Two rare rocks, Shaligrams, from which the idol of Lord Ram would be carved out to be placed on the sanctum sanctorum of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, were brought from Nepal on Thursday.
The priests of the temple garlanded the rock and offered holy rituals before handing the same over to the Ram Janbabhumi Trust.
"These Shaligram rocks, which are 60 million years old, will reach Ayodhya from Nepal on two different trucks. One rock weighs 26 tonnes and the other weighs 14 tonnes," Prakash Gupta, office in-charge of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust was quoted by PTI as saying on Wednesday.
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He added, “Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s national secretary Rajendra Singh Pankaj started from Mustang district of Nepal on Wednesday with the consignment of two sacred rocks and is expected to arrive in Ayodhya on Thursday."
Idol of Lord Rama in his child form carved from this stone will be placed in the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Temple, which is expected to be ready by Makar Sankranti festival in January next year, officials said.
The two rocks were found in the Gandaki River at a place close to Saligrama or Muktinath (place of salvation) in Nepal’s Mustang district, they said.
Nepali Congress leader and former deputy prime minister Bimalendra Nidhi, who hails from Janakpur, the birthplace of Sita, coordinated with the Janaki Temple which is sent the two stones from the Kali Gandaki River where Shaligrams are found in abundance. according to a report by ANI.
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The two holy stones, one weighing 18 tons and another of 16 tons, have been approved both technically and scientifically for the making of the idol, informed the Nepali officials.
Meanwhile, a two-day meeting of the building construction committee of the Ram Temple began in Ayodhya from Saturday.
