Responding to the Congress’ accusations of BJP conducting the ceremony in an incomplete Ram Temple at the January 22 event and labelling it as ‘Paap’ (sin), author Amish Tripathi stated that in ancient times, temple construction often spanned centuries, emphasizing that the Garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) is done then an idol is placed and ‘Pran Pratishtha’ can happen.
Responding to a question over Congress allegations that the Pran Pratishtha is being done in an incomplete temple and the word used by the Congress is ‘Paap’, Amish Tripathi pointed out three major pooja ceremonies that happen.
“I don’t want to comment on politics. But in my understanding, my grandfather was a Pandit in Varanasi, he used to do Pran pratishtha poojas and he was a teacher too at Banaras Hindu University. What I learned from my grandfather was that at the beginning of the construction itself, a major ceremony that happens is to mark out the Garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum). That’s the first major Pooja and the second is that when the Garbhagriha is complete, then the idol is placed in there and once that is done, ‘Pran Pratishtha’ can happen,” he said.
He emphasized that ancient temples, such as the Kailasa Mahadev temple, often took decades or even more than a century to build. In these cases, the architects knew they wouldn’t be alive to see the completion.
“There are no ancient temples in Northern India as they all were destroyed but you can find them in the South. It’s not about just one temple, it’s about multiple temples in the complex. So the third ceremony is when the entire temple complex gets completed and the main temple spires also get completed, one can perform the ‘Purna Kalasha’ at the top. I am assuming that the Garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) is complete. From my understanding, I think Pran Pratishtha can happen,” he added.
Further, he cleared the difference between the ‘Consecration’ and ‘Pran Pratishtha’.
“Consecration is a Western term. In their interpretation of their religion, they divine something that exists outside of the universe and it is when you make something divine. In Hinduism, everything is already divine. That’s what Namaste means. ‘Pran Pratishtha’ is when a particular type of ‘Devi’ or ‘Dev’ that was there, that force is infused into the idol. At Ayodhya Ram Temple ‘Pran Pratishtha’, it would be taken into account that Lord Ram is depicted as a child,” Amish Tripathi added.
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