Preparations are underway for an Ayodhya-style Ram temple with a 'Bengali' idol in West Bengal's Nadia district, with the Shri Krittibas Ram Mandir Trust announcing a symbolic Ayodhya Yatra to bring sacred soil for the temple's foundation.
The development comes about a month after NDTV reported that preparations had begun for the temple on 15 bighas of land in Shantipur, around 90 km from Murshidabad, where a replica of the Babri Mosque has also been planned.
On Saturday, the Trust organised a Vedic Jagaddhatri Puja and a Sankalp ceremony at Brahmashashon in Shantipur - regarded as the historic origin site of the Jagaddhatri Puja tradition in Bengal - formally launching the religious yatra linking Shantipur with Ayodhya.
A delegation comprising 21 priests from Santipur will travel to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi, Ayodhya, on 25th February to collect sacred soil. The soil will be used for the foundation rituals of the proposed Shri Krittibas Ram Mandir at Krittibas Ram Mandir Tirth Kshetra in Chapatola, Shantipur.
On Saturday the temple Trust conducted a grand Vedic Jagaddhatri Puja and sacred Sankalp ceremony at Brahmashashon, Santipur, the historic site from where the Jagaddhatri Puja tradition is believed to have originated in Bengal, formally initiating a landmark religious yatra connecting Santipur with Ayodhya.
Former MLA of Santipur and President of the Shri Krittibas Ram Mandir Trust, Arindam Bhattacharya, undertook the sacred Sankalp, symbolising the collective spiritual intent of the community.
"This sacred yatra is a historic spiritual bridge connecting Ayodhya's divinity with Santipur's sacred legacy rooted in Shri Krittibas Ojha. By bringing Ram Janmabhoomi soil for the temple foundation at the Krittibas Ram Mandir Tirth Kshetra, Chapatola, Santipur, we seek to unite faith, history, and devotion in a meaningful and enduring way," said Arindam Bhattacharya.
According to Sri Krittibas Ram Mandir Trust, the organization behind the initiative, the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the temple will be held very soon. The date will be announced soon after the soil from Ayodhya comes to Shantipur.
The Shri Krittibas Ram Mandir Trust, a registered religious and charitable organisation, first initiated the project in 2017. The renewed momentum around the temple comes just months ahead of the Assembly elections.
The construction of a grand Ayodhya-style 'Bengali Ram'-themed Ram temple in West Bengal's Nadia district has been proposed nearly a month after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee laid the foundation stone of other religious-cultural projects in the state.
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