LUCKNOW: The shikhar (spire) of the upcoming Ram temple was nearing completion by late Thursday evening while the rituals leading to the consecration of Ram Lalla as a five-year-old child entered the third day of the week-long ceremony.
A new idol of Ram Lalla was placed on lotus-shaped, gold-plated ‘singhasan’ (throne) over a Ram Yantra in the garbh-griha of the temple in Ayodhya in the noon.
In an attempt to avert controversies surrounding the consecration ceremony without completion of the temple, Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust asked the construction company to make sure that the spire over the garbh-grih got ready at the earliest.
As per the Hindu pantheon, consecration is done in a temple complete with the spire and dharma dhwaja mounted on it. While deadline to finish the ground plus two-storey superstructure is December 31, a makeshift ‘shikhar’ had come up over the sanctum-sanctorum by Thursday evening.
According to VHP’s regional spokesman Sharad Sharma, the structure of the temple along with the makeshift ‘shikhar’ would be ready before the final consecration ceremony rituals. “Everything is being conducted as per the vedic rituals under the guidance and supervision of high priests,” added Sharma.
Meanwhile, the rituals on the third day (Thursday) took off at 1.20 pm with Ganesh-Abmika Puja, organised before every auspicious anushthhan (religious event). Among the 121 ‘Acharyas’, who are being led by Acharya Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid of Kashi and supervised by his son Arun Dixit, a group recited the four Vedas in the Goodh Mandap of the temple.
The acharyas leading pran-pratishthha ceremony had chosen a ‘Muhurat’ of 1.28 pm to place the idol in its permanent seat in the garbh-griha. For now, the idol is all wrapped and will be out for darshan only after the final consecration ritual on January 22.
The idol had reached the newly constructed temple late on Wednesday evening. Neatly wrapped, the 1.5 tonne ‘shyamal’ idol crafted by Mysuru sculptor Arun Yogiraj was placed in the sanctum-sanctorum with the help of a mobile crane. A special puja was held in the sanctum sanctorum before the idol was brought inside.
Two yagyashalas (mandaps) have also been set up in the north-west part of the 70-acre complex outside the main temple. While one mandap has been set up with nine kunds to perform the rituals, in the other one, the symbolic silver idol of Ram Lalla has been kept. Rituals are being conducted in both the mandaps as well as within the garbh-grih by the team of acharyas.
