Two shaligrams (non-anthropomorphic representation of Lord Vishnu in Hindu religion) have been dispatched from Nepal to Ayodhya for the construction of idols of Ram and Janaki which will be placed in the Ram Mandir complex which is under construction.
Idols of Lord Ram and Sita will be built by Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra. These idols adorned Ayodhya 500 years ago and when the statues will be installed the temple trust aims to keep them as same as Ram and Sita’s actual skin colour and the same form.
The temple trust is interested in preserving the spirit of Ram and in order to do so the shaligrams for the statue of Ram Lalla for the Ram temple are being brought from Janakpur, Nepal, the maternal home of Mother Janaki. These shaligram stones are procured from the Kali Gandaki river of Nepal with the cooperation of the Government of Nepal. Shaligrams are found in abundance in the Kali Gandaki River.
These stones will enter Uttar Pradesh from Nepal today. These two stones, one, 26 tonnes and the other, 14 tonnes, are both about 60 million years old. And in the next 10 million years this stone will remain the same.
Some other stones have been imported from Rajasthan for the Ram Mandir. The stones used in the temple are being carved at the Ram Katha Kunj temple where the construction of the temple is going on.
Legend has it that Sita, also known as Janaki, was the daughter of king Janak of Nepal.
Every year, Janakpur not just celebrates the birth of Lord Ram, but also the wedding anniversary of Ram and Sita.