Mumbai: The city’s most important Lord Ram temple, Shree Ram Mandir in Wadala, unveiled its renovated sanctum to celebrate 'Pran Pratishtha' of the deity at the grand temple in Ayodhya.
The month-long repairs at the 60-year-old temple, called 'Ayodhya of Maharashtra', were completed two days ago. The temple trust said the renovation was done with contributions from devotees. While some donated new chandeliers for the sanctum, others paid for the fresh paint. “People are sentimental about such donations and don't want to reveal the cost,” said Anant Pai, Vice Chairman of Shree Samsthan Gokarn Partagali Jeevottam Math which manages the temple.
FPJ
The celebrations at the temple started with 'Tarak mantra jaap havan' at 9am on January 20. Today, devotees will begin a mass chanting of 'Ram raksha stotra' an hour before Ayodhya's main ceremony, which will happen around noon. The deity's idol will be ritually bathed in the waters of sacred rivers from Maharashtra in a ritual called 'Shata Kalashabhishek'. The celebrations will end in the evening with a two-hour 'shobha yatra' that will cover Wadala, Dr Ambedkar Road, Kings Circle and Khalsa College. 'Deepotsav' and 'ratri puja' will mark the culmination of the elaborate programme.
At the other Ram temple, Asthika Samaj at Matunga, the religious programmes set for today include 'Ganpati Homam', 'Rama Gayatri Homan' and 'Rama Pattabhisheka Homam'. In the evening, the shrine will be lit with 11,000 mud lamps in a ceremony called 'dasa sahasra deepam'. The temple deities – Lord Ram, Laxman, Sita and Hanuman – will be adorned with gold 'kavachams' in a ceremony called 'Alankara'. Other temples in the city will follow a similar programme today.
Meanwhile, Shankara Matham at Matunga, which was established by the 68th Sankaracharya of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, said that the current head of the Kanchi Math, Shankaracharya Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswati Swami, spent Sunday in Ayodhya to look into the last details of the consecration ceremony. He also performed the final 'poornahuti' of 'yagna shala' at Ayodhya.
B Shridhar, a devotee of Shankara Matham, said that Shankaracharya didn't stay back for the consecration ceremony because he was of the view that it was a political event. “He decided to go to Ayodhya a couple of days back. He had received an invitation for the main ceremony, but decided not to go. He has been guiding the government about the rituals and wanted to ensure that everything is correct,” said Shridhar. At Shankara Matham, devotees will sing 'Sri Rama Kirti', compositions in praise of Lord Rama, between 12 pm and 1 pm on Monday.
