Nepal dispatches 2 Shaligram stones to Ayodhya for Ram, Janaki idols

Nepal has dispatched two Shaligram (non-anthropomorphic representation of Lord Vishnu in Hindu religion) stones to India’s Ayodhya for the construction of idols of Ram and Janaki expected to be placed in the main temple complex of the under-construction Ram Mandir.

Found only on the riverbanks of Kali Gandaki River that flows through Myagdi and Mustang district, the Shaligrams are already on their way to Ayodhya via Janakpurto.

On arrival, idols of Lord Ram and Sita will be built by Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra.

Nepali Congress leader and former deputy prime minister Bimalendra Nidhi, who hails from Janakpur, the birthplace of Sita, is coordinating with the Janaki temple which is sending the two stones from the Kali Gandaki River where Shaligrams are found in abundance.

Two huge pieces of stone, which will be used to carve the idols of Lord Ram and Sita to be installed in Ayodhya’s Ram temple, entered India from Nepal via the Pipraun border in Bihar’s Madhubani on Monday afternoon.

Thousands of devotees from both India and Nepal gathered at the Indo-Nepal border to welcome the ‘Devshila Yatra’, chanting slogans of Jai Shri Ram. People were seen worshipping the stones which were on their way to Ayodhya.

ADVERTISEMENT

Kameshwar Chaupal, trustee of the Ram Mandir Trust, was leading the yatra, which began on January 26 from Pokhara in Nepal. The two stones were picked up from the Kali Gandki river and were being transported to Ayodhya.