'Rammay' Ayodhya Awaits The End of Ram Lalla's 500 Yrs of 'Exile' With 'Pran Pratishtha' Today

After a century of legal battles and three years of construction, 500 years of “exile” will end for Ram Lalla’s idol as it returns to his “janmabhoomi” at Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya on January 22, a significant moment for India’s “civilisation” that would also mark the break of a new dawn in the holy city.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the much-awaited “Pran Pratistha” ceremony which will begin at 12.20 pm on Monday and is expected to end by 1 pm. Fourteen couples from various parts of India will be the “yajmaans” (hosts) for the “Pran Pratishtha”.

The PM will then address a gathering of more than 7,000 people, including seers and prominent personalities, at the venue. The entire event will be telecast live to a nationwide audience of millions, and more outside India. Devotees will be able to visit the shrine from January 23.

From artworks depicting Lord Ram in Streetlights on flyovers to ornamental lamp posts carrying designs themed on the traditional “Ramanandi tilak”, the whole of the city is steeped in religious spirit with its streets filled with strains of songs such as ‘Ram Aayenge’ and ‘Awadh Mein Ram Aayen Hain’.

“Shubh Ghadi Aayi”, “Taiyar hai Ayodhya dham, virajenge Shree Ram” and “Ram fir lautenge”, “Ayodhya me Ram rajya” are among the slogans on posters and hoardings splashed across the city. Various verses from the Ramayana are also printed on posters at prominent places like the Ram Marg, the Saryu River bank and Lata Mangeshkar Chowk.

As authorities made final preparations in a decked-up Ayodhya, considered the birthplace of Lord Ram, temples across the country and abroad have announced special festivities to mark the occasion.

From Washington DC to Paris to Sydney, events have been planned in various parts of the world on January 22. These programmes are either being organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) or Hindu diaspora groups in 60 countries.

The consecration ceremony is being held after the first phase of the temple’s construction, made possible by a historic Supreme Court judgment in 2019 on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit. The Hindu litigants argued that the Babri Mosque was constructed at the site of a temple marking the birthplace of Lord Ram. In 1992, the 16th-century mosque was demolished by “kar sevaks”.

From Vishnu Avatars to the Swastik, Ram Lalla Idol Depicts All Significant Sanatan Dharma Symbols

Lord Hanuman at one foot, Lord Garuda at the other, all 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu, a Swastik, Om, Chakra, Gada, Shankh and Surya Narayan — these depictions have been made on the new Ram Lalla idol whose ‘Pran Pratishtha’ or consecration will be conducted on January 22. This is arguably the most detailed idol ever made of Lord Ram.

If one looks closely at the idol whose pictures are now public, all 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu are depicted on both sides of the idol. Lord Vishnu had avatars of Krishna, Parshuram, Kalki and Narsingh among others and their depictions feature on the idol. Lord Hanuman, the biggest devotee of Lord Ram, finds a place near the right foot of the Ram Lalla idol while Lord Garuda, who is the mount (vahana) of Lord Vishnu, finds a place near the left foot of the Ram idol.

If one looks closely towards the top of the statue, all holy signs of the Sanatan Dharma and Hinduism can be found depicted around the head of the new Lord Ram Lalla idol. There is a Swastik, the Om sign, the Chakra, a Gada, a Shankh and the idol’s face has the Surya Narayan aabhamandal around it. All these depictions are closely associated with Lord Vishnu and Lord Ram. The right hand of the idol is in the depiction of an aashirwaad and holding an arrow while there is a bow (dhanush) in the left hand.

The black stone idol made by Mysuru sculptor Arun Yogiraj is a five-year-old depiction of Lord Ram and is 51-inches tall. Yogiraj has earlier made famous statues like that of Ali Shankaracharya installed in Kedarnath and that of Subhash Chandra Bose installed at India Gate in Delhi.

The black stone statue has a life-span of several hundred years and is not impacted by touch of water, Chandan and roli — items usually put on an idol as per Hindu traditions. The idol will be seen wearing bright royal clothes and a mukut (crown).

Ram Dhun Rings in Streets; Ayodhya in Grip of Religious Fervour, Magical Festive Atmosphere

Invitees to the “Pran Pratishtha” consecration ceremony at the Ram temple started arriving Sunday in Ayodhya — once a sleepy town now resplendent with new infrastructure and gripped by heightened religious fervour on the eve of a seminal event in India’s political and religious history.

The town, about 140 km west of Lucknow, was bedecked with multi-coloured flowers as recordings of ‘Ram dhun’ played from loudspeakers and townsfolk dressed as Lord Ram, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman paraded down the streets followed by delirious devotees, and news camera crews.

“Ayodhya Ram maye ho gayi hai (Ayodhya is immersed in devotion of Lord Ram),” said Shailendra Gupta, who runs a fabric store on Ram Path, the main street of the town that runs past the Ram temple. “And Monday is a day when Hindus across the world will rejoice.”

Ceremonial gates depicting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in floral patterns and illumination visible at night add to the aura of the ancient city which has undergone a massive infrastructural growth in the last couple of years after the 2019 Supreme Court verdict on the Ram temple issue.

The streets and skyline of Ayodhya are covered with saffron flags fluttering from rooftops of buildings, small and big. Cut-outs of the Ram temple along with Lord Ram have been put up at Lata Mangeshkar Chowk, while ornamental lamp posts along the Ram Path bearing design themed on ‘Ramanadi tilak’ and light patterns depicting religious symbols have turned the city into a land of festivities.

10,000 CCTVs, AI: Ayodhya Turns Fortress For ‘Pran Pratistha’

A multi-layer security cover is in place in Ayodhya for the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple, with 10,000 CCTVs keeping an eye on the movement of people and police personnel in plain clothes deployed at the venue. From Dharampath and Rampath here, which are witnessing a huge influx of devotees, to bylanes of the Hanumangarhi area and Asharfi Bhavan road, policemen can be seen patrolling the streets.

Movable barriers with barbed wires attached to it can be spotted virtually at every prominent crossing in the city, as policemen use them to regulate traffic especially during VVIP movements.

“For this, 10,000 CCTV cameras have been installed in the entire Ayodhya district. In some of these CCTV cameras, we are using AI-based technology so that we can maintain a strict vigil on commuters,” the DG said. Police personnel with multi-lingual skills will be deployed in plain clothes at the programme venue.

The senior police official also said the security along the Saryu river has also been increased with the help of NDRF and SDRF teams. “We are coordinating with other agencies. Checking is going on at the international and inter-state border. Police will use drones for crowd control and for diversion of excess crowd,” he said.

(With PTI inputs)