first image of the new Ram Lalla idol became public on Friday as anticipation built up for the consecration ceremony at the Ayodhya temple on January 22. The statue, carved in black stone sourced from Karnataka, has its eyes covered with a piece of yellow cloth and is adorned with a garland of roses, going by the picture released by the Vishva Hindu Parishad. Ram Lalla, the child Ram, is in the standing posture. The new 51-inch idol, carved by Mysuru-based sculptor Arun Yogiraj, was placed in the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple on Thursday afternoon, brought there on a truck the previous night. On Friday, rituals at the temple began at 8.30 am and went on till 3.30 pm, VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal said. Another VHP office bearer said already established deities like Lord Ganesh too were worshipped, and there was recitation from the Vedas.

 

Amid the countdown, Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das Maharaj said the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony on January 22 will mark the ritualistic transference of the soul and spirit of the deity into the idol. PM Modi will attend the January 22 ‘pran pratishtha” – the ceremony to consecrate the idol. The temple is expected to open to the public the next day. The consecration ceremony will begin at 12.20 pm and is expected to end at 1 pm. Modi will then address a gathering of over 7,000 people at the venue -– and lakhs are expected to watch the event live on tv. More States announced time off on January 22 to let Government employees witness the consecration on television or take part in local religious events. Haryana and Rajasthan declared a half-day off for its employees, and the day was declared a public holiday in Maharashtra, Puducherry and Chandigarh.