Lighting of a holy fire was the highlight of the fourth day of the weeklong rituals in Ayodhya on Friday ahead of the main Pran Pratishtha ceremony on January 22. The holy fire, in turn, was used to light several havan kunds (fire pit) as a team of 121 priests performed the rites.
Presiding over rituals, head priest Lakshmi Kant Dixit offered Aushadhadhivas, Kesaradhivas and Ghritadhivas (herbs, saffron, ghee respectively) to the deity in the afternoon.
In the second part of the ceremony in the evening, Dhanyadhivas was performed in which money was offered to the deity.
In addition, rituals for consecration of a small, silver idol of the deity (Ram Lalla) were performed. The small, silver idol has also been prepared as a representative of new 51-inch idol of Ram Lalla for convenience in performing Vedic rituals. This idol will also be enthroned in the temple’s sanctum sanctorum.
“As the new idol weighs 150kg, it will not be feasible to relocate/shift it several times during the Pran Pratishtha ceremony. So, as a substitute, a small silver idol has been prepared. If required during the ceremony, this silver idol will be shifted to perform the Vedic rituals,” said office bearers of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
The entire Ram Janmabhoomi temple campus was decorated with flowers for the consecration ceremony, right from the entrance to the sanctum sanctorum. The day’s rituals ended with a grand aarti in the evening.
THE REMAINING RITUALS
January 20 (Morning): Sharkaradhivas and Phaladhivas in the morning and Pushpadhivas in the evening (sugar, fruits and flowers to be offered).
January 21(Morning): Madhyadhivas (mid-session) followed by Shaiyadhivas (the deity is put to bed).
January 22: End of Pran Pratishtha ceremony. PM Modi to perform rituals at around 12.20pm. It will end at 1pm followed by speeches by the PM, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
Read More: Day 4 of rituals: Holy fire lit, Ram Lalla’s silver idol worshipped