Photo courtesy: @uptourismgov. Deepotsav in Ayodhya
Key points
- Ayodhya is the birthplace of Shri Rama
- The banks of the sacred river Sarayu in the city shone with the lights of up to 5,84,572 lakhs of earth lamps on Friday.
- The event reached Guinness World Records for ‘Largest Oil Lamp Display
Ayodhya, the birthplace of Shri Rama, will celebrate its first Diwali verdict following the Supreme Court verdict for the construction of the temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi site. A great Bhoomi Pujan was held on August 5 this year to lay the foundation stone for the construction of the Ram Mandir sacred shrine. And so did Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As the city of Ayodhya hoped to celebrate its historic Diwali this year, the banks of the holy Sarayu river were shining with lights of up to 5,84,572 lakhs of earth lamps at Ram ki Paidi ghats on Friday. Thus, it reached Guinness World records for ‘the largest display of oil lamps, reports suggest. And a captivating laser show added grandeur to the event.
The city also witnessed an exhibition of not one, but 11 paintings portraying various chapters of the Ramcharitmanas and a great show of Ram Lalla’s darbar and Ramayana.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Governor Anandiben Patel held a Ram Lalla Virajman puja at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple construction site before participating in the Deepotsav.
Dressed artists such as Lord Rama, Devi Sita and Lakshmana also participated in the event and statues depicting iconic Ramayan events were displayed in Ram Katha Park prior to the ‘Deepotsav’ celebration. “With these statues, our goal is to make an encyclopedia consisting of various incidents from Ramayan,” ANI quoted Yashwant Singh Rathore, Secretary of State Lalit Kala Akademi, UP, as saying.
For the unspoken, Diwali, traditionally known as Deepavali (Deep + Avali = a row of lights) is associated with Shri Rama’s return to Ayodhya after a fourteen-year hiatus. The people of Ayodhya, who were waiting with great anticipation for the arrival of Sri Rama, his consort Devi Sita and his brother Lakshmana, welcomed them by lighting earthen lamps. And since it was the Amavasya Tithi or New Moon night, the lights illuminated the entire kingdom. Since then, the tradition of lighting lamps on Deepavali day has continued.
