All eyes are on the temple town of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, where the ‘pran pratishtha’ (consecration ceremony) of the Ram mandir will mark the culmination of the decades-long Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
Nearly 7,000 invitees including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, among others, are expected to attend the ceremony organised by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra — the trust tasked with overseeing the development and management of the newly constructed Ram temple.
Ayodhya, believed to be the birthplace of the Hindu deity Ram, was transformed into a 21st-century temple town ahead of the ‘pran pratishtha’ and is expected to attract as many as 4-5 lakh devotees from around the world each day once the gates of the temple are opened to the public. Stay tuned to ThePrint for LIVE coverage of Ram mandir ‘pran pratishtha’ (consecration) in Ayodhya.
Ayodhya Ram mandir ‘pran pratishtha’ 2024 LIVE:
9.00 am: Follow ThePrint’s coverage of Ayodhya’s transformation into a 21st-century temple town:
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8.45 am: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar in a post on X (formerly Twitter) extended “heartfelt wishes” to PM Narendra Modi for ‘leading the sacred rituals in the presence of yajmans, saints and seers guiding the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya’.
“January 22 is etched in history as defining moment of ‘tryst with divinity’ in our civilisational trajectory, he wrote.
Congratulations on this epochal day of #RamMandirPranPratishta in the historical city of Ayodhya, the #RamJanmbhoomi.
Gratifying to witness celebratory moment marking reawakening of national pride all over.
Heartfelt wishes to Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi as he leads,…
— Vice President of India (@VPIndia) January 22, 2024
8.30 am: Actors Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Chiranjeevi, Ram Charan, Vicky Kaushal, Katrina Kaif, Madhuri Dixit, Jackie Shroff and Ayushmann Khurrana were photographed making their way to Ayodhya for the consecration ceremony that is expected to begin around noon.
8.15 am: With hours to go for the consecration ceremony, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra shared a video Monday morning of preparations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
अवधपुरी अति रुचिर बनाई।
देवन्ह सुमन बृष्टि झरि लाई॥ pic.twitter.com/V2sabn8XEN— Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra (@ShriRamTeerth) January 22, 2024
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12.30 am: The consecration ceremony is expected to begin sometime between 12 pm and 1 pm Monday. Prior to the ‘pran pratishtha’, a series of rituals was conducted at the temple over the course of the past week. This was preceded by the arrival of the idol of Ram Lalla on 17 January. The idol was carved by renowned Karnataka-based sculptor Arun Yogiraj.
12.15 am: According to the itinerary shared by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to reach Ayodhya at around 10.25 am. He will then make his way from the newly built Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhyadham, to the Ram mandir via helicopter. Upon arrival, the Prime Minister — who laid the foundation stone of the temple in August 2020 — will survey the premises.
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