The world witnessed the historic ceremony in which the beautiful black idol of Ram Lalla was installed in the Ram Mandir and the pran pratishtha ceremony took place. But did you know that there are three idols of Ram Lalla competing to be installed in the sanctum sanctorum of Ram Mandir in Aydodhya?
Arun Yogiraj of Mysuru sculpted the 51-inch black granite idol that now adorns the temple. The idol is carved from stone found during excavation. The rock dates back 2.5 billion years!
According to HS Venkatesh of the National Institute of Rock Mechanics, the rock is extremely durable and resistant to weathering, allowing it to last for thousands of years with little maintenance. The stone was bought from Karnataka and quarried in Gujjegowdanapura district of Mysuru. But the white marble version of the Ram Lalla idol is also good and, according to the temple authorities, it will be installed elsewhere in the temple.
Artist Satyanarayan Pandey from Rajasthan made this idol. The white carved idol depicts Ram Lalla with a golden bow and arrow, against an arch-like structure decorated with small sculptures depicting various forms of Lord Vishnu. This artist was very surprised, where marble was used to make the ornaments and clothes of the god.
An artist Ganesh Bhatt from Karnataka also made sculptures, but he could not do it in the main temple. But it will also be placed elsewhere in the temple, like Pandey’s. But in the middle of all this, the artist Yogiraj, who is chosen the black idol of Ram Lalla for the historical event, is very happy and emotional.
He expressed his joy at the pran pratistha ceremony in Ayodhya, calling it the happiest day of his life. The man of that time said that he believed that Lord Ram guided him in this holy work, admitting to endless sleepless nights to ensure that the creation of the idol was correct.
