Edited by Deepali Verma
Lord Ram Lalla idol, 51-inch-tall, carved by a Jaipur-based sculptor, reached Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya on January 4. The sculptor Chandresh Pandey said that he was among the select few artists who were tasked with carving Lord Ram Lalla’s statue, that would later be installed in the Ram Temple on the consecration ceremony to be held on January 22.
“This idol was made in Jaipur. There was a condition that selection of only that design would happen which would be made inside Ayodhya. The idol is a fusion of Lord Ram and Lord Vishnu that carries a touch of childlikeness. I could not prepare it in Ayodhya as my wife had collapsed. Hence, I decided to prepare the idol in Jaipur,” he said.
Pandey said, “This design, though out of the race as of now, Champat Rai, the General Secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, has accepted my idol.”
He further informed that this statue is not fit to be installed as the trust has already finalised the design.
Ayodhya will see installation of the idol of ‘Ram Lalla’ carved by Karnataka’s renowned sculptor Arun Yogiraj in the Ram temple.
Days after the design was finalised, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi made an announcement that a renowned idol-maker from the ‘land of Hanuman’ will see his piece of creation to find place of pride at the Ram Temple on January 22.
Karnataka is home to a grand Hanuman temple and is said to be the birthplace of the deity. Joshi remarks that the selection of the idol shaped by a sculptor from this state for the Ram Temple as an “example of Rama-Hanuman’s inextricable relationship”.
“Where Rama is, there is Hanuman, The idol selection for the Prana Pratishtapana of Lord Rama in Ayodhya is finalised. A renowned sculptor, our proud Mr @yogiraj_arun, the Lord Rama idol carved by him will be installed in Ayodhya,” the Union Minister posted from his official handle on X.
“This marks another exhibit of the inextricable relationship of Rama and Hanuman. There is no mistaking that this is a significant service to Ramlallani from Karnataka, the land of Hanuman,” Joshi added in his post.
In the meantime, idols of elephants, lions, Lord Hanuman and Garuda, said to be ‘Vahana’ of Lord Vishnu in the Hindu mythology, have been installed at the entrance gate of the grand Ram Temple.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to be in attendance of the consecration ceremony of the temple on January 22.
