AYODHYA:
As many as 51 vedic gurus chanted mantras as the Shaligram Shilas from Gandaki river in Nepal were handed over to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai on Thursday morning. The Shilas were initially taken to Ram Janmabhoomi temple from where they were taken to Karsewakpuram where idols of Ram’s
baalroop
(child form) and those of Ram and Sita will be carved out.
Mahant Tapeshwar Das of Janaki Mandir in Nepal’s Janakpur presented these rocks to the Trust representatives.
Two large boulders from special rocks believed to be 60 million years old which were found in the Gandaki river at a site close to Shaligramam in Muktinath Valley at the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass in Mustang, Nepal, were dispatched from the Himalayan country on last Wednesday. The rocks known as shaligram are considered representations of Vishnu. One of these boulders weighs 26 tonnes while the other weighs 14 tonnes.
The idol carved out of these stones will be placed in the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Mandir expected to be ready by Makar Sankranti in January next year. The new idol is likely to be established at a height of nine feet and the devotees will be able to have its darshan from a distance of 35 feet. The idol will be installed at such an angle that the rays of rising sun will touch the forehead of the idols. The Trust will invite top sculptors from around the country to get the idols prepared for the temple.
A delegation of Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s office-bearers accompanied the shilas that left Mustang district of Nepal on January 25 and reached Ayodhya late on Wednesday, covering a distance of more than 350 kilometres in six days, said Prakash Gupta, the office in-charge of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
According to Hindu mythological belief, Sita was the daughter of King Janak from Nepal and got married to Lord Rama of Ayodhya. Along with the celebration of the birth of Ram on Ram Navami, the devotees in Janakpur of Nepal celebrate the wedding of Rama and Sita on the fifth day of Shukl Paksha, which usually falls between November and December.
Threat to blow up Ram Janmabhoomi
A local living near the Ramlalla Sadan temple in Ayodhya’s Ramkot area claimed to have received an anonymous threat call to blow up the Ram Janmabhoomi. The local, identified as Manoj, informed the police. The police administration immediately issued an alert to the entire police force deployed at various parts of Ayodhya. A case was also registered, and cyber cell’s help is being sought to trace the caller, police said.