A Peek Into the Pran Pratishtha Ceremony of the Ram Mandir

The world will chant along when the skies echo with Jai Shri Ram on 22nd January as the city of Ayodhya welcomes the return of its rightful king Lord Rama, yet again. It’s been a long and arduous journey for Hindus across the country and it is finally culminating beautifully. With only 2 weeks to go before the inauguration ceremony, the world is gearing up for the event. Everyone is wondering how the series of events will pan out, who will be present, and many other things. Here are some of the details about the ceremony.

Schedule of the Pran Pratishtha Ceremony - 

• The Pran Pratishtha ceremony is a very significant and auspicious ceremony. It involves performing pujas and chanting mantras to channel divine energy and life or pran into idols placed in a temple so that they can receive devotion and offer blessings.
• The Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Mandir is a much-awaited ceremony. It will be a week-long ceremony that will have multiple events spanning seven days.
• It will commence with the Dashvidh bath, and worship of Lord Vishnu, and an offering of the holy cow will be made on the banks of Sarayu river.
• The next day i.e January 17th will witness a procession of devotees carrying holy water from river Sarayu. The procession will also mark the arrival of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya.
• A number of rituals will be performed on the following day i.e 18th January. These include Ganesh Ambika puja, Varun puja, Matrika puja, Brahmin Varan, and finally a Vastu puja.
• After lighting the holy fire and establishing the navagraha, a havan will be performed on 19th January.
• On 20th January, the rituals will begin with a Vastu shanti puja followed by an Annadhivas puja but only after the main complex of the Ram Mandir has been washed with the water of river Sarayu.
• The next day on the 21st January, water from 125 urns will be taken to give a holy abhishek to the idol of Ram Lalla before placing him in the temple.
• The final day on 22nd January will begin with a puja in the morning and then the consecration ceremony will take place in the Ayodhya Ram Mandir. This ceremony will take place under the guidance of Pandit Laxmikant Dixit. It will also have the presence of 121 vedic Brahmins. It will be performed between 12:29:08 p.m to 12:30:32 p.m. This day will be graced by the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will be the host or the yajman at the ceremony. 

Attendees - 

The Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Mandir is a very important event and marks a very significant moment in history. So naturally many important people will be present for it. While invites have been sent to who’s who from all industries, there are speculations about who is likely to attend the event. More than 7000 people have been invited for the event.

• The invite has been very beautifully designed. It is in the form of a booklet which is in both Hindi and English, and gives the entire schedule of the ceremony. It also gives details about the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement and the people who played a key role in it.
• While Prime Minister Shree Narendra Modi will be present, other political figures like Yogi Adityanath and chief ministers of other states will attend the event too. BJP leader L.K Advani will also be seen at the ceremony. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Governor of Uttar Pradesh Anandiben Patel will also be present at the ceremony.
• Industrialists like Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, and Ratan Tata are also going to be in attendance. 
• From the sports industry, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli have been sent invitations.
• Spiritual leaders including Baba Ramdev will also be present at the event.
• Actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar are also expected to be present.
• Actor Arun Govil who portrayed the part of Lord Ram and Deepika Chhikalia who portrayed Mata Sita in Doordarshan’s Ramayana will also grace the event with their presence.
• Security measures have been increased to accommodate a crowd of at least 15000 devotees at the ceremony. 

How to Reach Ram Mandir - 

• By Air - Ayodhya has its airport now. Cab services are available for devotees to reach the city center of Ayodhya from the airport and the distance between the two is only 7 km.
• By Train - Ayodhya Junction and Faizabad Junction are the nearest stations to the temple if one is commuting by train. The temple is around 20 minutes away from the Ayodhya railway station. Trains run regularly from the city to other parts of the country.
• By Road - For people living in nearby cities like Varanasi, Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, and Delhi the option of traveling by bus is also available since the city is well connected to other major cities in the country. You can also drive down to the city or rent a cab. 

Telecasting of the Ceremony -

The Pran Pratishtha Ceremony will be telecast all across the country at booth level. News channels will cover the event and broadcast it live. It will also be streamed live at Times Square in New York.

Wrapping Up - 

The excitement is building by the minute as the day of the inauguration of the Ram Mandir nears. The week-long event will be spectacular for sure and will incorporate various significant rituals of the Hindu religion. It will be attended by famous and prominent personalities from different industries. Not only will Lord Ram be welcomed by the biggest dignitaries but will also receive numerous gifts that have been sent from different parts of the country. There could not be a more grand way of welcoming everyone’s beloved Ram Lalla.