Description
Rama is a prominent Hindu deity who is regarded as a Pūrṇāvatāra (lit. ’complete avatar’) of the God Vishnu.[c] and some Hindus view Rama as Para Brahman (lit. ’The ultimate Brahman’). Rama holds huge significance in Hindu culture and religion. In the Rama avatar, Vishnu is not supposed to exhibit any of his divine potencies and lead life as a human.[30] As Rama is said to have possessed sixteen ideal qualities, Hindus view Rama as Puruṣottama (lit. ’The ideal man’), Vigrahavān dharmaḥ (lit. ’Embodiment of Dharma’) and Ādi Puruṣa .[31][32][d] According to the Hindu epic Ramayana, Rama was born in Ayodhya.[33] Ayodhya is among seven most sacred cities to Hindus.[34]
Pilgrim site
Three places in Ayodhya are considered as prominent puṇya kṣetra (lit. ’virtued pilgrimage site’) by Hindus. They are Janmasthāna (lit. ’The birthplace’), Svargadvāra (lit. ’The gateway to Heaven’) and Yajñasthala (lit. ’Place where holy sacrifice was performed’). Temples commemorating these events used to exist in olden days as Janmasthān temple, Svargadvār temple and Trētā-kā-Thākūr temple respectively. However, they were destroyed during Islamic rule in the medieval ages and mosques were built.[35][36] While Marxist historians like Irfan Habib agree about the fate of Svargadvar and Treta-ka-Thakur temples, there is some lack of consensus among scholars whether Janmasthan temple was destroyed or not during Medieval rule which eventually led to Ayodhya dispute that was resolved legally.[37] The Trayodaśakṣarī mantra (Sanskrit: त्रयोदशाक्षरी मंत्र, lit. ’13-character mantra’) also known as Śrī Rāma Tāraka Mantra (lit. ’The Rama mantra for Salvation’) is Śrī Rāma Jaya Rāma Jaya Jaya Rāma (Sanskrit: श्री राम जय राम जय जय राम) and many Hindus believe that chanting it repeatedly lead to salvation.[38][39] Tāraka means something that carries or helps a Jīva (lit. ’a living being’) cross the ocean of samsara. Devotees of Rama such as Valmiki, Tulsidas, Bhadrachala Ramadasu, Samartha Ramadas, Tyagaraja, Purandara Dasa, Gondavalekar Maharaj and Mahatma Gandhi popularised this mantra.
Deity
See also: Balak Ram
Ram Mandir is being built to commemorate the birth of Rama at his Janmasthan. Therefore, the presiding deity of the temple is supposed to be the infant form of Rama, an avatar of Vishnu. Rama in that infant form was referred as Ram Lalla (lit. ’Child Rama’) by Tulsidas. However, the idol of Rama that was placed in 1949 referred to as Ram Lalla Virajman (lit. ’Installed Child Rama’) by local Hindus.[41] Ram Lalla was a litigant in the court case over the disputed site in 1989, being considered a “juristic person” by the law.[3] He was represented by Triloki Nath Pandey, a senior VHP leader who was considered Ram Lalla’s closest ‘human’ friend.[41] As a new idol of the deity got installed in the sanctum sanctorum as the Mūlavirāt mūrti (lit. The main presiding deity),[e] the Mandir Trust has informed that the Ram Lalla Virajman idol of 1949 shall henceforth be used as Utsava mūrti (lit. idol for festivals).[44]
History
The site is the former location of the Babri Masjid, which was built in the 16th century. The mosque was attacked and demolished in 1992.[13][14][15] In 2019, the Supreme Court of India delivered the verdict to give the disputed land to Hindus for the construction of a temple, while Muslims would be given land elsewhere to construct a mosque.[45]
In 1528, the commander of the Mughal Empire, Mir Baqi, constructed the Babri Masjid mosque, under the order of Babur, on the site of the Ram Janmabhoomi, the mythical birthplace of Rama.[46][page needed] The earliest record of the mosque may be traced back to 1767, in the Latin book Descriptio Indiae, authored by the Jesuit missionary Joseph Tiefenthaler. According to him, the local population believed that the mosque was constructed by destroying the Ramkot temple, believed to be the fortress of Rama in Ayodhya, and the Bedi, where the birthplace of Rama is situated.[47][48]
In the 1980s, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), belonging to the Hindu nationalist family, Sangh Parivar, launched a new movement to reclaim the site for Hindus and to erect a temple dedicated to the infant Rama (Ram Lalla) at this spot. The VHP began to collect funds and bricks with “Jai Shri Ram” written on them. Later, the government under Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi gave the VHP permission for Shilanyas (transl. the foundation stone ceremony) to proceed, with the then Home Minister, Buta Singh, formally conveying the permission to the VHP leader, Ashok Singhal. Initially, the Government of India and the Government of Uttar Pradesh had agreed that the shilanyas would be conducted outside of the disputed site. However, on 9 November 1989, a group of VHP leaders and Sadhus laid the foundation stone by digging a 200-litre (7-cubic-foot) pit adjacent to the disputed land. The singhdwar (transl. main entrance) of the sanctum sanctorum was constructed there.[53] The VHP then laid the foundations of a temple on the land adjacent to the disputed mosque.
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