PM Narendra Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat offer prayers before the idol of Ram Lalla
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today attended the historic pran prathistha of the new temple of the Ram Lalla in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.
The pran prathistha ritual lasted 84 seconds.
Amid the chanting of the temple priests, PM Modi held a bunch of flowers and followed the chanting himself.
Seventy seconds into the consecration ritual, PM Modi placed the flowers on the feet of the Ram Lalla idol, bowed, and with folded hands touched the Ram Lalla's feet several times. The entire ritual lasted 84 seconds.
Later, PM Modi showered flower petals on workers involved in the construction of the Ram temple.
Addressing the gathering in front of the temple, PM Modi said, "Our Ram has come."
"This is a moment of celebration as well as the moment of a reflection of Indian society's maturity. It is an occasion of not merely triumph but humility too. The history of the world is itself proof that many countries get strangled in their own history and such countries faced difficulties when they tried to solve their problems... but the way, our country untied the knots of history, is the proof that our future is going to be more beautiful than our past," PM Modi said.
He said it was alleged the construction of the temple would "set off a firestorm", but instead it is a symbol of peace, patience, harmony, and integration of the country.
"There was also a time when some people used to say 'Ram mandir bana toh aag lag jaegi' (the construction of the temple will set of a firestorm). Such people could not understand the purity of India's social spirit. The construction of this temple of Ram Lalla is also a symbol of peace, patience, mutual harmony and coordination of the Indian society. We are seeing that this construction is not giving birth to any fire, but to energy," the Prime Minister said.