Adorned with gold and flowers, the 51-inch Ram Lalla idol was revealed today shortly before the grand ‘pran pratistha’ ceremony at the Ayodhya temple today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is leading the consecration ceremony, offered his prayers to the deity, flanked by several saints in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was also present. 

The 51-inch idol, carved out of black stone by Mysuru-based artist Arun Yogiraj, had been covered with a veil in the days leading up to today’s ceremony.

The Ram Lalla idol on the ground floor of the new temple represents five-yea-old Ram. The first floor of the temple, which is yet to be built, will have the idol of Raja Ram, along with Sita, Laxman and Hanuman.

Earlier, a photograph of the idol that went viral on social media had sparked a row, with the chief priest of the temple demanding a probe into who circulated it. The photograph, the priest said, showed the eyes of the idol.

“The eyes of Lord Ram’s idol cannot be revealed before the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ is completed. If the eyes can be seen, an investigation should be done on who revealed the eyes and how the pictures of the idol went viral on social media,” chief priest Satyendra Das had said.

A galaxy of film stars, sportspersons, musicians, industrialists and other noted personalities have reached the holy town for the ground consecration ceremony. Over 11,000 invitations have been sent out to noted personalities. The Opposition has stayed away from the event. While some parties have accused the BJP of politicising the religious occasion, other Opposition leaders have said they would visit the temple later.

The first visuals of the idol of Ram Lalla, that depicts Lord Ram as a five-year-old child, adorned in gold jewellery were revealed after the consecration ceremony at the new Ram Temple in Ayodhya today.

The 51-inch idol, carved from black stone, was dressed in a yellow dhoti with a golden crown, necklaces, holding a golden bow and arrow.

Later, photos of the uncovered idol inside the sanctum sanctorum went viral on social media.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the Pran Pratisthta or consecration ceremony on Monday. The PM also performed an aarti inside sanctum sanctorum during the consecration ceremony. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi – shortly after completing the ‘pran pratishtha‘ of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya – thanked the judiciary for “justice” dispensed five years, referring to the Supreme Court’s controversial November 2019 decision to award the once-disputed site, on which the Babri Masjid, a 16th century mosque stood before being illegally demolished – to camps of Hindu petitioners

“Even after the Constitution came into existence, a legal battle was fought for decades (over) Lord Ram’s existence. I would like to thank the judiciary that delivered justice and (allowed) Lord Ram’s temple was built in a legal manner…” the Prime Minister said after the consecration ceremony.

“January 22, 2024, is not merely a date… it marks the advent of a new era,” Mr Modi declared.

Delivering a series of dramatic pronouncements, the Prime Minister hailed “Ram’s supreme blessings” and said, “I seek forgiveness from Lord Ram… there were shortcomings in our penance that we could not complete this work (the temple) for so long. That delay has been overcome.”

On November 9 a bench of senior judges, led by then Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, relied on a report by the Archaeological Survey of India – which confirmed a structure existed beneath the mosque – to rule in favour of the Hindu side, which argued the site was the birthplace of Ram.

The court also called the razing of the mosque – in 1992, followed by riots in which over 2,000 people were killed – a “calculated act of destroying a place of public worship”, and said the Muslim community had been “wrongly deprived of a mosque constructed well over 450 years ago”.

The five judges behind that order, among whom was sitting Chief Justice, DY Chandrachud, were all invited to the consecration, but it is unclear if any of them attended the event.

The Ram Temple ‘pran pratishtha‘ has been at the centre of a massive political storm, with the opposition, led by the INDIA bloc, accusing the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government of politicising a religious event to secure more votes. The government has denied this charge.