Ayodhya will get prepared for the mega consecration ceremony of a grand Ram temple.

Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh:

Ayodhya and Ayutthaya, one in India and the opposite in Thailand. Separated by geographical boundaries, the 2 cities are united not simply in title but additionally in religion with the spiritual fervour within the residence of Ram discovering echo 3,500 km away in a international land.

As Ayodhya will get prepared for the consecration of a grand Ram temple three days away, devotees in Ayutthaya are additionally getting ready to hitch the celebrations.

The Ayodhya temple belief has additionally acquired soil from Ayutthaya — named after Ayodhya — and water from Thailand’s three rivers, together with Chao Phraya, Lop Buri and Pa Sak for the Ram temple.

Nestled alongside the banks of the Chao Phraya River, the traditional metropolis of Ayutthaya is positioned 70 km north of Bangkok and options on the checklist of UNESCO World Heritage websites for its wealthy and vibrant cultural historical past.

According to a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) member from Bangkok, large screens are being put up in Hindu temples in Ayutthaya and different cities in Thailand for the dwell telecast of the January 22 ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony.

‘Diyas’ (earthen lamps) will probably be lit in any respect the temples and the enactment of the epic Ramayana may even happen whereas individuals will sing Ram bhajans on the day, she stated.

“We have put up big screens where the devotees will see the consecration ceremony live. We have made arrangements for lighting diyas and prasad will also be distributed,” the VHP chief stated.

Champat Rai, basic secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust stated Ayutthaya is the Ayodhya of Thailand.

“We have received holy soil and water from the rivers there for the consecration ceremony,” he stated.

Swami Vigyanand, founder and international chairman of the World Hindu Foundation (WHF) stated Ayutthaya is known as after Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Ram, establishing a reference to Hinduism and the Ramayana. “King Ramathibodi, the first ruler of Ayutthaya, named the city, showcasing the influence of the Ramayana on the region’s culture. Subsequent kings, including those of the Chakri dynasty, adopted the name Rama, further solidifying the connection to Lord Ram,” he informed PTI.

“What makes Ayutthaya fascinating is the fact that here we can see that the Ramayana, which was introduced to Southeast Asia by Buddhist missionaries, was adapted into the Thai version known as Ramakien. This happened during the Ayutthaya Kingdom. This is how we see the impact of Rama’s life on Thai culture,” he added.

The Historic City of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (official title), based in 1350, was the second capital of the Siamese Kingdom.

It was established by Siamese King U Thong, who got here to be often known as King Ramathibodhi. It flourished from the 14th to the 18th centuries, throughout which period it grew to be one of many world’s largest and most cosmopolitan city areas and a centre of world diplomacy and commerce.

The metropolis was attacked and razed by the Burmese military in 1767 who burnt it to the bottom and compelled the inhabitants to desert the town. It was by no means rebuilt in the identical location and stays an archaeological website.

Once an necessary centre of world diplomacy and commerce, Ayutthaya is now an archaeological damage, characterised by the stays of tall prang (reliquary towers) and Buddhist monasteries of monumental proportions, which give an concept of the town’s previous dimension and the splendour of its structure.

Eminent Sanskrit scholar and Padma Bhushan awardee Satya Vrat Shastri has translated the Thai Ramakien in Sanskrit.

“The Ramakien does not necessarily follow the Valmiki-Ramayana or other versions of the Indian Rama story. It takes an independent line in a number of cases by introducing new episodes not figuring in the former,” Shastri had stated within the description of his e book “Ramayana in South East Asia”.

According to Suresh Pal Giri, an Indian professor in Thailand, when Burmese troopers overran this metropolis within the 18th century, a brand new king rose.

“He called himself Rama I, established the city now known as Bangkok, wrote the epic Ramakien, which is Ramayana in the local language, making it the national epic, and got it painted as murals on the walls of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, patronised by the royal family, it is believed.

“Though he was a Buddhist, the king established his royal credentials by figuring out himself with Lord Ram, who was as a lot a hero for Buddhists of Southeast Asia as he was for the Hindus of South Asia,” he said.

The connection between the two countries is not just limited to Lord Ram and Ayodhya but is also reflected in the festivals and cultural practices.

As India celebrates Kartik Poornima and Dev Deepawali, Thailand also marks Loy Krathong, known as Thailand’s festival of lights.

At prominent places, the idols of Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, and Indra, among others, are installed, where people pay their devotion.

The Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok also has huge sculptures depicting “Samudra manthana” detailed within the Vishnu Purana.

Besides Ayuthhaya, the Hindu temples in Thailand are gearing up for grand celebrations on January 22.

The first section of the Ram temple in Ayodhya is nearing completion and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in its consecration ceremony on that day.

The Supreme Court delivered a historic verdict in 2019, settling a temple-mosque dispute that dated again greater than a century. The courtroom backed the development of a Ram temple on the disputed website and dominated that another five-acre plot have to be discovered for constructing a mosque.
 

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