Away from the temple, a tale of devotion around unused stones

Ramsevakpuram is managed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). Earlier, it was the workshop for cutting and carving pink sand stones. These carved stones have been used in the Ram temple. After visiting Ram Janmabhoomi and Hanuman Garhi, devotees are also reaching Ramsevakpuram.

When a group of devotees from Maharashtra reached Ramsevakpuram Friday afternoon, a local guide, Vimal Kumar took  them to the six-foot high “Devshila” of Shaligram, brought from Nepal in February, meant for the Ram Lalla idol.

This is one of the eight shilas — two brought from Galeshwar Dham in Nepal and three each from Rajasthan and Karnataka. Devotees undertook a parikrama of the shilas, chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’, and also offered cash to the “daanpatra” (donation box).

Describing his feelings about the stones, Amanaram, who came from Sikar in Rajasthan, said, “I had heard that the Shaligram stones have been brought here in Ramsevakpuram. All these stones are sacred. I will never be able to touch the Ram Lalla idol inside the Ram temple, but I can touch the stones which were meant for making the idols.”

“Ram was an incarnation of Vishnu and the Shaligram is considered a form of Vishnu. Hence, I am here to worship the Shaligram and other stones,” said another devotee from Uttar Pradesh’s Mahoba, Rajneesh Pandey, who touched his forehead to the Devshilas.

A Bajrang Dal worker, Prakash Bahewal from Mumbai, said, “These stones are pujniya (worthy of being worshipped) because these are meant for Lord Ram.”  Bahewal claimed he had visited Ayodhya first in 1989 as a kar sevak.

“At that time,” he recalled, “there were policemen all around to arrest kar sevaks. Today, policemen are guiding us here. In 1989, we had to hide ourselves to avoid being arrested. Today, I am proudly walking in the same Ayodhya. This change happened due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.”

A local VHP leader said that the stones were first placed in the open in February. But when devotees began coming, he said, a shed was erected. Around 15,000 pilgrims come here daily, he said. When the construction of Ram temple is complete, these stones will be shifted to Ram Janmabhoomi. About the reason for worshipping the stones, he said these were brought for the Ram Lalla idol.

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust arranged for seats for the pilgrims, while the Uttar Pradesh government is running a free medical camp inside the Ramsevakpuram premises, and at the VHP camp, visitors are offered tea and rusk.

Two Shaligram stones were brought to Ayodhya in February last year after a week-long 1,000 km road journey from Nepal’s Janakpur. Priests of Janaki temple in Nepal had handed over the stones to office bearers of the trust. On the occasion, 51 priests offered prayers in the presence of a huge gathering of devotees. Janaki temple priest Ram Tapeshwar Das and former deputy Prime Minister of Nepal Bimalendra Nidhi had handed over the Shaligram stones to the trust general secretary Champat Rai.