Ram Lalla idol in Ayodhya's Ram Temple will be known as 'Balak Ram'

Ram Lalla idol in Ayodhya's grand Mandir will be called 'Balak Ram'

The idol of Lord Ram, whose consecration was done at the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Jan 22, 2024, Monday will be known as 'Balak Ram' as it depicts the deity as a five-year-old boy in a standing posture.

The reason for naming the idol of Lord Ram as 'Balak Ram' is that he resembles a child, whose age is five years.  

"The first time I saw the idol, I was thrilled and tears started rolling down my face. I cannot explain the feeling I experienced then," priest Arun Dixit said.

The Varanasi-based priest, who has conducted nearly 50 to 60 consecrations, said the Ram Lalla idol's 'Pran Pratishtha' was the most "divine" and "supreme" for him.

"Of all the consecrations (I have) performed so far, this is the most 'alaukik' (divine) and 'sarvoch' (supreme) for me," Dixit said. He further said he had his first glimpse of the idol on January 18. 

The idol, measuring 51 inches, was chiselled by Mysuru-based sculptor Arun Yogiraj.

Over 7,000 guests, including celebrities, sportspersons, businessmen and industrialists, were present at the star-studded function when PM Modi inaugurated it. 

The Ram Lalla idol chiselled by Yogiraj has been carved out of a three billion-year-old rock. 

The azure-coloured Krishna Shile (black schist) was excavated from Gujjegowdanapura village in Mysuru. It is a fine-to-medium-grained, sky-blue metamorphic rock, generally called soapstone because of its smooth surface texture and is ideal for sculptors to carve idols.

The idol is made of Banarasi fabric, featuring a yellow dhoti and a red 'pataka' or 'angavastram'. The 'angavastram' is embellished in pure gold 'zari' and threads, featuring auspicious Vaishnav symbols -- 'shankh', 'padma', 'chakra' and 'mayur'.

While the ornaments have been crafted by Ankur Anand's Lucknow-based Harsahaimal Shiamlal Jewellers, the garments were created by Delhi-based textile designer Manish Tripathi, who worked from Ayodhya Dham for the project.

Ram temple in Ayodhya -- two time slots daily: from 7 AM to 11:30 AM 

The Ram temple in Ayodhya will welcome visitors during two time slots daily: from 7 AM to 11:30 AM and then from 2 PM to 7 PM. The installation of the Ram Lalla idol, a 51-inch tall figure crafted by Mysuru-based sculptor Arun Yogiraj, was the focal point of Monday's festivities.

In a historic moment for devotees across the nation, the doors of the newly consecrated Ram Mandir in Ayodhya have been opened to the public today, January 23. The grand opening comes after an elaborate 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony that took place on Monday, which saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi among the key figures in attendance.  

Ram for u, Ram for all 

A huge rush of devotees was witnessed outside the temple complex on this chilly winter's day, many of whom had queued up since 3 AM to gain entry to the temple, catch a glimpse of Ram Lalla and offer prayers.

Ayodhya was enveloped in a spiritual ambience yesterday as the cold weather did little to dampen the high spirits of devotees. The air resonated with chants of 'Jai Shri Ram' and Ram bhajans, while folk dancers and a religious troupe from Bhopal added to the vibrant atmosphere with a 'palki yatra'.

The Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) band contributed to the joyous occasion by playing patriotic tunes along the streets of Ayodhya. As dusk fell, residents lit diyas outside their homes, reminiscent of the festival of Diwali for Lord Ram’s homecoming, and the night sky was illuminated by the glow of fireworks.    

The Guardian view on Modi in Ayodhya: an alarming new era for India

(Editorial)

The inauguration of the temple erased divisions between politics and religion in a theoretically secular state   

"Monday’s inauguration of the new Ram Mandir in Ayodhya by India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, was a moment decades in the making. Yet it also came too early. Despite the grand spectacle of the ceremony, with celebrities, tycoons and politicians in attendance, the temple is still incomplete. There is an obvious explanation for this rushed endeavour, and it is not religious. India will go to the polls in late spring and while Mr Modi is all but guaranteed to win a third term, he wants a large majority for his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP).

Mr Modi rode to power, and has entrenched it, on the back of rightwing Hindu nationalism. On Monday he went beyond the exploitation of ethno-religious sentiment. He did not merely attend the ceremony; he carried out rituals. Religion and authoritarianism have proceeded hand-in-hand in recent years. 

But few strongmen have melded the political and religious to quite this degree. As his biographer, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, observed, the event cast him as “the high priest of Hinduism”, disquieting some religious leaders.

The constitution still calls India a secular republic. But the facts on the ground suggest otherwise. Mr Modi’s supporters treat the idea of secularism as a foreign imposition on a grand civilisation, and as camouflage for the mistreatment and suppression of Hindus. 

In reality it is their aggressive chauvinism that has cost Indian society dearly, and it is Muslims who are treated as second-class citizens. Human Rights Watch warned last year of the government’s “systematic discrimination and stigmatisation of religious and other minorities, particularly Muslims” and of increasing violence by BJP supporters against targeted groups.

The new temple is not just a symbol of these political struggles, but part of them. It stands on the site of the 16th-century Babri Masjid mosque, built by the Mughal emperor Babur, and razed in 1992 by a Hindu nationalist mob who believed a temple previously stood there; Ayodhya is said to be the birthplace of the deity Lord Ram. 

The BJP had inflamed sentiment and BJP politicians stood and watched as thousands tore down the mosque. Its destruction sparked communal violence in which more than 2,000 people died. Then, in 2019, the supreme court ruled that the demolition of the mosque had been illegal – but that nonetheless the site belonged to Hindus, allowing the new building’s construction.

Ayodhya’s story was central to the BJP’s rise. But while Congress and other opposition parties boycotted the ceremony, they have failed to mount an effective challenge to Mr Modi’s dangerous majoritarianism and have at times succumbed to its dominance. 

The message is not simply of Hindu triumph, but of grievance and revenge. “We must not bow down any more. We must not sit down any more,” Mr Modi said on Monday.

Despite the lengthy history of the Ayodhya dispute, he described the consecration as “the beginning of a new era”. It is not merely that thousands more mosques are being targeted nor that Muslims in Ayodhaya and beyond feel more vulnerable than ever. 

Many believe that the prime minister will rewrite the constitution if he gains a sufficient majority, though he has dismissed such speculation. Monday may mark another fateful step towards that moment. 

It may also indicate that he does not need to change the words on paper when he has reshaped his country so effectively already.

ends