Festive atmosphere in Karnataka as Ram Lalla idol consecrated at Ayodhya

BENGALURU: On a day the consecration of the Ram Lalla idol was held at the newly constructed Ram mandir in Ayodhya, a festive atmosphere prevailed across the state with special pujas and rituals conducted at thousands of temples in all the districts.

In Bengaluru, a celebratory mood prevailed at the Sriman Madhwa Sangha in Chamarajpet with floral decorations and pujas. At the Gali Anjaneya temple on the Bengaluru-Mysuru road, the idol was decorated with butter. Devotees watched the day’s proceedings on Public TV at the Rameshwara Swamy temple in Chamarajpet where a huge digital screen had been erected.

The Maruti temple in the Balabrooie Guest House premises was also colourfully decorated and special pujas were conducted since morning. Former Chief Minister and BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai, his wife, son and daughter offered prayers at the temple.

A replica of the Ram temple at Ayodhya was created at the Vasavi Kannikaparameshwari temple at Girinagar, 18 feet in height, 20 feet wide and 26-feet-long. Colourful rangolis also adorned the front of the temple. The owners of Cake of the Day, a cake shop, also distributed cakes and roses to devotees.

At the famous Kadu Malleshwara temple in Malleswaram, live telecast of the Pran Pratishtha was organised and a stage set up for recitation of bhajans. Three hundred priests conducted Trayodaka Laksha Rama Taraka Maha Yaga at the Mahalakshmi Layout Grounds and various other programmes are lined up till evening. Huge LED screens were also put up for live screening of the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya. Special pujas were also organised at the Anjaneya temple at Mysore Bank Circle.

The Ram Mandir at Rajajinagar also witnessed a flood of devotees from early on Monday morning. Actor Srimurali was among those who offered prayers at the temple. Special prayers wre held at the Sri Rama temple in Shivajinagar and Taraka homa was also conducted.

At the Poornaprajna Vidyapeetha, the idol of Lord Krishna was decorated as Lord Ram and Taraka homa was also conducted. Ramachandra Acharya of Mysuru also led a music concert. Special pujas were also conducted at the Maruti Mandir in Vijayanagar.

Students of the BNR Public School in Mallasandra dressed up as Lord Ram, Sita, Lakshman and Anjaneya and 1,000 children wrote the name of Lord Ram one crore times. The school plans to send it to Ayodhya.

Security was stepped up in the city with police personnel deployed at all major Hanuman temples including the Veeranjaneya temple at Hosaguddadahalli, Yelahanka, Byatarayanapura, Rajajinagar, Gali Anjaneya temple at Deepanjali Nagar, among others

At Koppa village in Anekal taluk on the outskirts of the city, the idol of Kodandaramaswamy was taken out in procession through the main streets. Hundreds of women also participated in chanting of shlokas. The entire town had turned saffron and several cultural programmes are organised throughout the day.