Ram Mandir: Indian man undertakes 8,000-km walk to Ayodhya, carrying $80k gold-plated footwear for Lord Ram

Ahead of the highly-anticipated Ram Mandir consecration ceremony in the northern Indian city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh on January 22, a man from Hyderabad has embarked on an 8,000-kilometrepadayatra(walk) to the temple. The man, identified as 64-year-old, Challa Srinivas Sastry has taken upon the journey to show his gratitude towardsLord Ram.

According to news agency PTI, Sastry is following the Ayodhya-Rameswaram route, mirroring Lord Ram's'Vanavas'(exile) in reverse. Notably, inValmiki'sRamayana, Lord Rama was exiled for 14 years alongside Mata Sita and Lakshman, during which the trio travelled a long distance from Ayodhya (UP) to Nasik in Maharashtra, Danadakaranya in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, and Sri Lanka.

Sastry is retracing the steps by carrying gold-plated footwear,made with'panch dhatu'(five metals)worth Rs 65 lakh ($78,133) for Lord Ram and intends to present the article to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath upon reaching Ayodhya. Sastry had previously donated five silver bricks to the Ram temple.

Sastry started the journey on July 20 last year, stopping along the Shiva Lingas established by Lord Ram. The devotee hopes to reach Ayodhya in the next 10 days, having visited important landmarks such as Puri in Odisha, Trimbak in Maharashtra and Dwaraka in Gujarat.

"My father participated in'kar seva'in Ayodhya. He was a strong devotee of Lord Hanuman. His desire was to see the Ram temple built in Ayodhya. As he is no more, I decided to fulfill his desire," Sastry said as quoted byPTI.

After the journey, Sastry plans to settle down permanently in Ayodhya by constructing a house in the sacred city.

Ram temple consecration ceremony

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the consecration ceremony of the temple on January 22, over three years after laying the foundation stone (Bhumi puja)in August 2020.

The temple is central to the beliefs of Hindus and has been built after a long legal process which culminated with the landmark decision by the Supreme Court in 2019. Under the verdict, the land upon which the Babri masjid was razed was given to the Hindu side while the Muslims were granted a piece of land to build a mosque, far away from the contentious spot.

The entire temple complex has been built in the traditional Nagara style. Upon completion, the temple will be 380 feet long (east-west direction), 250 feet wide and 161 feet high. Each floor of the temple will be 20 ft high with a total of 392 pillars and 44 gates.

(With inputs from agencies)