Ram Lalla’s idol: Sculptors to test two rocks from Nepal - Hindustan Times
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Ram Lalla’s idol: Sculptors to test two rocks from Nepal

Feb 04, 2023 12:41 AM IST

The two rocks from Nepal are referred to as Devshila (sacred rocks). Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust also has other stones as options for chiselling Ram Lalla’s idol and has sourced stones from Odisha and Karnataka as well.

Lucknow: Sculptors will test the sacred rocks from Nepal to find out whether they may be used for carving out Ram Lalla’s idol for the temple coming up in Ayodhya.

Celebrations in Ayodhya for the grand opening of the Ram temple will begin in December and end with the installation of the Ram Lalla idol at the sanctum sanctorum of the temple on Makar Sankranti on January 14 or 15, 2024. (Pic for representation)
Celebrations in Ayodhya for the grand opening of the Ram temple will begin in December and end with the installation of the Ram Lalla idol at the sanctum sanctorum of the temple on Makar Sankranti on January 14 or 15, 2024. (Pic for representation)

The idol will be placed in the sanctum -sanctorum of the temple and on the first floor in the Ram Darbar. The two rocks from Nepal are referred to as Devshila (sacred rocks).

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Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust also has other stones as options for chiselling Ram Lalla’s idol and has sourced stones from Odisha and Karnataka as well.

“Most likely, the sacred stones from Nepal will be used for carving out Ram Lalla’s idol. However, the Trust will take the final decision,” said Kameshwar Chaupal, member of the Trust. But sculptors would first test the two rocks from Nepal to find out whether they may be used for Ram Lalla’s idol, Chaupal added.

Devshila, not Shaligram

The two rocks that reached Ayodhya from Nepal are 14-tonne Calcite and 26-tonne Quartzite. According to geologist Dr Kulraj Chalise of Nepal, who had come from Nepal to Ayodhya with the rocks, pointed out that the two rocks were Devshila and not Shaligram.

Rocks lying in close proximity to Shaligram rocks were referred to as Devshila, Kulraj added.

Of the two rocks, Calcite is most likely to be used for carving Ram Lalla’s idol as it is soft as compared to Quartzite.

According to experts, Shaligram rocks are black in colour. But the two rocks that reached Ayodhya from Nepal are dark brown in colour.

Search for rocks

The Trust began searching for the rocks to carve out Ram Lalla’s idol since 2020 after its formation.

After much deliberation and search, it decided to procure rocks from Nepal’s Gandaki river in the Muktinath area of the Himalayan kingdom.

Former deputy PM of Nepal, Bilmalendra Nidhi completed all legal formalities on behalf of the Trust and roped in geologists to select the rocks.

According to the Trust, the former Nepalese deputy PM had also played a crucial role in passing of the proposal to hand over the rocks to the Trust in the cabinet meeting of the then Nepal government.

The Trust has roped in renowned sculptors of the country to prepare Ram Lalla’s idol. It has also decided to install a statue replicating the childhood of the deity.

Padma Vibhushan Sudarshan Sahu and Vasudev Kamath of Odisha, KV Maniya of Karnataka and Shashtrayajya Deulkar of Pune will send models of the idol. The Trust will select one of them.

According to Champat Rai, general secretary of the Trust, the idol will be around 8.5 feet tall so that the sun’s rays can fall on it.

The Trust had roped in top institutes of the country with expertise in architecture and building design to model the Ram temple sanctum sanctorum in such a way that the sun’s rays fall on the forehead of Ram Lalla every Ram Navami at 12 noon to celebrate the birth of the deity, added Rai.

A team of experts from the CSIR-CBRI of Roorkee, the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune and renowned temple architects has been constituted for the purpose.

Celebrations in Ayodhya for the grand opening of the Ram temple will begin in December and end with the installation of the Ram Lalla idol at the sanctum sanctorum of the temple on Makar Sankranti on January 14 or 15, 2024.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Pawan Dixit has been a journalist for over a decade. He has extensively covered eastern UP for around five years, covered 2012 UP assembly polls, 2014 Lok Sabha polls while being stationed in Varanasi. Now, in Lucknow, he covers outstation political assignments, reports special cases from district court, high court and state information commission

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