Ram Mandir Ayodhya Inauguration: New idol gets a name — Balak Ram

The old idol of Ram Lalla has been placed in front of the new idol inside the sanctum sanctorum.

The Prime Minister, who was later introduced as a “tapasvi rashtriya neta” (ascetic national leader) by Swami Govind Dev Giri Maharaj, treasurer of the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, reached the temple complex a little after noon, following which he prepared for the consecration ceremony with a “darshan daan” of 10 ritualistic offerings with RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat next to him. He then entered the garbha griha along with Bhagwat, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Governor Anandiben Patel.

While the rituals went on inside the garbha griha, a galaxy of VIP guests sat outside — political leaders to sportspersons, actors to industry captains – and watched the live streaming of the ceremony.

Those present included actors Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Hema Malini, Jackie Shroff, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, Madhuri Dixit, Chiranjeevi, Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal; singers Annu Malik, Sonu Nigam, Shankar Mahadevan and Anuradha Paudwal; industrialists Mukesh Ambani and family, Anil Ambani and Kumar Mangalam Birla; sports personalities Sachin Tendulkar, Ravindra Jadeja and Saina Nehwal.

Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, his son and former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, BJP leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad, Uma Bharti and Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti were among those present.

Army helicopters showered flower petals on the temple as the Pran Pratishtha went on inside.

While the entire ceremony lasted a little over an hour, the main Pran Pratishtha took place during the 84-second Abhijit Muhurat.

Also present in the sanctum sanctorum were Anil Mishra, the Pradhan Yajman of the ceremony, his wife Usha Mishra, Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust chief Nritya Gopal Das, Trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri Maharaj and Trust members Kameshwar Chaupal and Swami Vishwaprasanna Teertha Ji Maharaj. Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid, astrology and Vedic scholar from Varanasi, who had chosen the date and timing for the consecration ceremony, was among those present.

Acharya Sunil Shastri Dixit led the rituals inside the sanctum sanctorum in the presence of his father Acharya Laxmikant Dixit.

As Dixit and the other Acharyas chanted mantras, the Prime Minister held a handful of lotus and other flowers, with a ring made of doob grass on the ring finger of his left hand. Following Yajman Anil Mishra’s lead, the PM and the others placed the flowers at the feet of the idol that was draped in a yellow dhoti, and adorned with stone-studded jewellery and flowers.

The rituals ended with the showering of ‘akshat’ – sacred rice grains – and the PM doing an aarti and lying prostrate before the idol sculpted by Mysuru’s Arun Yogiraj.

Fifty traditional musical instruments from 18 states were part of a devotional “mangal dhwani” that resonated during the ceremony. Orchestrated by Ayodhya’s celebrated poet Yatindra Mishra, the rendition was supported by New Delhi’s Sangeet Natak Akademi.

Swami Govind Dev Giri Maharaj, who ended the Prime Minister’s 11-day fast by giving him “charnamrit” after the consecration ceremony, said while they had asked the Prime Minister to sleep on the floor for just three days, he observed it for 11 days.

“Aisa tapasvi koi rashtriya neta prapt hona samanya baat nahi hai” (It is not usual to find a national leader who is such a tapasvi).

Giri said they had asked the Prime Minister to avoid visiting foreign countries during this time period which he not only followed but also decided to visit “pious” places.