LUCKNOW: Ahead of the consecration of the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya on Monday, there has been saturation coverage on the minutiae of everything associated with the once-in-an-era event. It has had its share of controversies too. We try to dissect some of them. This daily was the first to break the news on the selection of an idol crafted by Mysuru sculptor Arun Yogiraj as the presiding deity — out of the three options before the temple trust.
Public curiosity on how the idol looked reached fever pitch before it was leaked on Friday morning. It robbed the organisers of the mystery element as they wanted to unveil the full idol only after the deity descends into it following the consecration ceremony, making it a living representation of the divine. That is the proper way to go about it as prescribed in the scriptures.
The 51 inch, 1.5 tonne idol was installed on its pedestal just the other day with a Ram Yantra (copper plate with geometric designs) at its base and with the sculpture’s face covered. A piece of cloth covering the eyes will officially go away after the pran pratishtha, which would transfer life force to the idol that depicts Ram as a five-year-old. As per Sanatana Dharma, pran pratishtha rituals create a direct connect between the devotee and the divine who resides in that particular idol.
Ram Lalla (child Ram), the presiding deity, did not have a proper temple at his place of birth for over five centuries, hence the popular excitement. He won the right for the temple after a gruelling legal battle at the highest court of the land. But that is for another time. Over 7,500 dignitaries have been invited by the Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for the consecration event on January 22.
Sanatana Dharma has four main sects — Shaivites, Vaishnavites, Shakts and Ganapatyites with Shiva, Vishnu, Tripura Sundari and Ganesh as their supreme deities, respectively. According to scholars, the rituals for consecration in all the four sects are common though the configuration of the support cast would change depending on the presiding deity.
Ramanandi sect
At the heart of the management of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir is the Ramanandi sect. It is the largest of Vaishnavite sects and is known for its deep association with Ram, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu. Ramanandis consider themselves descendants of Ram’s sons Lav and Kush.
Seers of the Ramanandi sampradaya worship Ram, Sita and Hanuman. Their method of worship, widely followed in Ayodhya, has become synonymous with the spiritual fabric of the city. The Nirmohi Akhara, which was the custodian of the first Ram Chabutra (platform) in front of the Babri mosque till 1949, and then the temple when the idol appeared inside the Babri structure in December 1949, is part of the Ramanandi sect.
The sect traces its roots back to Jagatguru Shri Ramanandacharya, a religious and social reformer of the 15th century. A pioneer of the Bhakti movement in medieval India, he was an egalitarian who founded the Vaishnava Bairagi sect to eliminate caste-based discriminations in the society through religious and spiritual activities. The Ramanandi sect has since evolved into 36 sub-branches.
Question time
In the argumentative nation that we live in, questions abound over the choice of date for the consecration ceremony. Why January 22 and not any other date after, say, the general elections? Why is it being done in such a hurry since a spire of the temple is yet to be constructed? Isn’t it being done to encash the Ram card ahead of national elections in a few months? And why is Prime Minister Narendra Modi the main yajman (host of the deity) for the consecration? Shouldn’t it be done by Vedic experts or a Shankaracharya instead? Opinions differ depending on whom you are talking to but that hasn’t dampened the apparently organic enthusiasm for darshan at the temple.
Why January 22
The organisers claim the appropriate date and time was decided by the high priests in Kashi, who are an authority on the scriptures and astrology. They decided the best planetary position for the consecration will be during the mool muhurt (most auspicious time) of 84 seconds under the Abhijeet Muhurt in the Mrigashira Nakshtra falling on January 22. While Abhijeet Muhurt will start at 11.51 am and continue till 12.33 pm that day, the mool muhurt is between 12.29.08 pm and 12.30.32 pm — just 84 seconds. That is when pran pratishtha is to be performed. Muhurt defines the quality of time. Abhijeet Muhurt arrives every day around noon.
The date and time was decided by Pandit Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid, a Jyotish scholar and reputed priest at Sangved Vidyalaya, who is overseeing the pran pratishtha rituals in Ayodhya. He gave an astrological reasoning for selecting the muhurt. “Consecration during this muhurt will keep the temple intact till the Sun and the Moon exist,” he claimed. It was during the Abhijit Muhurt that Vishnu destroyed doshas (flaws) with his Sudarshan Chakra. Ram was born in the same muhurt when the Sun was at its apex. Due to Guru’s (Jupiter) position, the muhurt selected for consecration will leave a positive impact as it will ensure progress in the field of education, bring positive ideas, enhance the mental status of people and promote righteousness, he added. Provisions prescribed in Jyotish scriptures, including Muhurt Chintamani, Muhurt Paarijat, Vrihad Daivigya Ranjan, Dharma Sindhu and Jyoti Nibandh, were kept in mind while deciding the muhurt for both the Shilanyas (foundation laying of the temple) by former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and Ram Lalla’s pran pratishtha, he emphasised.
