Ayodhya Ram Mandir: Who Will Be Inside ‘Garbh Griha’ Today? Check Step-by-Step Process of ‘Pran Pratistha’

As the country gears up to welcome Lord Ram at Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir on January 22, the office in-charge of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Prakash Gupta, said the consecration of the Ram Lalla idol is scheduled to take place between 12:15pm and 12:45pm.

The ceremony will be conducted at the garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum) of the temple, where the idol depicting the 5-year-old child form of Lord Ram will be housed.

Who Will Be Present Inside Garbha Griha During ‘Pran Pratistha’?

During the consecration ceremony of Lord Ram, only five people will be present inside the garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum) of the temple. These five people are:

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be the main’yajman'(patron) of the ceremony
2. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat
3. Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel
4. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
5. Ram Mandir Chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das

‘Pran Pratishtha’ is a popular ritual in Jainism and Hinduism, where the idol of a deity is installed at a sacred place like a temple, after sanctification. During the time of installation of the idols, the priests perform a lot of rituals amid the chanting of vedic hymns.

The word Pran means life force and Pratishtha means establishment. Pran Pratishtha or consecration ceremony means invoking the life force in the idol.

Step-by-Step Process of ‘Pran Pratistha’

• During the ‘Pran Pratistha’, the door of the temple will remain closed. The blindfold of the Lord will be opened and a mirror will be shown to Him after which the ceremony will be completed.
• After this there will be an Aarti, followed by the puja which will be completed by three teams of Acharyas.
• The first team will be led by Swami Govind Devagiri Maharaj, the second team by Shankaracharya Vijendra Saraswati and the scholars of Kashi will offer worship in the third team.
• The eyes of Lord Ram will remain blindfolded until he sits on his throne and the bandage will be removed when the entire work of ‘Pran Pratistha’ is completed.
• The chief host, Prime Minister Modi will open the blindfold of seated Ram Lalla and after that a mirror will be shown and Kajal will be applied to Ram Lalla.
• Chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das told that PM Modi will apply kajal in the eyes of Ram Lalla with a gold coin, after which the Aarti will be performed.
• Following the Aarti, Bhog will be offered and Prasad will be distributed among the devotees.

As per the list of the run-up rituals to the consecration ceremony, the Parisar Pravesh of the Murti was conducted on Wednesday. It will be followed by the Teerth Poojan, Jal Yatra and Gandhadhivas on January 18 and several other rituals till the ‘Pran Pratistha’ day.

Details of Protocols Followed in Rituals

There are usually Seven Adhivasas in ‘Pran Pratistha’ ceremony, and a minimum of three Adhivasas are in practice. Arounf 121 Acharyas will be conducting the rituals and Shri Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid Ji will oversee, coordinate, anchor and direct all the proceedings of the Anushthan. The principal Acharya will be Kashi’s Shri Luckshmikant Dixit.