AYODHYA: With teary eyes, he acknowledged the day as a watershed moment in his life. “Wonderful, unforgettable and full of joy,” said one of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement campaigners, Jagadguru Swamy Rambhadracharya, after the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Visually impaired since childhood, Swamy Rambhadracharya had deposed as an expert witness on religious matters in Allahabad high court in July 2003. Out of his 100-page affidavit and crossexamination, portions were quoted in the final judgment by the HC. In his affidavit, Swamy cited numerous Hindu scriptures, including Ramayana, Ramatapaniya Upanishad, Skanda Purana, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda, to support his view that Ayodhya was the birthplace of Lord Ram.
He also referred to several verses from two works composed by Tulsidas. One of these was from the Doha Sataka, which described the destruction of a temple and the construction of a mosque at the disputed site by Babur in 1528 CE. The second verse he used was from Kaitavali, which mentioned a mosque.
Swamy Rambhadracharya was among several prominent Janmabhoomi movement warriors invited to the consecration ceremony. All of them were filled with a sense of accomplishment as they were part of the movement for decades.
When Sadhvi Ritambha ra and Uma Bharati, who played a key role in the initial phase of the mandir movement, came face to face, both broke down. “I am in front of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, we are waiting for Ram Lalla,” Bharati posted on X along with a photograph, minutes before PM Narendra Modi climbed the stairs of the grand temple for the ‘pran pratishtha’ rituals.
Ritambhara said Lord Ram had given them courage to carry on the fight for the temple. “The credit goes to Lord Ram himself. He gave us the courage and capability to fight for it. Fortunate are those who were involved in the movement. It is huge when the Lord chooses people himself. I am not able to express the feeling in words,” she said.
She said the achievement was a result of the courage shown by the Hindu community and the martyrdom of many. “This is the result of Hindus standing up to all adversities. What is questionable is that we have struggled for over 500 years to establish our God in his abode. However, the success we have achieved today is beyond words. Not only is the Ram temple being built, but it is also the re-establishment of our pride,” she added.
The Ram Tirtha Trust had invited all the campaigners and also the kin of those killed during the movement, including the family of the famous Kothari brothers, who fell prey to police bullets in Ayodhya on November 2, 1990, when Mulayam Singh Yadav was Uttar Pradesh chief minister.
Visually impaired since childhood, Swamy Rambhadracharya had deposed as an expert witness on religious matters in Allahabad high court in July 2003. Out of his 100-page affidavit and crossexamination, portions were quoted in the final judgment by the HC. In his affidavit, Swamy cited numerous Hindu scriptures, including Ramayana, Ramatapaniya Upanishad, Skanda Purana, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda, to support his view that Ayodhya was the birthplace of Lord Ram.
He also referred to several verses from two works composed by Tulsidas. One of these was from the Doha Sataka, which described the destruction of a temple and the construction of a mosque at the disputed site by Babur in 1528 CE. The second verse he used was from Kaitavali, which mentioned a mosque.
Swamy Rambhadracharya was among several prominent Janmabhoomi movement warriors invited to the consecration ceremony. All of them were filled with a sense of accomplishment as they were part of the movement for decades.
When Sadhvi Ritambha ra and Uma Bharati, who played a key role in the initial phase of the mandir movement, came face to face, both broke down. “I am in front of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, we are waiting for Ram Lalla,” Bharati posted on X along with a photograph, minutes before PM Narendra Modi climbed the stairs of the grand temple for the ‘pran pratishtha’ rituals.
Ritambhara said Lord Ram had given them courage to carry on the fight for the temple. “The credit goes to Lord Ram himself. He gave us the courage and capability to fight for it. Fortunate are those who were involved in the movement. It is huge when the Lord chooses people himself. I am not able to express the feeling in words,” she said.
She said the achievement was a result of the courage shown by the Hindu community and the martyrdom of many. “This is the result of Hindus standing up to all adversities. What is questionable is that we have struggled for over 500 years to establish our God in his abode. However, the success we have achieved today is beyond words. Not only is the Ram temple being built, but it is also the re-establishment of our pride,” she added.
The Ram Tirtha Trust had invited all the campaigners and also the kin of those killed during the movement, including the family of the famous Kothari brothers, who fell prey to police bullets in Ayodhya on November 2, 1990, when Mulayam Singh Yadav was Uttar Pradesh chief minister.
