A Ram Lalla idol sculpted by Mysuru’s Arun Yogiraj has been selected for Ayodhya’s Ram temple, Temple Trust’s general secretary Champat Rai said on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference in Ayodhya, Mr Rai said the idol of Ram Lalla sculpted by Mr Yogiraj has been selected by the trust from among three idols. The idols have been carved separately by three sculptors, he said.

The new idol is made of stone and weighs “somewhere between 150-200 kgs”, Mr Rai told reporters.

He also said the idol depicts the deity as a five-year-old boy in a standing posture.

Mr Rai said the current idol of Ram Lalla, which has been worshipped for the last 70 years, will also be kept in the sanctum sanctorum of the new temple.

The “pran pratishtha” (consecration ceremony) of the Ram temple in Ayodhya will be organised on January 22 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in attendance.

Over 7,000 people have been invited by the temple trust for the grand ceremony.

Ram Temple Consecration Ceremony Begins Today

The preparations for the inauguration of the Ram temple are in full swing and the formal procedures for the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla will begin today.

The event is scheduled to be held over seven days:

January 16 to 22

The rituals for the consecration ceremony will begin today. The host appointed by the temple trust — Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra — will conduct the atonement ceremony.

The ‘Dashvidh’ bath, Vishnu worship and offering of cow will be held on the banks of Saryu river.

January 17

A procession carrying the idol of Ram Lalla will reach Ayodhya. Devotees carrying Saryu water in Mangal Kalash will be reaching the Ram Janmabhoomi temple.

January 18

The formal rituals will begin with the Ganesh Ambika puja, Varun puja, Matrika puja, Brahmin Varan and Vastu Puja.

January 19

The holy fire will be lit, followed by the establishment of ‘Navagraha’ and a ‘havan’ (holy ritual surrounding the fire).

January 20

The sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple will be washed with Saryu water on January 20, after which the Vaastu Shanti and ‘Annadhivas’ rituals will take place.

January 21

The Ram Lalla idol will be bathed in 125 urns and will finally be laid to rest.

January 22

The main “pran pratishtha” ceremony will begin at 12:30 pm on January 22 and the deity of Ram Lalla will be consecrated. Devotees from 150 countries are likely to attend the consecration ceremony on the final day.

The temple will remain closed for devotees on January 21 and 22 and will open for the public on January 23.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have launched missile attacks on multiple “terrorist” targets in Syria and in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, state media reported Tuesday.

The attacks destroyed “a spy headquarters” and a “gathering of anti-Iranian terrorist groups” in Arbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, the official IRNA news agency reported, quoting a statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Four people were killed and six others wounded in the attack, according to Iraq’s Kurdistan security council.

The prominent businessman Peshraw Dizayee was among several civilians who were killed, the Kurdistan Democratic Party said.

The IRGC also hit targets in Syria with ballistic missiles, including the “gathering places of commanders and main elements related to recent terrorist operations, particularly the Islamic State group”, their Sepah News service reported.

It added that the strike on Syria was in response to recent attacks by terrorist groups that killed Iranians in the southern cities of Kerman and Rask.

🇮🇶BREAKING: IRANIAN BALLISTIC MISSILES STRIKE NEAR U.S. CONSULATE IN IRAQ

Iran claims responsibility for the barrage of missiles near the U.S. Consulate in Erbil, Iraq, citing retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria.

The attack reportedly involved Fateh-110 ballistic… https://t.co/xIRTO7TKGg pic.twitter.com/FUUxtoTEUe

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 15, 2024

The United States has condemned the attacks, terming the strikes “reckless”. 

“The United States strongly condemns Iran’s attacks in Erbil today and offers condolences to the families of those who were killed. We oppose Iran’s reckless missile strikes, which undermine Iraq’s stability,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.

Explosions were heard in Aleppo and its countryside, where “at least 4 missiles that came from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea” fell, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.

On January 3, suicide bombers struck crowds gathered near the tomb of the revered IRGC general Qasem Soleimani in Kerman, killing around 90 people. The attack was later claimed by IS.

In December, at least 11 Iranian police officers were killed in an attack on a police station in Rask. The jihadist group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice), which was formed in 2012 and is blacklisted by Iran as a “terrorist” group, claimed responsibility.

Israeli ‘spy operations’

The IRGC also said it had struck alleged Israeli “spy headquarters” in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, Iran’s IRNA news agency reported.

It said the headquarters had served as “the centre for developing espionage operations and planning terrorist actions in the region,” naming Israel’s Mossad spy organisation.

The Guards said the strike was in response to recent attacks on Iran and the “axis of resistance” of Iran-aligned groups, which have raised concerns about violence spreading from Israel’s war in Gaza.

Regional tensions have spiked during the war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, drawing in Iran-backed armed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

In March 2022, the IRGC carried out missile attacks in Arbil, claiming to target a “strategic centre” belonging to arch-foe Israel.

On December 25, Iran said an Israeli strike killed the senior Guards commander Razi Moussavi.

And on January 8, Israel killed Wissam Hassan Tawil, a top commander of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon, according to a security source.

His death came shortly after an Israeli missile strike on Beirut killed Saleh al-Aruri, a senior leader of Hamas which is also supported by Iran.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The Supreme Court today stayed a Allahabad High Court order on appointing commissioner to conduct a survey of the 17th century Shahi Idgah Mosque in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura.

The high court – along the lines of that conducted at the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi – gave its nod to the survey by a court-appointed and monitored advocate commissioner.

Hindu outfits have claimed the mosque was built on the birthplace of Lord Krishna and had demanded a survey. The demand was admitted by a local court in December last year but the Muslim side had filed an objection in the High Court.