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From saints to stone carvers: Over 6,000 attend Ram Yantra installation ceremony in Ayodhya
Invitees include Ram Temple movement workers, RSS, VHP functionaries from Kashi to Uttarakhand across Sangh’s 7-prant structure
President Droupadi Murmu offers prayers as she consecrates the Shri Ram Yantra at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, on the occasion of the commencement of the New Year (Vikram Samvat-2083), in Ayodhya on Thursday. (Source: @CMOfficeUP X/ANI Photo)
Nearly 6,000 invitees attended the Ram Yantra installation ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Thursday, representing a diverse cross-section of the temple movement and construction efforts.
The attendees were drawn from seven prants (regional units) of the Sangh, including four in eastern Uttar Pradesh and two in western UP and Uttarakhand.
According to sources, the seven prants include four in eastern Uttar Pradesh — Kashi, Goraksha, Awadh (Lucknow–Ayodhya), and Kanpur-Bundelkhand — two in western Uttar Pradesh — Meerut and Brij—and Uttarakhand as a separate prant.
The invitees included around 500 saints from across the country, functionaries from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), and affiliated bodies. Spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amma), who hails from a fishing community in Kerala, was also present and addressed the gathering.
Around 700 karyakartas from Awadh prant were invited, while Kashi, Goraksha, and Kanpur-Bundelkhand together accounted for nearly 500 attendees. Western UP’s Meerut and Brij regions contributed around 400 invitees, and about 300 participants came from Uttarakhand.
In addition, around 50 individuals from each prant – those who had actively participated in the Ram Temple movement and could travel – were specially invited, ensuring representation of long-time contributors.
Significantly, around 2,000 invitees were from the workforce that contributed to the temple’s construction, including vendors, construction workers, artisans, and labourers, sources said.
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The list included heads of firms, craftsmen and workers who executed intricate work on the ground.
Satya Narayan Pandey of Jaipur, whose firm carved the marble idols for the Ram Darbar, attended the ceremony along with his team of artisans and labourers. Vendors and workers involved in carving sandstone structures were also invited.
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