Ayodhya: The streets of Ayodhya are reverberating with chants of ‘Jai Shree Ram’ in the final countdown to the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple. For lakhs of devotees, Ayodhya is the place to be. But there’s a thrum of excitement at Ram’s nanihal, his mother’s birthplace in Chhattisgarh, and his sasural in Nepal. Devotees from the two regions have already sent lavish gifts from a silver bow and arrow to eleven trucks loaded with 300 metric tonnes of ‘fragrant rice’ to mark the occasion.
To commemorate their son-in-law’s return to Ayodhya, devotees in several districts of Nepal—including Janakpur Dham where Ram’s wife Sita is believed to have been born—are organising a Deepotsav on Monday. Thousands of diyas will be lit in Dhawa, Mahottari, Saptari, Sarlahi and Siraha in Nepal, said Kishori Sah, the deputy mayor of Nepal’s Janakpur who is in Ayodhya for the consecration ceremony.
“The people of Nepal want to send a message that the depth of Nepal-India relations is because of the age-old relationship between Janakpur and Ayodhya,” said Sah. The sale and consumption of meat and alcohol has been banned in Nepal’s Birgunj as a symbol of the people’s reverence for the Hindu god. The celebrations are a reminder to the world of the Himalayan nation’s deep-rooted ties with India.
The Ramayana Circuit—one of the 15 thematic circuits identified by India’s tourism ministry for development under the Swadesh Darshan scheme—was extended to Nepal’s Janakpur as well. It covers major pilgrimage sites associated with the Ramayana, including Nandigram and Shringverpur in Uttar Pradesh, Sitamarhi, Buxar and Darbhanga in Bihar, Chitrakoot in Madhya Pradesh, and Mahendragiri in Odisha.
“Nepal and India are working towards establishing a sister-city relationship between Ayodhya and Janakpur,” said Mahant-successor of Nepal’s Janki temple Ram Roshan Das.
Trucks filled with water bottles, grains, vegetables, pulses, and other gifts from Ram’s sasural and nanihal unload at Ramsevakpuram in Ayodhya, which also houses the city’s Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) office.
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Lavish gifts for Ram Lalla
In the run-up to the consecration ceremony, Nepal sent some of the most lavish gifts as part of the bhar sanesh yatra, which arrived in Ayodhya from Janakpur on 6 January. It’s tradition, said Sah. After all, “Janakpur is Shri Ram’s sasural”.
More than 3,000 items—jewellery, utensils, toys, sweets, fruits, dry fruits, silver khadaon (sandals), silver bow and arrow, beds, woollen clothes—all part of the ceremonial offering, were received by members of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. The trust oversees the Ram temple’s affairs.
“In Mithila tradition, when a daughter gets married, her parents send gifts for her groom and herself to help her settle in the new house. Now that Ram Lalla is returning to his house after 500 years, naturally, natives from Maa Janki’s [Sita] birthplace will send gifts for the couple as a mark of their respect for them. Only people of Mithila can ridicule or joke with Lord Ram because he is their damaad (son-in-law),” said VHP central president Rajendra Singh Pankaj.
The bhar sanesh yatra, which included priests from the Janki temple as well as officials from the Nepal government, arrived in Ayodhya via Bihar. It’s a significant and symbolic message that the people of Nepal consider Ram as their damaad and bring bhar (gifts) with them, said Pankaj.
He said that every five years, on the occasion of ‘Vivah Panchvi’, a four-day yatra is taken out from Ayodhya to Janakpur to symbolise Ram’s baraat (wedding procession. Once in Janakpur, the wedding rituals of Ram and Sita are re-enacted.
“The Nepal government heartily supported the decision [by the Janaki Mandir to hold the yatra] and Bimalendra Nidhi, former deputy PM and home minister of Nepal and a member of Nepali Congress central committee led the yatra,” said Sah.
Mahant-successor Ram Roshan Das said that Ayodhya and Janakpur have a sister-city relationship. Das is part of a delegation of around 20 people from Nepal who are in Ayodhya on invitation from the VHP. He is a disciple of Mahant Ram Tapeshwar Das, the current Mahant of the Janki mandir in Janakpur Dham.
“I consider Mata Janki as my sister. Women prepared food items and special sweets like khaja and laddoos which were sent to Ayodhya from Nepal,” he said.
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‘Nanihal’ sends fragrant rice
Not to be outdone by devotees from the sasural, celebrations in Ram’s nanihal (maternal grandparents’ house) in Chhattisgarh are also in full swing.
Temple priests at Kaushalya Dham in Chandhuri, the birthplace of Ram’s mother, will hold a special puja. Residents will take out a ‘Shobha yatra’ from the temple across the town. As many as 21,000 diyas will be lit in the temple premises and a maha aarti will be performed in the evening on 22 January, said a member of the Kaushalya Dham Sansthan.
As many as 250 artistes will perform at the Ram Leela in Raipur Monday. Programmes will be held in Dudhadhari Math and Telibandha Talab as well.
“For people of Chhattisgarh, Lord Ram is their bhanja (nephew), and they traditionally pay respect to their nephews with the gesture of touching their feet,” said Devendra Singh Verma, president of the Sansthan.
It’s also where Ram spent around 12 years of his exile, said Shyam Bais, president of the Ram Van Gaman Shodh Sansthan, Raipur. The outfit is credited with tracking down all 75 locations that Ram had visited during his exile.
In keeping with tradition, devotees from Chhattisgarh sent several gifts to Ayodhya. The Chhattisgarh Rice Miller Association sent 11 trucks loaded with 300 metric tonnes of sugandhit chawal (fragrant rice) including high-quality varieties like Jeeraphool, Dubraj and Basmati.
On Saturday, the association sent 200 tonnes of vegetables and lentils, while a businessman from Chhattisgarh gifted a 21 kg silver Charan paduka (sandals).
“We are very happy to know that the rice will be used to prepare dahi-chawal and kheer —which will be offered to Ram Lalla,” said Yogesh Aggarwal, the association’s state president.
“The first bhog of kheer will be prepared from the rice from Chhattisgarh.”
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)