Ram’s first ‘tilakotsav’ after temple opening in Ayodhya held with fanfare

Lucknow/Ayodhya: The ‘tilakotsav' (pre-wedding) ceremony of Lord Ram and Sita was held with fanfare in Ayodhya on Monday afternoon. This was the first ‘tilakotsav' of the deity after the inauguration of the Ram temple in Jan this year. A total of 501 ‘tilakharu' (guests carrying gifts and ornaments for the groom) arrived in the temple from Janakpur in Nepal — the home town of Sita. The ceremony was held at Ramsewakpuram where tilak was presented to a youth dressed as Lord Ram.On Nov 26, Lord Ram's baraat from Ayodhya would head to Janakpur to symbolically solemnise his wedding with Sita on Dec 6. The baraat will retrn on Dec 10. Since 2004, the wedding of Ram and Sita has been organised every five years, where Janakpur native visit the temple town for tilak and later ‘baraat' goes from Ayodhya to represent the groom's side.The ‘tilakharu' were led by Satish Kumar Singh, the chief minister of Madhesh province in Nepal. Others part of it included ministers and mayor of Janakpur, Manoj Kumar Sah. They were accorded a grand welcome at Ramsewakpuram.The priest of Janaki temple in Janakpur, Ram Roshan Das, represented Sita's brother in the ceremony, while Ram Temple Trust's general secretary Champat Rai was present as Lord Ram's father Dasharatha.The ceremony was held amid Vedic chants by distinguished scholars. A group of local women rendered traditional folk songs during the sacred ceremony. The bride's side presented gold and silver ornaments, sweets, clothes and other items in the ‘tilak'.VHP vice-president Rajendra Singh Pankaj, who oversaw the arrangements for the ceremony, said some Tilakharus had started arriving since Nov 16. Pankaj said a grand feast was held for tilakharus on the occasion.A big convoy from Janakpur which included a special truck carrying gifts, came via Raxaul border in Bihar, Gopalganj in Gorakhpur, and finally Ayodhya. In his statement, Nepal province CM Singh said, "Celebrating the wedding ceremony of Ram and Sita helps in improving cultural ties between the two countries. It will also promote religious and spiritual tourism as devotees of Ram and Sita would want to visit the two places."Elaborate arrangements to host the guests have been made at Teerth kshetrapuram, Karsewakpuram, Aditya Bhawan, among other locations in Ayodhya.