Ayodhya: Waking up before sunrise, practicing yoga, learning mantras and stutis of Lord Ram — the 21 young men training to become archaks (priests) at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya have a full schedule which starts early and ends with dinner at 8 pm.
The priests, all between the ages of 20 and 30, are being trained in the worship of Ram according to the Ramananda Paddhati, a ritual manual credited to the 14th century saint Ramananda who is said to have dedicated his life to worship of Ram. They are currently residing in Rang Vatika, a building behind the newly-built three-floor Teerth Kshetra Bhawan, and have previously studied at traditional gurukuls.
Speaking to ThePrint, Acharya Durga Prasad, under whose supervision the priests are being trained, said that all the young priests have been trained in traditional Vedic learning.
“They have studied till the position of acharya (post-graduation in gurukul system). Most of them have studied till class V in the modern education system,” he said.
Earlier this year, some on social media platforms like X and several media reports had claimed that of the 21 priests, some were from the scheduled castes (SC) and other backward castes (OBC). However, Acharya Govinda Dev Giri, treasurer of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, has denied this.
Speaking to ThePrint, he said, “mediapersons have a tendency of spreading nonsensical things”.
“One should let discussions about upper caste and lower castes go now. When the Hindu scriptures have allotted the karm kaand (rituals) to Brahmins…then Brahmins do it. Society does not accept it otherwise,” said Acharya Prasad.
Before they formally join as archaks, the priests in training will have to take an exam.
“A test will take place after the course ends after which their role will be finalised. So far, the plan is to deploy 10 of them in the Ram Temple in the coming two-three days so that they can get accustomed to the rituals and practises,” Acharya Prasad added.
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How they were selected
The priests are among the 24 selected from a pool of 3,000 who had filled in the application forms released by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust last year for the post of archaks. One of them dropped out, while two others, whose family members were found to be associated with the Ram Temple, were not selected as a policy decision by the trust, said Acharya Mithilesh Nandini Sharan to ThePrint. Sharan takes special classes for the trainee archaks on the origin and concept of particular words.
In the form, which ThePrint has accessed, the applicants were asked to fill in basic details like their name, date of birth, contact details and educational qualifications, along with their gotra, the name of the gurukul where they studied and the name of the acharya under whom they did their Vedic education.
One of the applicants, who spoke to ThePrint on condition of anonymity, said that after he filled in the application form, he received a message from the trust on 25 November, asking him to come for an interview at the Teerth Kshetra Bhawan in Ayodhya’s Ramkot area.
“The message said that I should bring a photograph, educational certificates and my Aadhaar card with me. The interviews went on for three days,” he said.
The message, seen by ThePrint, said that the interview will involve checking of general knowledge pertaining to Indian culture, recitative pronunciation of Vedic mantras and knowledge of sandhya mantras (praying to the lord during the twilight hours).
Another applicant, who was also interviewed but didn’t make the cut, told ThePrint that during the interview, they were also asked about what category of Brahmin they were.
“There are several types of Brahmins like Saraswats, Kanyakubjas, Gaurs, Utkals, Maithils and Saryuparins. We were asked which category we belonged to,” he said.
Several of the trainees come from areas within 25 kilometres of Ayodhya district’s boundary. The priests from Ayodhya and surrounding areas were given preference, said Acharya Sharan to ThePrint.
The training that started on 7 December last year will be completed by May, after which they will be accommodated in the Ram Temple as priests.
How they are being trained
According to Prasad, the priests have a strict schedule which starts with their waking up in the brahmamuhurt (before sunrise) at around 4 am followed by sandhya vandan, which includes achamanam (purification ritual) and pranayama (yogic practice focusing on breath). Then they move on to Surya arg (offering of water to Lord Surya), followed by adhyayan (self-revision). All this before their first class, which begins at 9 am.
“In the class, they are taught stutis (praises) of Lord Ram. This goes on till noon, after which they are given a lunch break. Then from 2 pm to 5 pm, there is a class again. In the evening, they are given some time for games and discussion among themselves, post which they again revise the topics taught in the classes followed by dinner at 8 pm,” said Prasad.
He added that the training programme follows the curriculum set by the trust for the worship of Lord Ram.
“This includes the purusha sukta (Rigveda hymn dedicated to Purusha, the cosmic being), stutis of Lord Ram and mantras of shodhash upchaar (worship rituals with 16 substances),” he said.
Speaking to ThePrint, Acharya Sharan said that the priests are being trained according to the Vedic Sanhita decided for the worship of Lord Ram and the mantras in Ramananda paddhati.
Two other acharyas who are training the priests include Acharya Keshav from Hyderabad, who is taking classes on the Vedas, and Acharya Satya Narayan Das from Ayodhya, who is training them in worship rituals.
All this leaves little time for a personal life.
Sharan said that a priest does not have any personal life of his own and his entire routine is set according to that of the deity.
“All the activities that are part of a priest’s routine happen according to the lord’s routine. A priest wakes up with the lord, eats with the lord and sleeps when the lord does. He has to bathe the lord, cover him and take care of him according to the schedule of the lord and not according to his own wishes,” he said.
He added that the priests being trained will soon be attached to the older priests currently performing pujas at the Ram Temple so that they can adjust themselves to their routine and get accustomed to the rituals.
“No one can get to know everything at once, which is why they will first be attached with older priests. The older pujaris who are conducting the puja will continue to do it till the younger ones are fully trained. Their experience will help the younger priests learn,” he said.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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