Today January 22, 2024, marks the establishment day of Ram Mandir in Ayodha.The Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is designed in traditional Nagar architectural style.It is one of the two main styles of Hindu temple architecture.The construction of Ram Mandir took four years to complete.

History:

It is believed the temple was attacked and destroyed by Babur in the 16th century in his series of temple raids across northern India.Later, the Mughals constructed a mosque, the Babri Masjid, which is believed to be the site of the Ram Janmabhoomi, the birthplace of Rama.

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 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.The first instance of religious violence was documented in 1853.

In December 1858, the British administration prohibited Hindus from conducting puja (rituals) at the contested site.A platform was created for conducting rituals outside the mosque.

Structure:

The original design for Ram Mandir was devised in 1988 by the Sompura family of Ahmedabad.The Sompuras have contributed to the design of over 100 temples worldwide for at least 15 generations, including the Somnath temple.

The chief architect of the temple was Chandrakant Sompura, assisted by his two sons, Nikhil Sompura and Ashish Sompura, who are also architects.A new design, with some changes from the original, was prepared by the Sompuras in 2020, per the Hindu texts, the Vastu shastra and the Shilpa shastras.The temple will be 76 metres (250 ft) wide, 120 metres (380 ft) long and 49 metres (161 ft) high.Once complete, the temple complex will be the world's third largest Hindu temple.

It is designed in the Gurjara-Chaulukya style of Nagara style architecture, a type of Hindu temple architecture found primarily in northern India.A model of the proposed temple was showcased during the Prayag Kumbh Mela in 2019.The temple's main structure will be built on a raised platform with three storeys.It will have five mandapas in the middle of the garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) and on the entrance passage.

Three mandapas on one side shall be of Kudu, Nritya and Rang, and the two mandapas on the other side will be of Kirtan and Prarthana.In Nagara style, the mandapas are to be decorated with shikhara.

The Deity:

Ram Lalla Virajman, the infant form of Rama, an avatar of Vishnu, is the presiding deity of the temple.Ram Lalla's dress was stitched by tailors Bhagwat Prasad and Shankar Lal, a fourth generation tailor to Rama's idol.Ram Lalla was a litigant in the court case over the disputed site in 1989, being considered a "juristic person" by the law.He was represented by Triloki Nath Pandey, a senior VHP leader who was considered Ram Lalla's closest 'human' friend.

According to the temple trust, the final blueprint includes temples dedicated to Surya, Ganesha, Shiva, Durga, Vishnu and Brahma in the temple grounds.Two idols of Ram Lalla (one of them being 5 years old) is consecrated in the sanctum of the temple.On 29 December 2023, the selection of the idol of Ram Lalla for the Ayodhya Ram temple was done through a voting process.Karnataka-based sculptor Arun Yogiraj created the idol of Rama.