Balak Ram[3] (Sanskrit: बालकराम, lit. 'child Rama', IAST: Bālakarāma), also known as Ram Lalla, is the primary murti (idol) of the Ram Mandir, a prominent Hindu temple located at Ram Janmabhoomi, the mythical birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama in Ayodhya, India.[4][5] Balak Rama is housed in the sacred sanctum sanctorum (garbha griha) of the Ram Mandir, a traditional Nagara style temple.[6][7] The murti (idol) was consecrated in an elaborate Prana pratishtha ceremony on January 22, 2024.[8][9]
| Bālak Ram | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The central image of the deity at the Ram Mandir located at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya | |
| Other names | Ram Lalla Virajman |
| Devanagari | बालकराम |
| Sanskrit transliteration | Bālakarāma |
| Affiliation | Form of Vishnu/Rama |
| Abode | Ayodhya |
| Weapon | Bow and arrow[a] |
Rama is one of the principal deities of Hinduism and is traditionally considered by Hindus as the seventh avatar, or incarnation, of Vishnu. Before the Ram Mandir's inauguration, the deity was referred to by the previous name of Rām Lallā Virājamān, whose idol was first placed in the complex in 1949. The Ram mandir location and the building of the mandir is controversial due to the demolition of a mosque formerly located at the place, and is an important subject of political debate in India.[10]
Balak Ram idol represents a five-year-old form of Lord Ram, and was prepared by sculptor Arun Yogiraj adhering to the Shilpa Shashtra, a sacred scripture of the sculpting world.[6] On April 17, 2024, the first Ram Navami (Ram's birth festival) after the consecration of Ayodhya's Ram Temple with Balak Ram murti was celebrated by thousands of devotees across India.[11] On this occasion, the forehead of the Ram Lalla idol was anointed with a ray of sunlight, known as Surya Tilak.[12]
History
According to the Ramayana, Rama was born in Ayodhya.[13][14] The Masjid-i-Janmasthan (mosque of birthplace) was built by Babur at the site, allegedly destroying a Hindu temple commemorating Ram's birthplace.[15] Historical accounts by some European travellers who visited Ayodhya during the early modern period report that the Hindus believed the mosque and its immediate surroundings to be the exact birthplace of Rama.[16][17][18]
A survey was conducted by ASI in 2003 on the 2.77-acer disputed land as ordered by the Allahabad Highcourt. According to BR Mani who led this survey, the history of site starts from 17th century BCE, it was not a religious site at that time.There is evidence of three different temples at the site from 9th-13th century. A temple of Nagar style of North India existed at the place before the construction of the mosque.[19] According to R. S. Sharma, the belief of Babri Masjid site being the birthplace of Rama sprang up only after the 18th century.[20] Sharma states that Ayodhya emerged as a place of Hindu pilgrimage only in medieval times, since ancient texts do not mention it as a pilgrim centre. For example, chapter 85 of the Vishnu Smriti lists 52 places of pilgrimage, which do not include Ayodhya.[21][22] According to historian Romila Thapar, ignoring the Hindu mythological accounts, the first historic mention of the city dates back to the 7th century, when the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang described it as a Buddhist site.[23][24]: 25
The mosque was destroyed by a right-wing Hindu mob in 1992, and the site of the mosque being the exact site of Rama's birthplace has been a contentious issue to date which was one of the main issues in the Ayodhya dispute that was settled by the Supreme Court of India in 2019. The aftermath of the Ayodhya verdict, the construction of the Ram Mandir temple and the choice of the deity of Rama was supervised by Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, a trust that was set up by the Indian government in 2020.[25]
Name
The deity was originally referred to as Rām Lallā Virājamān until the construction of the Ram mandir. In the Kavitāvali, Tulsidas uses the word Rām Lallā.[26] Lāla or Lallā is an affectionate term for children in Braj Bhasha, the language of Tulsidas.[27][28] The trust says the deity of the newly constructed Ram Mandir shall be called Bālak Rām as the name was used by Tulsidas in the Rāmacaritamānasa.[3]
Description
