PM Modi presents gifts from Tiruchirapalli's Sri Ranganath Swamy temple to Ram temple in Ayodhya

Ayodhya: Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented gifts from Sri Ranganath Swamy temple in Tiruchirapalli to the newly constructed Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The gifts were given to Prime Minister Modi on behalf of the presiding deity at Shri Ranganath Swamy temple to be taken to Ayodhya on the occasion of the consecration ceremony.

The prime minister had visited the temple in Tiruchirapalli two days before the grand event.

“The gifts included two silk dhotis and three silk sarees. There were also fruits in the basket. The gifts were presented to mark the relationship as Sri Ranganath Swamy belongs to family clan of Lord Ram,” Sundar Bhatar, the head priest at Sri Ranganath Swamy temple, told PTI.

Prime Minister Modi also gifted a silver chattar (umbrella) placed on a folded red dupatta. He walked with the chattar inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.

The new Ram Lalla idol was consecrated at the Ayodhya temple on Monday, an event led by Prime Minister Modi who said it marked the advent of a new era.

Lakhs of people watched the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony on television at their homes and in neighbourhood temples, becoming part of the historic event.

Extending his visits to the temples in the south with a Ramayana connect, the prime minister had on Saturday offered worship at the Sri Ranganathaswamy in Srirangam and Ramanathaswamy temple in Rameswaram and took a holy dip at the Rameswaram ‘Agni Theerth’ beach.

He listened to ‘Kamba’ Ramayana recitation by scholars in Srirangam. He wore a ‘veshti’ (dhoti) and an angawastram (a shawl). Modi was blessed with ‘sadari’ (crown, symbolising Lord Vishnu’s blessings) by priests after he offered prayer at the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple.

Before presiding over the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Modi had embarked on an 11-day ritual, visiting the places where Lord Ram had set foot, as mentioned in the epic Ramayana.

The prime minister's 11-day ritual also included following a rigid diet consisting of coconut water and fruits, sleeping on the floor and feeding cows.

His journey began on January 12 in Maharashtra's Nashik, where after a roadshow, he visited the Kalaram Temple on the banks of the Godavari river in the Panchavati area of the city.

On January 16, Prime Minister Modi's pilgrimage continued in Andhra Pradesh's Lepakshi, where stands the Veerabhadra Temple. Inside the temple, he immersed himself in prayers.

On January 17, the pilgrimage led to Kerala, where the prime minister visited Guruvayur Temple and Thriprayar Shree Ramaswami Temple. He offered prayers at the Lord Krishna temple in Guruvayur, nestled in the heart of Thrissur district.

The prime minister's final stop on this pilgrimage was on January 20 at the Ranganathaswamy Temple in Tamil Nadu's Tiruchirappalli, with its historical ties to Ayodhya. The temple, one of the oldest and most revered in the country, houses the reclining form of Lord Vishnu, known as Sri Ranganatha Swamy.

He also worshipped at a Lord Ram shrine on a beach near Arichal Munai, where he prayed, performed yoga and paid floral tributes.

Prime Minister Modi visited the Sri Kothandaramaswamy temple, which is on the way towards Dhanushkodi and Arichal Munai.