The 500 year old dispute has been laid to rest. After the Supreme Court verdict in favour of the Ram Mandir, it was decided that a temple be constructed at the disputed site of the legendary city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. Yesterday, on August 5th, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone with a bhumi pujan and Indian rituals to welcome Shri Ram.
“The wait of centuries is coming to an end,” Mr. Modi proclaimed. Ram sabme hain and Ram sabke hain (Ram resides in everyone and Ram belongs to everyone.) In Hindu mythology, Shri Ram is referred to as Maryada Purushottam, who stood for dharma and truth. He is believed to be the seventh reincarnation of Lord Vishnu in the Treta Yug, who destroyed the evil in the form of Ravana. “The completeness of Lord Ram is in a dignified personality.”
Many Hindus and historians believe that the disputed site was the birthplace of their revered god Ram. An earlier temple for Ram was demolished during Mughal rule to build the mosque. The case had been tossing and turning in Indian courts since the 1950s as Ram Janmabhumi or Babri Masjid dispute.
To quote Hemant Sharma, the author of Ayodhya Ka Chashmadeed (An eyewitness to Ayodhya), from Rediff.com, “They are not making a mandir at Ayodhya, but they are making Ayodhya like the Vatican or Mecca. Foreign experts are being called in and it will be like a renaissance of Hindu religion.”
The temple trust, Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra shared images of the proposed model of the grand temple. In a Twitter post, the Trust described the temple as “a unique example of Indian architecture”.
The Grand Temple Architecture
Chandrakant Sompura, the architect of the grand temple, said, “the proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya will be almost double the size of what was originally proposed after its design was modified.
Sompura added that the temple will be constructed in Nagara style of architecture and will have five domes instead of two. The project is likely to be completed in the next three years.
A 251 meter tall statue of the deity is being indigenously built at Manjha Baretha village. This will be the tallest statue of Lord Ram in the world and will be built completely indigenously.
The tallest statue in the world at present is the statue of Gautam Buddh in China, which is 208 metre tall. In India, Sardar Patel’s Statue of Unity stands 182 meter high.
However, the work for the acquisition of land to build the idol is still underway. The statue will be built by the banks of the Sarayu river.
The 251 meter high built will stand on a 50 meter high base and will reach 301 meter high. The base will be atop a museum, where the various avatars of Lord Vishnu will be displayed. One digital museum will also be constructed.
Hanuman Garhi Mandir’s Mahant Raju Das was quoted by ANI as saying that the temple Trust had decided to use stones for the temple since stones last long. “The Hanuman Garhi Mandir is made of stone, too, and it was built back in 1164 AD. Gold, silver as well as copper that would be given by the people will be used in the foundation of the temple.
Ayodhya –A tourist Attraction
The Sompuras are temple architects for almost six centuries and have employed the Nagara Style of temple architecture. The family’s former patriarch, Late Prabhashankarbhai Oghadbhai Sompura had designed the famous Somnath Temple in post-independence India.
He has authored 12 books on temple architecture and was also awarded the Padmashree. The family also build the famous Birla Mandir, Akshardham in Gandhinagar and a World Record breaking Swami Narayan Temple in London.
Ram Mandir will be in Nagara style
In the long run, Ayodhya will surely to become a tourist attraction, considering the fact that The Ramayana has spread to many Asian countries outside of India. This includes Burma, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Mongolia, Vietnam and China. The original Valmiki version has been adapted or translated into various regional languages.