NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday led the much-awaited rituals of the “Pran Pratishtha” ceremony at the newly-constructed Ram temple in Ayodhya after which the Ram Lalla idol was unveiled.
The Prime Minister, dressed in a golden kurta and cream-colored dhoti, entered the temple premises with a silver umbrella placed on a red folded dupatta.He then performed the ‘sankalp’ for the ceremony before proceeding to the sanctum sanctorum for the rituals. The Prime Minister then conducted the “Pran Pratishtha” ceremony.
What is ‘Pran Pratishtha’
Pran Pratishthha means ‘establishment of life force’ or ‘infusing life’ into something. In Sanatan Dharm, it’s a sacred ceremony where the divine essence, referred to as ‘prana’, is invoked and transferred into an idol of a deity in a temple or at home. It transforms a normal idol or object into a living representation of the deity making it worthy of worship. Without consecration, the idol is assumed to be incomplete.
Here’s how Pran Pratishtha happened
11:51 pm: Abhijit Muhurt began. It’s the muhurt when Lord Vishnu destroys uncountable doshas (flaws) with his Sudarshan Chakra. Lord Ram was born in the same muhurt when the Sun is in full power.
12:00 pm: PM Modi reached the newly contructed Ram temple for the consecration ceremony.
12:05 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered the ‘Garbhgriha’ to take part in Sankalp puja for ‘Pran Pratishtha’.
12:09 pm: The Pran Pratishtha rituals began with priests removing blindfold and applying Kajal using a golden stick. The Ram Lalla idol was unveiled in the presence of PM Modi, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath.
12:29:08pm- 12:30:32pm: This can be described as a slice of time taken from the 48-minute-long muhurt. This 84-second duration was the “Mool muhurt”. According to head of astrology department at Central Sanskrit University, Lucknow, Prof Madan Mohan Pathak, ‘Mool Muhurt’ “is the ideal time for life to be infused into an idol.”
12:32 pm: PM Modi performed post consecration rituals followed by a Hawan.
12:33 pm: With all the consecration rituals, the Abhijit Muhurt ended.
12:40 pm: Army helicopters showered petals over the Ram Mandir, adding a symbolic and celebratory element to the occasion.
12:58 pm: PM Modi performed aarti of Ram Lalla concluding the consecration rituals after which he completed his 11-day fast by taking Charanamrit from the hands of Swami Govind Dev Giri Maharaj after the Pran Pratishtha ceremony. After that The Prime Minister performed ‘parikrama’ of the deity and offered ‘dandvat pranam’.
01:00 pm: PM Modi greeted Ram Temple ‘Pran Pratishtha’ program attendees. Actor Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, Reliance Industries Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita Ambani, former PM HD Deve Gowda and his son HD Kumaraswamy were among the attendees of the grand ceremony.
The Prime Minister, dressed in a golden kurta and cream-colored dhoti, entered the temple premises with a silver umbrella placed on a red folded dupatta.He then performed the ‘sankalp’ for the ceremony before proceeding to the sanctum sanctorum for the rituals. The Prime Minister then conducted the “Pran Pratishtha” ceremony.
What is ‘Pran Pratishtha’
Pran Pratishthha means ‘establishment of life force’ or ‘infusing life’ into something. In Sanatan Dharm, it’s a sacred ceremony where the divine essence, referred to as ‘prana’, is invoked and transferred into an idol of a deity in a temple or at home. It transforms a normal idol or object into a living representation of the deity making it worthy of worship. Without consecration, the idol is assumed to be incomplete.
Here’s how Pran Pratishtha happened
11:51 pm: Abhijit Muhurt began. It’s the muhurt when Lord Vishnu destroys uncountable doshas (flaws) with his Sudarshan Chakra. Lord Ram was born in the same muhurt when the Sun is in full power.
12:00 pm: PM Modi reached the newly contructed Ram temple for the consecration ceremony.
12:05 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered the ‘Garbhgriha’ to take part in Sankalp puja for ‘Pran Pratishtha’.
12:09 pm: The Pran Pratishtha rituals began with priests removing blindfold and applying Kajal using a golden stick. The Ram Lalla idol was unveiled in the presence of PM Modi, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath.
12:29:08pm- 12:30:32pm: This can be described as a slice of time taken from the 48-minute-long muhurt. This 84-second duration was the “Mool muhurt”. According to head of astrology department at Central Sanskrit University, Lucknow, Prof Madan Mohan Pathak, ‘Mool Muhurt’ “is the ideal time for life to be infused into an idol.”
12:32 pm: PM Modi performed post consecration rituals followed by a Hawan.
12:33 pm: With all the consecration rituals, the Abhijit Muhurt ended.
12:40 pm: Army helicopters showered petals over the Ram Mandir, adding a symbolic and celebratory element to the occasion.
12:58 pm: PM Modi performed aarti of Ram Lalla concluding the consecration rituals after which he completed his 11-day fast by taking Charanamrit from the hands of Swami Govind Dev Giri Maharaj after the Pran Pratishtha ceremony. After that The Prime Minister performed ‘parikrama’ of the deity and offered ‘dandvat pranam’.
01:00 pm: PM Modi greeted Ram Temple ‘Pran Pratishtha’ program attendees. Actor Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, Reliance Industries Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita Ambani, former PM HD Deve Gowda and his son HD Kumaraswamy were among the attendees of the grand ceremony.