adding that a considerable number of women will be there.
The Trust has not yet decided on a date for the consecration event, but it is scheduled to take place between January 15 and January 24. “The date will be finalised according to the availability of the Prime Minister,” Rai stated.
The Trust, established by the Centre to build the Ram temple in Ayodhya, intends to begin the process of consecration of Ram Lalla after Makar Sankranti on January 14, and to observe a 10-day ‘pran pratishtha’ rite.
In an interview with PTI, temple construction committee head Nripendra Mishra stated that the consecration event is expected to occur on January 22 and that the Prime Minister’s Office has not notified the final date.
Rai stated that three sculptors are currently working on the idol. Rai, who refused to reveal their location, stated that three stones were chosen from a collection of stones imported from Nepal, Rajasthan, and Karnataka.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) met earlier this month in Ayodya and resolved to celebrate the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Pranpratistha celebration “as a carnival all over the world.” Puja, yagna, havan, and aarti will be conducted in monasteries and temples across the country on that day. Devotees will also be requested to light five lamps in their houses. Large LED displays will be installed in temples across the country so that people can view the ceremony live.
Meanwhile, the temple’s construction is moving quickly. “We’re doing everything we can to finish the sanctum sanctorum and the temple’s ground floor.” The ground floor ceiling was finished in June of this year. “We’re working hard to get the site ready by December,” Rai, who is also VHP’s worldwide vice president, said.
Meanwhile, Mishra stated that the ground floor of the three-story Ram temple will be finished by December. He also stated that work is being done to design a piece of equipment that would be mounted on the temple spire to ensure that the Sun’s rays land on the deity’s forehead for a brief duration.
Every year on Ram Navami, the sanctum sanctorum is visited.
“The apparatus is being constructed in Bengaluru, and scientists are supervising its design.” “The Central Building Research Institute in Roorkee and a Pune-based institute have collaborated to develop a computerised programme for this,” Mishra told PTI.
The UP government has also been monitoring the progress of 263 projects costing Rs 30,923 crore for Ayodhya in order to avoid trouble for pilgrims and tourists visiting the temple town during the temple’s opening.
In a 2019 ruling, the Supreme Court cleared the door for a Trust to build a Ram temple on the disputed site in Ayodhya. The Supreme Court ruled that the 2.77 acres of disputed property where the demolished 16th century-era Babri Masjid once stood shall be retained by a Central government receiver and turned over to the Trust within three months of the verdict for the temple’s construction.
The court also ordered the Centre to grant a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for the construction of a new mosque in a “prominent” location in Ayodhya.
