Ram Temple set to mark another milestone today

On January 22, 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi threw open a magnificent new Ram Temple in Ayodhya as he presided over a ceremony dedicated to the 51-inch black stone idol of the five-year-old god, or Ram Lalla, in front of a thousands-strong crowd.

- Pawan Dixit

AYODHYA:

On June 5, 2025, that journey will see a new landmark with the pran pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Darbar on the first floor of the temple, marking the culmination of three-day-long rituals and Vedic chanting.

"Chief minister Yogi Adityanath will unveil the eyes of Lord Ram and Mata Sita, making the final ritual of the pran pratishtha ceremony of Ram Darbar," said Anil Mishra, member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

Thereafter, the deities will be offered special bhog prasad, which will be reflected in a mirror, allowing devotees to have a glimpse of the ritual. The aarti will then be performed. "The pran pratishtha ceremony is a sacred ritual where the deities are infused with life and energy. According to vedas, the deities' eyes are unveiled after the Pran Pratishtha ceremony, as the divine energy emanating from their eyes is considered too powerful for human beings to behold directly," added Mishra.

The ceremony — held on the chief minister's 53rd birthday — will mark the final phase of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and will be more of a religious affair, compared to the blockbuster event held in 2024.

"The Ram Darbar idol in Ayodhya's Ram Temple is a masterpiece of craftsmanship and devotion, and its beauty and significance will be cherished by devotees for years to come," said Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, chairman of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

Built in the traditional Nagara style of architecture with intricate carvings of deities adorning its white marble walls, the temple spans 380 feet in length and spire at 161 feet. Supported by 392 columns and accessible through 44 doors, the temple is built on the 2.77-acre plot which Hindus believe to be the birthplace of Lord Ram and which was locked away behind the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute for 150 years, before the Supreme Court's landmark verdict in 2019.