Hundreds and thousands of people thronged various temples, organised religious processions and community kitchens at many places in Haryana and Punjab to celebrate the consecration ceremony at the newly constructed Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on Monday.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Union minister Som Parkash and several Punjab ministers attended religious events held on the occasion of the consecration ceremony. Khattar watched the live telecast of the 'Pran Pratishtha' at an event in Karnal, where he also offered prayers at a temple. He also raised "Jai Shri Ram" slogans and danced to the tune of 'Ram bhajans'.
He said the wishes of crores of people of the country and around the world have been fulfilled today as the "long wait of 500 years has come to an end" with the construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya.
On this occasion, the Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh UT Banwari Lal Purohit and other Ram devotees present at the Punjab Raj Bhavan watched the live telecast of this ritual and the entire Raj Bhavan became ‘Rammai’. The entire Punjab Raj Bhavan was decorated beautifully with different flowers and colorful lights, which was a spectacle in itself.
The Governor expressed his feelings as a Ram devotee and said that along with all the people of India, I too had been waiting for this divine occasion for a long time, which has concluded with such grandeur. After the completion of the sacred ritual of Pran Pratishtha, a Bhandara was also organized at the Punjab Raj Bhawan in which the Governor along with all the devotees, officials and employees of Punjab Raj Bhawan and the officers of UT administration also partook and relished the prasad.
The new Ram Lalla idol was consecrated at the Ayodhya temple on Monday, an event led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and watched by lakhs of people on television at their homes and in temples across the country.
As religious fervour swept both states, saffron flags carrying images of Lord Ram with bow and arrow and the temple dotted streets with devotees singing 'Ram ayenge, mere ghar Ram ayenge' and other 'bhajans' in shobha yatras (processions). With chants of 'Jai Shri Ram, Jai Siya Ram' renting the air during a shobha yatra in Amritsar, one of the devotees participating in the processions said, "It is an emotional and joyous moment for everyone as this day came after a 500-year long wait."
Priests performed puja at decked-up temples, while 'havans' were also held at several places on the occasion. To mark the grand event, roads leading to temples at many places in Punjab and Haryana were given a facelift. Giant LED screens were put up at some temple complexes to enable people to watch the live telecast of the 'Pran Pratishtha' rituals from Ayodhya.
Despite the bone-chilling cold wave conditions, devotees made a beeline to offer prayers in temples at several places, including Chandigarh, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat, Gurugram, Rohtak, Faridabad, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala and Pathankot.
Many shopkeepers and commercial establishments in both states held 'langars' (community feast) and distributed tea, fruits and biscuits. People were seen thronging markets to buy earthen lamps and decorative lights as a festive atmosphere prevailed in the twin states and their common capital Chandigarh. Markets at several places were also decorated with flowers, illuminating lights and saffron flags with most of the shops playing religious songs. Volunteers of various outfits visited door-to-door and distributed flags and diyas (earthen lamps) to people.
In Panchkula, BJP MLA and Haryana Vidhan Sabha Speaker Gian Chand Gupta distributed 'laddoos' to the public to celebrate the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony.
Several Punjab ministers including Harpal Singh Cheema, Chetan Singh Jauramajra, Lalchand Kataruchak, Aman Arora and Bram Shanker Jimpa also attended religious programmes in their respective assembly constituencies.
Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Punjab assembly Partap Singh Bajwa also participated in religious programmes at temples in Qadian in Gurdaspur and congratulated people on the occasion of the consecration ceremony. In Amritsar, special religious events were organised at the Durgiana temple and Bhagwan Shri Balmik temple.
In Ludhiana, special ceremonial prayers were held in Sangla Wala Shivala, Krishna Mandir, and Durga Mata Mandir. AAP MP Sanjeev Arora after offering prayers at the temple at Hambran road asked people to follow the preaching of Lord Ram.
Himachal witnesses celebrations during Ram Lalla’s ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony
Shimla: Himachal Pradesh on Monday witnessed a Diwali-like atmosphere as the new Ram Lalla idol was consecrated at the Ayodhya temple. Grand celebrations, including various cultural and religious programmes and bhandaras, were organised across the Congress-ruled state with lakhs of devotees taking part. About 4,000 LED screens were installed in temples across Himachal Pradesh for live broadcast of the ‘Pran Pratishtha (consecration)’ ceremony from Ayodhya. An ‘Akhand Ramayan’ recital was organised at a temple devoted to Lord Ram in Shimla.
Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla organised a ‘Sundar Kand’ recital in the Raj Bhawan. The governor also watched a live telecast of the consecration ceremony from the Raj Bhawan.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu paid obeisance at Shri Hanuman temple Jakhu on Monday and said that on the occasion of the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, he offered prayers at Hanuman Ji’s Temple, a devoted follower of Shri Ram. He urged the people of the state to light lamps and embrace the values embodied by Shri Ram and said that the idol of Shri Ram would be installed in Jakhu temple premises.
On Sunday, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu announced a full public holiday for Monday so that people can witness the ‘Pran Pratishtha’. He had also appealed to the people to light diyas on the occasion. Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said in a post on X that the entire Cabinet will soon visit the temple in Ayodhya.
