On the eve of the Pran Pratistha ceremony of Ram Lalla, a spiritual ambience engulfed Ayodhya with chants of “Jai Shri Ram” resonating from every place permeating the air of the temple city.

Thousands of Rambhakts from across the country and the world have reached the city of Lord Ram to grace the occasion. Kirtan, bhajan, Ramayana, and Ramcharitmanas are recited continuously in the temples, bhandaras (public feasting) are going on and on the roads, and people are chanting Shri Ram.

A harmonious blend of heritage and modernity characterises the new Ayodhya, which is evident from the ornate decorations, mural paintings and facade lights across the city.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the consecration ceremony from 1220 hours to 1240 hours on Monday. Over 7,000 guests, including eminent personalities of the country and abroad, will witness this grand ceremony.

PM Modi will also take part in the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Shri Ram Lala from 12.05 to 12.55 in the Ram temple along with select guests like RSS chief MohanBhagwat,  Shri RamJanmabhoomiTeerthKshetraTrust chairman Mahant Nritya Gopal Das,  UP governor AnandibenPatel, chief minister Yogi Adityanath, and main Jajman Dr Anil Mishra.

After the cloth tied to the statue of Ram Lalla is unfastened in front of the prime minister, he will apply kajal to the deity with a gold needle and show him in the mirror.

The PM will arrive in Ayodhya at around 10:30 am on Monday. After attending the consecration ceremony and addressing a public meeting, he will return to Delhi at 3:30 pm.

The ritual of consecration of Ram Lalla will start at 12:20 pm on Monday. The main puja of Pran Pratishtha will be done in Abhijeet Muhurta. The time of Ram Lalla’s life consecration has been determined by Kashi scholar Ganeshwar Shastri. This programme will take place on the Dwadashi date of Paush month (22 January 2024) in Abhijeet Muhurta, Indra Yoga, Mrigashira Nakshatra, Aries Lagna, and Scorpio Navamsha.

The auspicious time will be from 12 hours, 29 minutes, and 08 seconds to 12 hours, 30 minutes, and 32 seconds. That means the auspicious time for Pran Pratistha is 84 seconds. The consecration of the idol of Shri Ram Lalla will be done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is presiding over the puja rituals. This ritual will be performed by 121 Vedic Acharyas under the direction of Kashi’s famous Vedic Acharya Ganeshwar and Acharya Laxmikant Dixit. During this period, saints and religious leaders of more than 150 traditions and more than 50 tribal, tribal, coastal, island and tribal traditions will also be present.

Champat Rai, general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, said the entire programme of Pran Pratishtha will be completed by 1 pm. After all the puja rituals are over, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will give a message. Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, President of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will give his blessings.

After the completion of the consecration ceremony, Diwali will be celebrated by lighting ‘Ram Jyoti’. Ayodhya will illuminate with 10 lakh lamps in the evening. Along with this, ‘Ram Jyoti’ will be lit at houses, shops, establishments and mythological places. Ayodhya will be illuminated with lamps made from the soil of the banks of River Saryu. The lamps will be lit at 100 temples, major intersections and public places including Ramlala, Kanak Bhawan, Hanumangarhi, Guptarghat, Saryu Beach, Lata Mangeshkar Chowk, Maniram Das Cantonment.

To make the occasion grand and historic, 2,500 folk artists will perform on 100 stages prepared by the Culture Department. Through various forms of dance, music, and singing, they will showcase the splendor of Treta Yuga in Ayodhya.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, along with other VVIP guests, who are invited for the ceremony have reached Ayodhya while several others are on their way. Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut reached the city last night, while Amitabh Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit are expected to reach by a chartered flight on Monday morning.

The VVIP guests are being accommodated in special rooms designated in hotels, tent cities and ashrams.

Among the guests who arrived here are Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth Swami Vasudevananda, former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Uma Bharti, Sadhvi Ritambhara, Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev, Baba Bageshwar Dhirendra Shastri, Yug Purush Parmanand, members of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. Osmosis, Dandi Swami, Swami Chinmayanand, MLA Purnesh Modi, and Saint Vishokananda are included.

Delegates from different countries are also expected to grace the occasion.

Almost all the ministers of UP including Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya have been camping here and it is expected that CM Yogi Adityanath will reach the temple city by this evening.

Ayodhya has been decked up with lights, flowers, and “Ram Nami” flags, and with security personnel everywhere to maintain law and order the city has virtually turned into a fortress.

The city is being decorated with 2,500 quintals of flowers for the inauguration of the grand temple and the consecration of the new idol of Ramlala. For this, a consignment of beautiful foreign flowers has been brought from Delhi and Kolkata along with Thailand and Argentina.

More than 20,000 packets of Mahaprasad have been prepared to be given to the guests. Each packet contains two laddus, water of River Saryu, Akshat, betel nut bag and Kalava.

The borders of Ayodhya have been sealed, and vehicles have been diverted towards other routes. Drones guard the sky, and thousands of security personnel are present on the streets and intersections of Ayodhya, and water police are deployed in Saryu. The security is impenetrable. Police personnel searched the buildings and other places throughout the night and Marched on the streets of Ayodhya.

Today is the final day of the rituals of the pre-Pran Pratishtha ceremony and today the bathing ceremony of Ramlalla with the water of different holy rivers and water bodies will be performed. The old Ram Lalla idol will also be placed inside the new temple tonight.

Other important rituals like Shaiya Adhiwas, Aghore Home, and Ratri Jagran along with Vastu Shanti Anushthan will take place. Yesterday, 81 Kalash were established at the temple premises and the Chakra Adhiwas and Fal Adhiwas of the vigrah of Ram Lalla and other rituals were performed.

Meanwhile, the security at the Shri Ram Temple has also been increased. Male and female commandos of the UPSSF, trained by NSG, have been deployed. The entire complex has been surrounded by an impenetrable security shield.

About 1,450 security personnel of the Uttar Pradesh Special Security Force have been deployed for the security of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi. Additional Director General of Police LV Antony Dev Kumar himself is monitoring. UPSSF personnel have been deployed for the security of the Ram Janmabhoomi complex, sanctum sanctorum, and red zone along with patrolling duty.