LUCKNOW: In order to save five-year-old Ram Lalla from stress, the Ram temple authorities in Ayodhya have made the provision of ‘siesta’ for the deity consecrated in the temple on January 22.
Meanwhile, streamlining darshan of Ram Lalla further, Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kheshtra Trust launched a ‘Sugam Darshan’ facility from Saturday.
As per the decision taken collectively by the chief priest of Ram Mandir, Acharya Satyendra Das and Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kheshtra Trust members, the new rule under which Ram temple remains closed for one hour in the afternoon daily, came into effect on Friday.
Meanwhile, the temple trust also increased the time of 'darshan' of Ram Lalla for devotees from 6 am to 10 pm. The decision has been taken considering the devotees thronging the temple in hordes following the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla.
Before the consecration ceremony, the devotees were allowed to take darshan of ‘Ram Vigrah’ enthroned in bulletproof makeshift fibreglass temple from 7 am to 6 pm. There used to be a break of two hours from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm in the afternoon.
According to Ram Mandir chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das, Shri Ram Lalla is a five-year-old child who is woken up at 4 am daily for the morning rituals and puja and starts giving darshan to devotees from 6 am onwards till 10 pm in the night. “He cannot take the stress for such long hours. So to give him some rest, the temple trust has decided to close the temple doors for one hours from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm daily,” says the chief priest.
After the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla on January 22 in the presence of PM Narendra Modi and scores of dignitaries from across the country and abroad, the Ram temple was thrown open for the general public on January 23.
As per the temple trust sources, during the three weeks after the consecration ceremony, around 35 lakh devotees had taken darshan of Ram Lalla.
Meanwhile, streamlining darshan of Ram Lalla for devotees further, the Ram temple trust launched a ‘Sugam darshan’ facility from Saturday. Moreover, ‘Aarti Pass’ service has also been resumed by the trust through which devotees get an opportunity to be present in the sanctum sanctorum on a first-come, first-served basis. No money or fees would be charged and both online and offline booking of the passes are possible.
The ‘Sugam darshan’ pass holders are being facilitated through a separate queue system. Six slots have been created with each spanning two hours for the ‘sugam darshan’.
Trust member Anil Mishra said that volunteers have been deputed in the temple complex to streamline the darshan of the pass holders. “Presently we are offering 300 passes for every time slot. Similarly, a system has been created to book passes for three aartis in a day,” said Mishra.
Aarti darshan of the deity is being offered thrice a day (mangala aarti at 4 am, shringar aarti at 6.15 am and shayan aarti at 10 pm) and 100 passes are being issued for each slot. Each slot has been booked by the devotees for the next 15 days.
Sugam darshan would be possible between 7am and 9 pm through the day (7-9 am, 9-11am, 1-3pm, 3-5pm, 5-7pm and 7-9pm). Elderly citizens and individuals, who are not tech savvy, could get the passes at the trust office near the temple complex. The trust has created a quota for online and offline bookings. The devotees availing the pass service would have to provide a valid photo identity card to book a slot and will need to carry the ID during their visit.