NEW DELHI: Days before the consecration of the Ram Temple on January 22, a 500-member procession, carrying 1,100 bhars (baskets) of items meant as wedding gifts for Lord Ram will reach Ayodhya from Nepal’s Janakpur, the birthplace of his bride Sita.
The procession will start from Janaki Mandir in Janakpur on January 4 and is expected to reach Ayodhya two days later on January 6. “The bhars will contain lots of wedding gifts including jewellery, gold and silver items, dry fruits, utensils, garments, cosmetics and quintals of food grains like rice – all of which we traditionally give as gifts to a bride when she gets married and goes to live with her groom.
Since Sita was from Janakpur, we will carry all this to Ayodhya as an offering to Lord Rama on January 6, which will be ahead of the consecration of Ram Temple on January 22,” Lalit Shah, a member of the Janakpurdhamash Ayodhyadham Bhar Yatra, a committee which is organising the visit, told this newspaper.
The local authorities in Ayodhya have made arrangements to accommodate 251 people who are part of the procession. Arrangements are being made by the organising committee to accommodate the rest at various private facilities.
The distance between Janakpur and Ayodhya is 458 km. “We will begin our journey from Janaki Mandir, and then, via Jaleshwar, reach Birganj where we will rest for the night. Around 30 cars and five buses will be part of the procession that will carry these gifts. On January 5, we will enter India via Raxaul and have lunch at Betia. Then via Gorakpur and Bastipur we will reach Ayodhya,’’ said Shah. At 8 am on January 6, the delegation will hand over the 1,100 bhars to the trustees of the temple.