“It will be Dwadashi (12th day) of Paush month’s Shukla Paksh (brighter lunar fortnight). The muhurt is in Mesh Lagna on January 22 when Guru Brihaspati (Jupiter) will be in full power. Guru is known as the planet of learning and wisdom. This muhurt will be free from the effects of Panch Baan (inauspicious conjunction of five constellations including Rog, Raj, Chor, Mrityu, Agni)," he said.
Rituals of pran pratishtha
For the consecration process to take off, a yajman has to be appointed to perform the rituals. The yajman along with his spouse starts the series of rituals. That task was performed by temple trust member Anil Mishra and his wife as also 13 other couples from across the country in the run-up to the main event. The prime minister will be the main yajman on January 22.
Pre-consecration rituals include Jaladhivas (idol immersed in water), Annadhivas (idol resting in food grains) and Ghritadhivas (resting in ghee), Pushpadhivas (with flowers), Phaladhivas (with fruits) and Aushadadhivas (with medicinal herbs). Then there is the purification of the temple courtyard with medicated water filled in 81 urns. Subsequently, Vastu pujan of the temple is performed.
The idol to be consecrated is bathed with water from different pilgrimage sites and holy rivers, filled in 125 urns. Then mahapuja of the idol is performed and it is placed on its bed in a ritual known as Shaiyadiwas (retiring for the day). On the concluding day, divine energy or prana is transferred to the idol. This is done through the chanting of mantras and the performance of intricate mudras (hand gestures) by the priests.
Then 16 offerings are made to the deity. It is followed by the first Maha Aarti. That’s when the deity is presented before the devotees for the first time. Thereafter, the priests touch different parts of the idol signifying the presence of different divine energies in different sensory organs like Indra as the hand, Brahma as the heart and Surya as the eyes, etc,.
The final ritual is Chakshu Unmilan or opening of the eyes of the idol. It marks the highest point of the ceremony. This part is expected to be performed by Modi. The idol is then considered consecrated.
Four Shankaracharyas stay away
Four Shankaracharyas — Swami Nishchalanand Saraswati of Puri Gowardhanpeeth, Bharati Teerth of Sringeri, Sadanand Saraswati of Dwarka and Avimukteshwaranand of Jyotir Mutt of Uttarakhand — will skip the pran prathishta ceremony for different reasons. While the heads of Sringeri and Dwarka have extended their full support to the temple, Avimukteshwaranand of Jyotir Mutt says he cannot attend the pran prathishta of an incomplete temple, which has no shikhar (spire) and dhwaja stambh (flag mast). Nishchalanand has a problem with Modi’s presence in the sanctum sanctorum during the final consecration rituals. He feels politicians should have no place in religious ceremonies that ought to be performed by spiritual gurus like him.
The pushback
Pandit Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid of Kashi, who had decided the muhurt, reasoned that people live in their under-construction house on completion of the first floor after performing Vastu shanti. The rest of the construction work continues after the house is occupied. The same rule applies to a place of worship. “It can’t be claimed that Vastu Pravesh can take place only after the full completion of construction,” he said.
Scriptures prescribe different methods for consecration in partially built temples as against fully complete structures. In the case of a fully constructed temple, the pran prathishta of the idol has to be done with the installation of a Kalash (urn atop the shikhar) by a sanyasi and not a grihasta (family man). But in incomplete temple structures, pran pratishtha can be done after construction of the roof, installation of doors, and accompanied by a few rituals. Once the construction is complete, the Kalash pratishtha (installation of Kalash) can be done at another appropriate muhurt, he said. Had the temple been fully constructed, Modi wouldn’t have had the opportunity to be the yajman.
As the garbha griha of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is complete with roof and doors, there is nothing wrong in pran pratishtha of the idol with the prescribed rituals, Dravid reasoned.
Others like spiritual gurus Sri Sri Ravishankar and Sri M gave examples of several temples, including those at Somnath, Badrinath and Rameswaram, where the temple structures were constructed after pran pratishtha. “In all the scriptures on building temples, nowhere it is said that prana pratishtha can happen only after all the temple structure is constructed. But of course they say that the garbha griha should be completed, which is, in this case.
“Adi Shankara himself did prana pratishtha to Badrinarayanan; the temple came later. Lord Ram himself did prana pratishtha of Shiva in Rameswaram; there was no temple there. To say that the entire temple should be constructed is not so correct,” Sri M said.
