Prime Minister Narendra Modi sprinkled flower petals on the laborers who were a part of the Ram Temple building team in Ayodhya on Monday as a token of thanks and appreciation.
The ceremonial ‘pran pratishtha’ of the idol of Ram Lalla in the sanctorum of the recently built Ram Temple in Ayodhya was conducted by the prime minister. Here, you may follow live updates.
Participating in the ‘pran pratishtha’ rites with leader Minister Yogi Adityanath, Governor Anandiben Patel of Uttar Pradesh, and RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat Modi.
Following the consecration ceremony, the prime minister also gave Lord Ram a “dandavat pranam” at the newly constructed Ayodhya temple.
Ram Lalla would no longer remain in a tent, Modi said in a speech given after the event.
“We’ve received our Ram. After generations of waiting, Lord Ram has finally arrived (in his house). Our Lord Ram has finally come after all the decades of patience and sacrifice that we have given,” he said.
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The prime minister said that the 22nd of January would go down in history as the start of a new period. “The construction of Ram Mandir has filled people with a new energy,” Modi said.
Modi also expressed gratitude to the Indian Supreme Court, whose decision on November 9, 2019, cleared the path for the temple’s construction.
“Someone questioned Ram’s existence… “I want to thank the Supreme Court for upholding justice and ensuring that the temple was constructed legally,” he said.
The Temple of Ram in Ayodhya
A major 35-year pledge made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is fulfilled by the Ram temple, but it has been a divisive political issue that has propelled the party to fame and power.
Hindus and Muslims engaged in a decades-long heated dispute over the temple site, which culminated in countrywide riots in 1992 that claimed 2,000 lives when karsevaks destroyed the 16th-century Babri Masjid that had stood there.
Standing 161 feet tall, 250 feet wide, and 380 feet long (east-west), the Ram Temple was built in the classic Nagara style. Standing on 392 pillars and 44 doorways overall, the temple has three floors, each measuring 20 feet in height. Depictions of Hindu gods and goddesses are beautifully carved on the walls and pillars.