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With six days to go, the series of rituals for the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ (consecration ceremony) of the new Ram temple began at Ayodhya on Tuesday.
The “pradhan yajman” (primary host) for all ceremonies will be Anil Mishra, a member of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, and his wife Usha. The ceremony will conclude on January 22 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath, and other dignitaries.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Arun Dixit, one of the priests performing the rituals, confirmed that Mishra had been “nominated” the ‘pradhan yajman’, and would be present at all the ceremonies over the next few days. Dixit’s father, Laxmikant Dixit of Varanasi, is the head priest of the rituals.
On Tuesday, Mishra began by taking a dip in the Saryu river, amid chanting of mantras, and then taking ‘panchgavya’ (cow milk, curd, ghee, gobar and gau mutra), after which he began a fast.
He then performed the ‘Prashchita’, ‘Sankalpa’ and ‘Karmakuti’ puja, which lasted for about eight hours, at the place where the Ram Lalla idol selected for the temple’s sanctum sanctorum was sculpted by sculptor Arun Yogiraj.
Experts claim that the “Prashchita” and “Sankalpa” pujas are a component of the penance ceremonies. They explained that the purpose of the “Karmakuti” puja was to ask for forgiveness for any errors made during creating the idol.
Yogiraj, the sculptor, was also present during the ceremony, even though Mishra and his wife conducted the “havan.” The idol was then offered honey and ghee, and its eyes were covered with a piece of cloth for the duration of the consecration process, which ended on 22nd January.
“Today is the start of the pujan vidhi (rituals). The Pran Pratishtha rituals will be complete on January 22 at 12:20 pm, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Mishra told reporters after taking a dip in the Saryu river at the start of the rituals.
“The ‘anushthan’ (ritual) has started and will continue till January 22, the day of the consecration ceremony. Eleven priests are performing the rituals invoking all gods and goddesses,” Ram temple chief priest Satyendra Das said.
On Wednesday, the rituals include ‘teerth pujan’, ‘jal yatra’ and ‘gandhadhivas’.
Source:IE
