Rare Shaligram stones reach Ayodhya from Nepal, handed over to temple trust
The trust is likely to use them to carve the idol of Lord Ram and place it at the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram temple.
Rare Shaligram stones from the Gandaki river in the Muktinath area of Nepal reached Ayodhya in the wee hours of Thursday and they were handed over to Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust after Vedic rituals were performed.
The trust is likely to use them to carve the idol of Lord Ram and place it at the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram temple.
Considered to be centuries-old, the rare stones brought from Nepal were accompanied by around 100 Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) volunteers and a five-member delegation from Nepal on a Sheela Yatra (procession). Former Nepal deputy prime minister Bimalendra Nidhi led the Yatra.
On the way to Ayodhya, the delegation halted in Gorakhpur, where it was accorded a warm welcome, on February 1.
Around 51 priests performed Vedic rituals at Ram Sevak Puram before handing over the two rocks to the trust.
“We wanted to donate the bow and arrow associated with Lord Ram to the trust. But after consultation with the trust, it was decided that we donate two sacred Shaligram black stones for carving the idol of Lord Ram,” said Bimalendra Nidhi.
Champat Rai, general secretary of the Trust, thanked the Nepal government and the people of the country for the rocks.
While the Shaligram stones are an option stones from Karnataka and Odisha will also reach Ayodhya before the rock from which the idol will be carved out is finalised, the trust added.
Meanwhile, the trust has roped in renowned sculptors from across the country, and has also decided to install a statue showcasing the childhood of the deity.
Padma Vibhusan Sudarshan Sahu and Vasudev Kamath of Odisha, KV Maniya of Karnataka and Shashtrayajya Deulkar of Pune are expected to prepare and send models of the Ram Lalla idol to the trust, which will select one of them.
According to Champat Rai, general secretary of the trust, the idol will be around 8.5 feet high.
The Trust has 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 CSIR-CBRI of Roorkee, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, and renowned temple architects have 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 next year.
The trust had set a deadline of December 31 to open the temple for devotees.