January 16, 2024: A dark-coloured idol of Lord Ram sculpted by Arun Yogiraj has been selected for installation at the sanctum- sanatorium (garbha griha) of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir, the trust overseeing the construction work said on January 15.
According to Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust Secretary Champat Rai, 11 of the 15 members of the trust voted in favour of the idol made by Mysore-based artist Yogiraj.
Made of dark granite showcasing the form of a five-year old Lord Ram, the 51-inch idol weighs 150-200 kilogramme. The new idol, which will be installed in the garbha griha along with the old idol of the deity, will enter the new temple premises on January 17. It will be installed in the sanctum sanctorum on January 18. The Ram Temple Pran Pratishtha on January 22 will begin at 12:20 PM, Rai informed.
“Arun Yogiraj, a resident of Mysore, hails from generations of sculptors. You cannot imagine the kind of life he has lived to sculpt the idol. He has not kept his phone with himself for 15 days and did not speak to his children for 15-20 days at a stretch. He was so engrossed in his work. His idol has been selected and everyone appreciated it,” Rai told media at a press conference in Ayodhya.
Earlier, three artists were assigned the task of building the perfect idol for the upcoming temple. While one sculptor (Satyanarayan Pandey) hails from Rajasthan, the remaining two (Arun Yogiraj and Ganesh Bhatt) are from Karnataka. The idols crafted in Karnataka are made of dark granite stones while the one built in Rajasthan is made of white makrana marble.
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