Ram temple: People celebrate Diwali in India

Ram temple: People celebrate Diwali in India

PrashantNews

A large number of Hindus in India on Monday night lit earthen diyas/candles and burst crackers hours after the grand pran pratishta ceremony of the newly built Ram Lalla temple in Ayodhya.

The Monday’s pran pratishta ceremony virtually turned out to be Diwali in most parts of India with people celebrating it with joy and distributing sweets. Shopkeepers organized free kitchens to provide halwa-puri and rice-curry in cities and villages.

In Ayodhya where Prime Minster Narendra Modi inaugurated the Lord Ram temple, thousands of earthen lamps were lit on both sides of the river Saryu in the night as the newly built temple was also tastefully illuminated.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami went to Haridwar to celebrate the pran pratishta of Ram temple. He participated in a special prayer at Har-Ki-Pauri where thousands of candles/diyas were also lit. The temples in Haridwar, Dehradun and other places of the hill state were also decorated and illuminated.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister and other leaders performed various Hindu rituals and prayers for the pran pratishta of the Ram lalla inside the sanctum sanctorum as priests recited shalokas. The temple complex was tastefully decorated with a galaxy of leaders attending the ceremony.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adiyanath and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat joined Modi inside the sanctum sanctorum. The Ram temple was built after the historic 2019 Supreme Court verdict pronounced by a constitutional bench.

Amitabh Bachchan, Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and other cine stars were also present in Ayodhya.

Leaders of Congress and other opposition parties, however, did not attend the ceremony. Mukesh Ambani and other top businessmen were also present. Hundreds of sadhus and saints repeatedly chanted “jai shri Ram” to express their happiness over inauguration of the temple.

Tight security arrangements were made for the ceremony in and around Ayodhya with the round the clock surveillance with the help of drones and other modern gadgets, news channels said.

Religious functions continued in the country with people taking out processions and dancing in jubilation when the ceremony was being held in Ayodhya. Many foreigners including women have also descended at Ayodhya to attend the consecration.