Mega Ayodhya Ram Temple Inauguration Explained In Numbers

The stone used to create the 51-inch Ram Lalla idol is special black granite sourced from Karnataka. "The stone is 2.5 billion years old," confirmed HS Venkatesh, Director of the National Institute of Rock Mechanics (NIRM) in Bengaluru.

The temple, built in Nagara style, is supported by a total of 392 pillars and 44 doors. The pillars and walls of the temple showcase intricately sculpted depictions of Hindu deities, Gods, and Goddesses.

About 2,500 musicians performed on over 100 stages for the crowds of pilgrims around the elaborate temple, built at an estimated cost of Rs 1,800 crore that the project's backers say was sourced from public donations.

The ceremony was attended by Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Katrina Kaif, Rohit Shetty, and Rajkumar Hirani, among other Indian film personalities.

More than 100 charter planes landed at the Ayodhya airport, which was built in a record time of 20 months ahead of the big temple ceremony. They were parked at airports like Lucknow, Prayagraj and Gorakhpur.

Special immigration arrangements were made for UK billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, who reached Ayodhya directly from London. Mukesh Ambani, along with his family, was also present at the occasion. His family pledged Rs 2.51 crore to the temple.

The invitation cards carried a barcode known as QR or quick response, which helped a great deal in security arrangements.

Around 20,000 packets of 'mahaprasad' were prepared to distribute among the invitees and devotees. The packets, say reports, contained gur ki revdi, ghee mawa ladoo, ramdana chikki, Tulsi daal, akshat and roli, Ram diya and cardamom seeds.

Twenty-two movable barriers with barbed wires attached to them were placed on crossroads and security personnel put in place 10,000 CCTV cameras and deployed Artificial Intelligence-powered drones to keep an eye on the movement of people. Private security also had to be deployed.

Hoping for an "auspicious" start for their newborns, many couples had 'muhurat deliveries', planned in consultation with doctors, in hospitals on Monday coinciding with the Ram Lalla idol consecration in Ayodhya.