Ayodhya, India

The consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya bewitched the entire country on January 22, as the world celebrated the homecoming of Lord Ram and many people couldn't hold back themselves from calling the day “a second Deepawali”.

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But what left everyone mesmerised was the divinity and innocence in the eyes of Ram Lalla's idol, which to many felt more than real. However, very few know about the journey the idol maker took to bring to reality India’s civilisational imagination. 

In a country where Lord Ram is one of the revered deities and Ramayana is part of the culture, to be one of the chosen sculptors to make the idol of the lord in itself is an achievement. But Indian sculptor Arun Yogiraj managed to curve another arc in his career by becoming the one whose idol was placed in the Garbhgriha (sanctum sanctorum).

Speaking to WION about the crucial task of creating Ram Lalla's idol, Yogiraj said, “For the first two months, I was blank regarding the idol's face. It was on the day of Deepawali, which I celebrated in Ayodhya, that I got the inspiration for making God's face by looking at some of the beautiful pictures of Indian children celebrating the festival. As soon as I got the idea, I started working on the face.”

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Also read: Ram Mandir Ram Lalla idol: Sculptor Yogiraj's wife tells WION story of its creation

“But, for making the eyes there was a muhurat (auspicious) 20 minutes. So, we were given 20 minutes to complete the work on eyes,” he said.

Emphasising the rituals that he carried out before making the eyes, the sculptor said, “I had to take a bath in the Saryu River and had to go for pooja at Hanuman Garhi and Kanak Bhawan before starting the chiselling of the eyes. Also, I was given a golden masonry scissor and a silver hammer for the work. I was very confused because I knew how to make 10 types of eyes. Then, I decided on the one which I thought was the best and played with a bit of light for the shade.”

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'Monkey knocked on studio's door for one month at the same time'

Yogiraj spoke about how a monkey knocked on the studio's door at the same time every day and observed the ongoing work of idol-making for some time and silently left.

“For almost a month, a monkey used to come and knock on the door of the studio at the same time between 4 to 5 pm. I was told by Champat Rai, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust’s general secretary, that after the Pran-Pratishtha one monkey came into the Garbgriha and sat there for a few minutes and then left,” he said.

Stressing upon the aura and influence the idol holds on the onlookers, Yogiraj said, “I was sitting with the idol after Pran-Pratishtha and was looking at it and I felt it appeared very different and did not feel like it was my creation.”

Yogiraj said that from the first day, he was aiming to create an idol which could connect with the people of India and was not bothered about getting selected by the temple's committee.

Sculpture's rejection, and eye injury: What hurdles did Yogiraj overcome to bring Ram Lalla into existence?

Speaking about the hardships he faced and how destiny played its role, Yogiraj revealed that he did not even receive the invite for the selection process and was called on the last day.

Watch: Ram Mandir Ayodhya: Moment Ram Lalla's face unveiled

“I was initially left out of the selection process and on the last day, I was called by IGNCA Chairman Dr Sachchidanand Joshi. The selection process had been going on for the past two months and I was not invited, because of which I was very disappointed. Many artisans had visited the temple city twice in the months of the selection process and I was just hearing this news and waiting for the call to come. On the last day, I got a call from Dr Joshi and I travelled to New Delhi on that night and got selected among the three,” he said.

Going through the selection process was just one hurdle he had overcome and many were still due till the final Ram Lalla idol came into existence.

“After the selection, I sculpted one idol which was rejected after three months due to the technical issues with the stone. I had completed almost 60 to 70 per cent of work on that stone. I was feeling very depressed because I had worked on that stone with all my dedication and now it had turned futile. The temple authorities were trying to uplift my morale,” Yogiraj narrated.

“I also got an eye injury after a small part of the stone penetrated inside my eye retina and was removed by an eye hospital in Ayodhya, after which I was asked to rest for some days, so this wasted almost seven days,” he said.

“I had to restart the work from scratch after three months. So, because of this, the other two sculptors were ahead of me. But all I thought was I had to create better than what I created in the last three months. I tried to compete with myself and the atmosphere of Ayodhya just pushed me further to create the idol,” the sculptor added.