In a different realm altogether, Gita Press, the world's largest publisher of religious texts, has allowed free downloads of the Ramcharitmanas on its website
An artisan from Varanasi crafted a replica of the Shri Ram temple using Gulabi Meenakari. It took him 108 days to complete the replica and adorn it with gold and diamond
The police official said to piece together the chain of events leading to the act of defacement, the footage from surveillance cameras in the neighbouring residences were being looked into
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama offered prayers at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya on Saturday. The Dalai Lama used a battery-driven automatic car to commute from the Tibetan monastery where he is staying to the Mahabodhi temple, a UNESCO world heritage site. The temple is situated at a place where Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment more than 2,000 years ago. The Nobel laureate was greeted by a large number of Buddhist monks and devotees en route, and upon reaching the temple was escorted to the sanctum sanctorum by priests. The Dalai Lama arrived at Bodh Gaya amid tight security on Friday. From the airport, he travelled to Bodh Gaya under heavy security cover. A large number of people stood on either side of the road to catch a glimpse of the Dalai Lama, as he drove to the Tibetan monastery at Bodh Gaya. According to the information provided by the district administration, the Dalai Lama will inaugurate the three-day International Sangha Forum 2023. The Forum
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's close aide and 5T (transformational initiative) and Nabin Odisha scheme chairman V K Pandian on Saturday reviewed the crowd management system of the Shree Jagannath Temple here in view of the New Year rush. He issued directions to officials for hassle-free movement of devotees in the 12th-century shrine. The Puri district administration is expecting a congregation of around 5 lakh devotees in holy seaside town on the occasion of the New Year. Puri town usually witnesses a huge rush of tourists and devotees from December 20 till January 15 every year, an official said. Pandian, who visited Puri early in the morning, also reviewed the ongoing Heritage Corridor (Parikrama) project between 5 am to 7 am, an official release issued by the CMO said. "He took stock of facilities being created for a comfortable visit of pilgrims during the New Year rush," an official said, adding that Pandian also directed to augment the place with appropriate holding
Houses, shops and eateries on both sides have been shorn of their façades, leaving gaping holes through which the world can get a view of the lives inside
The Madhya Pradesh government will welcome devotees travelling to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh for the consecration of the Ram temple, newly-appointed Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said. The consecration ceremony of the Ram temple is expected to take place on January 22, 2024. Yadav, the BJP legislature party leader and MLA from Ujjain South, was sworn in as the new chief minister of Madhya Pradesh at a grand ceremony in Bhopal on Wednesday. Talking to reporters on Wednesday after holding his first cabinet meeting, Yadav said several devotees from Madhya Pradesh will be visiting Ayodhya on the occasion of the Ram temple consecration, and they will be welcomed on their way by applying 'tilak' on their forehead. Yadav recalled the difficult times faced by karsevaks during the Ram temple agitation and said now the time has come to provide them all necessary facilities at the time of the fulfilment of their dream of seeing a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya. A senior official told PTI that al
The sanctum-sanctorum of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is almost complete, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust informed on Saturday
The Odisha government has sanctioned Rs 42.51 crore for the redevelopment of 26 ancient shrines in the Ganjam district, an official said on Thursday. Renovation, restoration and reconstruction of the ancient shrines located in 12 of the 13 assembly constituencies, except Berhampur, in Ganjam, the home turf of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, will be undertaken with the fund, he said. The Works Department will execute the project, he added. The district administration has recommended the government for renovation and infrastructure development of these old and historic temples on the basis of public demand, the official said. Earlier, the government had sanctioned Rs 48.97 crore for the district for giving a facelift to 997 village temples. The tenders for execution of the projects are under process, said Assistant Chief Engineer (Works) Durga Charan Behera. Among these 26 shrines is the 300-year-old Marda temple in Polasara block, known as Sharan Shrikshetra, where the deities of t
386 religious structures have been vandalised over the course of the ongoing unrest, including 254 churches and 132 temples
A video of BJP MP Maneka Gandhi has gone viral in which she could be heard charging that the ISKCON is the "biggest cheat in the country which sells cows from its gaushalas (cowsheds) to butchers". The allegation has been strongly refuted by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) which called it "unsubstantiated and false". PTI tried to reach out to Gandhi for her comments but no response was received. In the undated video, Gandhi said that "ISKCON establishes gaushalas and earns unlimited benefits for the same from the government, in the form of huge lands." "ISKCON is selling all its cows to the butchers and no one else does this more than them. They are the ones who roam on the road chanting 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna' and say their entire life is dependent on milk," Gandhi, an animal rights activist, said in the purported video. "I recently visited their Anantapur Gaushala (in Andhra Pradesh) and did not find even a single cow in good condition there...There
