Ram Lalla's consecration day: The Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has announced that on the consecration day of Ram Lalla, which is on January 22, 2024, simultaneous prayers will be held in nearly 5 lakh temples across the nation.
To facilitate this grand event, the Ram Mandir authorities will begin the distribution of ‘Pujit Akshat’ to workers from nearly 45 provinces on November 5. Akshat is uncooked, unbroken rice that is offered to Gods and Goddesses during rituals. The work of distribution of Pujit Akshat across the country will be done by Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers in a systematic manner.
'Pujit Akshat' for invitation
The Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in a statement said, "On January 22, 2024, which is the Prana Pratishtha Diwas (consecration day) of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir, a program will be organized in more than five lakh temples across the country. Invitations for this event, known as 'Pujit Akshat,' will be dedicated to the workers who will be arriving in Ayodhya from 45 different provinces across the country on November 5."
"All workers will take this 'Pujit Akshat' to their respective regions. Through this sacred Akshat, people from every city and village across the country will be invited to join the festival," it added.
As per the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the grand programme will continue for a period of 45 days in an organized manner.
As per the information received, on November 4, around 200 workers will reach Ayodhya. Five of them will carry brass urns filled with Akshat (sacred rice) from there. This Akshat will be a symbol of invitation from the trust. From November 5 to the last week of December, the workers will take Akshat to all the temples across the country. From January 1 to January 15, 2024, with Pujit Akshat in hand, workers will visit every village, locality, and settlement, extending a formal invitation to everyone to participate in the festival. On January 22, the day of consecration, workers will gather at their respective local temples. There, bhajans and kirtans (devotional songs) will be performed, and in the evening, they will light lamps at their doorsteps.
On January 22, 2023, in Ayodhya, only saints and leaders from 140 sects across India, the Prime Minister, the Chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and the families of those who sacrificed their lives in this movement, along with specially-achieved individuals from various fields, will be present. Due to the limited capacity of 8,000 people, workers have been directed not to come to Ayodhya on January 22 and instead, participate in programs in their respective regions.
Following the consecration program, workers will be invited to reach Ayodhya according to the dates allocated for their respective regions.
Ram Lalla's idol to be placed on 8-feet-tall gold-plated throne
The consecration (pran pratishtha) ceremony will be held on January 22, 2024, and will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and nearly 10,000 dignitaries from across the country. The temple will be completed in three phases by January 2025.
The Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on October 25 formally invited Prime Minister Modi for the consecration ceremony during which the idol of Ram Lalla will be installed in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.
The idol of Ram Lalla will be placed on an eight-feet-tall gold-plated marble throne inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. According to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, artisans in Rajasthan are constructing the throne and it will reach Ayodhya by December 15. The throne will be eight feet tall, three feet long and four feet wide.
The Supreme Court in a 2019 verdict had paved the way for the construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya and directed the Centre to allot an alternative five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a new mosque at a "prominent" place in the holy town of Uttar Pradesh. The court had ruled that the 2.77 acres of the disputed land where the demolished 16th century-era Babri Masjid once stood will remain with a Central government receiver and be handed over to the trust within three months of the ruling for the construction of the temple.