The murti (idol) represents Rama in the form of a small child. Three Indian sculptors, namely, Ganesh Bhatt, Satyanarayan Pandey, and Arun Yogiraj, were assigned the task of making the idol of the deity by the trust.[29] As per the trust, the characteristics of the deity were supposed to be a 5-year-old Bālaka (i.e. child) with Mandasmita Vadana (i.e. a cheerful face) possessing both Divya (i.e. divine) and Rājakumāra (i.e. princely) looks.[30] The murti sculpted by Yogiraj was chosen as the presiding deity.[31][32] The other two are to be placed within the temple as minor deities.[33] On both sides of the main idol, Hindu Gods and symbols are carved on the Śilātoraṇa (i.e. stone arch). They are 10 avatars of Vishnu, Hanuman, Garuda, Swastik, Om, Śankha, Sudarśana cakra, Kaumodaki Gada, Padma, Brahma, Shiva and Surya.[34][35][36] It was informed by the Trust that the blackstone is water resistant and non-reacting to the acidic nature of milk when Abhiṣeka (i.e. ritualistic holy bath) is done.[36][37]
After consecration, the Hindus refer to the idol in the sanctum sanctorum as mūlavirāt mūrti or acala mūrti, while any replica of it used in festivals is called as utsava mūrti (lit. idol for festivals).[38] The trust has clarified that the 9-inch high Ramlalla Virajman idol which was placed in the mosque in 1949 will be henceforth used as the utsava mūrti.[39]
Consecration
The prana pratishtha (i.e. consecration ceremony) of the deity in the garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) of the Ram Mandir occurred on 22 January 2024.[40] The consecration ceremony included recitation of sacred hymns and mantras to invite the deity into the idol, which was henceforth considered as the resident deity Balak Ram.[41]
Adornments
Since antiquity, it has been a custom to offer and adorn Hindu deities with precious metals and valuable stones.[42] The Balak Ram murti was adorned with 15 kilograms (33 lb) of gold and no less than 18,000 precious stones such as diamonds, Zambian emeralds, and rubies.[43][b]
Service to deity
Hindu deities are offered services to deity such as Ārati and Prasad.[46] The trust has informed that there will be six Āratis offered to the Balak Ram.[47] They are
- Maṅgala Ārati (Sanskrit: मङ्गल आरती) is offered to awaken the deity in the morning
- Śṛṅgāra Ārati (Sanskrit: शृङ्गार आरती) is offered after fully decorating the deity
- Rājabhoga Ārati (Sanskrit: राजभोग आरती) is offered as mid-day royal meals and prepared for a siesta
- Utthāpan Ārati (Sanskrit: उत्थापन आरती) is offered to awaken deity from siesta
- Sandhyā Ārati (Sanskrit: सन्ध्या आरती) is offered performed during twilight
- Śayana Ārati (Sanskrit: शयन आरती) is offered to put the deity to sleep
Every day, the deity is venerated with an aṣtayāma seva (A service for every yāmaḥ; three hours).[c][49] To offer services, the temple has five halls, namely Raṅgamaṇḍapa, Sabhāmaṇḍapa (transl. Court hall), Nṛtyamaṇḍapa (transl. Hall of dance), Prārthanāmaṇḍapa (transl. Hall of prayer), and Kīrtanāmaṇḍapa (transl. Kirtan hall).[50]
- Surya Tilak (Sanskrit : सूर्य: तिलक) is an annual service to the deity on the occasion of Ram Navami ( Rama‘s Birthday) in which a beam of sunlight is directed onto the forehead of the idol of Lord Ramlalla at the new Ram Mandir temple. This is achieved using an apparatus with mirrors and lenses specially designed by IIA, Bengaluru.[51][52][53][54][55]
Dressing
In Hindu temples, dressing the holy deity is considered as a form of devotional service known as Vastrālaṅkaraṇa Seva (lit. 'Dress decoration service').[56] The deity is dressed on Sunday with pink coloured clothes, on Monday with white, on Tuesday with red, on Wednesday with green, on Thursday with yellow, on Friday with cream, and on Saturday with blue.[47] On the day of consecration, the deity was dressed in a yellow dhoti and a red angavastra. The deity will be dressed in yellow on special occasions.[57]
Temple
Ram Mandir was built in the Maru-Gurjara school (also known as Solanki) which is a sub-style of Nagara architecture of Indian temples that exist in Northern, Eastern, and Western India.[4] It is still under construction and will be the third largest upon completion.[58] The Angkor Wat in Cambodia and BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Jersey are the largest Hindu temples in the world. As per the modified design, it shall have three floors with five domes, and the whole complex spans around 120 acres (49 ha). The Śikhara (trans. main dome) shall be 161 feet (49 m) high.[50] The architect of the Ram Mandir is Chandrakant Sompura, whose father was Prabhakar Sompura, the Somnath temple's architect.[59]