Earlier Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on August 19 took stock of the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya
The construction of the sanctum sanctorum of Ayodhya's Ram Temple is ready and Ram Lalla will be consecrated between January 16 and 24 after Makar Sankranti, a top official of the temple trust said on Sunday. The consecration of Ram Lalla will be carried out after the construction of the first floor of the temple, Ram Mandir Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai said. Rai, who arrived here on Sunday, met saints and seers and informed them about the progress of the temple's construction. He also invited them to attend the 10-day Pran Pratishtha (consecration) ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya. The dream of crores of Ram devotees will soon be fulfilled and after years of controversy, Ram Lalla is now going to be seated in his grand temple in Ayodhya, Rai said. "The idol of Ram Lalla will be consecrated in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple on any date between January 16 and 24, 2024 after Makar Sankranti," Rai said. He added that 80 per cent work of the roof of the firs
There are 3,696 centrally-protected monuments including temples under the jurisdiction of Archaeological Survey of India, and none of these temples is under a debilitated condition, the government told Parliament on Thursday. The government was asked whether it is a fact that there are huge number of centuries-old temples in the country which are in "debilitated condition" and needs rejuvenation, and if the Centre has prepared a comprehensive list of such structures in consultation with state governments. "No such list has been prepared by the ASI," Minister of Culture G Kishan Reddy in Rajya Sabha in his response to the question. Asked if it is a fact that "there are huge number of centuries-old temples in the country which are in debilitated condition and need rejuvenation," the government only responded about ASI-protected sites. "There are 3,696 centrally-protected monuments including temples under the jurisdiction of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in the country. There i
In an apparent reference to disputes in Varanasi and Mathura, Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya said if the BJP looks for a temple in every mosque then people would start searching for a Buddhist monastery in every temple. "The Badrinath and Kedarnath temples in Uttarakhand, the Jagannath Temple in Puri, the Ayyappa Temple in Kerala and the Vithoba temple in Pandharpur (Maharashtra) were Buddhist monasteries. These Buddhist monasteries were demolished and then Hindu religious shrines came up there. They were Buddhist monasteries till the eighth century," he said on Sunday. The SP national general secretary claimed there is ample historical evidence that all these temples were Buddhist monasteries. He said his intention is not to turn these temples into Buddhist monasteries "but, if you search for a temple in every mosque, then why should a Buddhist monastery not be searched for in every temple?" "BJP people under a conspiracy are raising the mosque-temple issue. They are .
A Varanasi court on Friday ordered a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple here, according to government counsel Rajesh Mishra. The barricaded wazukhana', where a structure claimed by Hindu litigants to be a shivling' exists, will not be part of the survey. The court of A K Vishvesh upheld the petition of a group of Hindu devotees seeking a scientific survey to determine if the mosque was built at the site of a Hindu temple. The court had on July 14 reserved its order after hearing both Hindu and Muslim sides. The petition filed by the Hindu group had sought a direction to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to survey the entire Gyanvapi mosque complex. The Muslims side had opposed the plea, saying an ASI survey could damage the complex.
Devotees have been banned from taking photographs and making videos on the premises of the Kedarnath Temple here. The move comes after a recent video of a woman blogger proposing to her boyfriend in front of the temple went viral. Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee has put up boards at various places on the temple premises which read, 'Do not enter the temple premises with mobile phones; any kind of photography and videography is strictly prohibited inside the temple and you are under the surveillance of CCTV cameras'. The temple has also asked the people to wear "decent clothes" and desist from setting up tents or camps in the temple precincts. The boards, written in Hindi and English, also state that legal action will be taken against those not following the orders. Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee president Ajendra Ajay said a religious space follows a set of belief system and the devotees should respect the same. He said although no complaints have been receiv
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday offered prayers at the famous Goddess Bhadrakali temple here during his visit to this historic Telangana town to lay the foundation stone for several infrastructure development projects worth around Rs 6,100 crore and address a public meeting. Modi, who was accompanied by Union Tourism Minister and newly-appointed Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy and other leaders, offered prayers at the temple. Earlier in the day, the PM arrived in Hyderabad by a special aircraft and reached Warangal in a chopper. Before leaving for Warangal Modi tweeted: Leaving for Warangal to attend a programme where we will inaugurate or lay the foundation stone for development works worth over Rs. 6100 crores. These works cover different sectors ranging from highways to railways. They will benefit the people of Telangana. Alleging that the NDA government at the Centre has been "anti-Telangana" in the last 9 years, ruling BRS Working President K T Rama Rao had sai