Ayodhya: The crowd of Ram devotees who visited Ramlala in the Ram temple of Ayodhya is still increasing. Even after a month of the consecration ceremony in the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya, there has been no decrease in the enthusiasm of the visitors. The tide of faith of Ram devotees is still at its peak. ‘Sleeper’ buses, which bring people from far and wide to the Ram temple in Ayodhya, a distance of 12 km, are lined up on the roadside to enter the huge parking lot. These buses testify to the fact that even a month after the consecration ceremony of the new temple, the enthusiasm for ‘darshan’ remains intact.
Devotees coming from all parts of the country in their unique traditional attire gather at ‘holding’ points from where they proceed to the temple by electric buses or e-rickshaws. These devotees along with devotees coming from nearby places gather on the Ram Path which leads to the grand temple. A month after the grand life consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla in the newly built temple on January 22 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the celebrations are going on in full swing in Ayodhya, in which lakhs of devotees are coming here to have darshan of the idol of Lord Ram in the newly built temple. reaching up.
The stir of faith in the Ram temple, the heart of Ayodhya, can be felt from more than 10 kilometers away, where buses bringing devotees from far and wide are standing in queues on the roads. According to officials of Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, more than 25 lakh devotees visited the temple in the first 10 days after the consecration ceremony. Temple Trust office in-charge Prakash Gupta said, ‘Every day in February, between one and two lakh devotees reached the Ram temple for worship. Till now the estimated number of devotees visiting the temple is 50-60 lakh.
While walking towards the temple, some devotees raise slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’, while some other devotees sing couplets of Ramcharit Manas while walking towards the temple. Most of the people walk barefoot with their group. Small shops selling sweets and other items offered inside the temple are also busy on the roadside.
Local people, especially teenage boys, stand on the roadside carrying small glasses filled with colours. On receiving a signal from the devotees, they dip three fingers in the yellow liquid to apply it on the forehead of the pilgrims. After this, they dip an inch long ‘stencil’ with ‘Ram’ written in Hindi in the red liquid. With the name of Lord Rama inscribed on their forehead, the devotees proceed towards the temple.
When seen from above, the crowd of people dressed in different traditional costumes appears to be a confluence of India. The clothes of the devotees reveal which state or region they belong to. A group from Maharashtra arrived for darshan on Tuesday. This included women wearing unique Nauwari style sarees, white lungi with white Gandhi cap and men wearing white shirts. A group of devotees from Rajasthan were going ahead. The men involved were wearing big turbans with bright colours.
During the last one month, apart from local leaders of various parties, Bollywood stars have also visited the temple. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann visited the temple with his family. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had visited Ram temple with about 300 members of Dhan Mandal on 11 February. On Tuesday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami along with his cabinet also visited the temple and worshiped.
Under the arrangement made to facilitate the devotees in getting darshan, after walking about two kilometers near the temple, the crowd of devotees turns into a queue. Most of the people stand with folded hands while waiting for their turn to see the idol of Lord Ram. While some people chant ‘Ram-Ram’ with their eyes closed, others chant the name of Lord Ram at regular intervals. The cheering becomes louder as the queue enters the temple and subsides as the devotees pass in front of the sanctum sanctorum and see the grand idol of Lord Rama.
Subhash Kumawat (59), a resident of Tonk district of Rajasthan, who came to see Ramlala, said, ‘My dream of years has been fulfilled. I never thought that I would be able to visit Lord Ram’s temple in my lifetime, but my wish was fulfilled. The speed of the queue of devotees slows down a bit after crossing the sanctum sanctorum in the desire to spend a few more moments near their Lord.
According to local people, depending on the time of the day, the queue time for Ramlala darshan can range from one hour to four hours. Manshi Karmakar, a housewife from Pune, said, ‘I felt like sitting in front of Lord Ram and spending a few more minutes inside the temple. But I got a chance to see Lord Ram, what more could I want.
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Tags: Ayodhya, Ayodhya ram temple, Ram Mandir, Ram temple ayodhya
FIRST PUBLISHED: February 22, 2024, 24:18 IST