'Ayodhya returns to Treta Yug': Ram mandir chief priest amid rush at temple

'In the Treta Yug, when Lord Ram came back, the Ayodhya Nagari was delighted. A glimpse of the Treta Yug is visible today,' said Acharya Satyendra Das

Acharya Satyendra Das, chief priest of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, expressed joy as thousands of devotees flocked to Ayodhya to pay obeisance to Ram Lalla after the temple gates were opened to the public on Tuesday. He said that the temple town had returned to the 'Treta Yug' (the second of four Yugs in Hinduism), when Lord Ram was believed to have lived.

"After 'pran pratishtha', the [Ayodhya] Nagari has turned pure. In the Treta Yug, when Lord Ram came back, the Ayodhya Nagari was delighted...A glimpse of the Treta Yug is visible today. So many Bhakts have come to Ayodhya now and Jai Shri Ram chants are echoing here; it seems that we have gone back to Ayodhya during the Treta Yug times," the chief priest said.

The chief priest further stated that due to the large number of people gathered for 'darshan', not everyone will be able to pay obeisance to Lord Ram today. "So much crowd has gathered here today that not everyone will be able to have darshan today and the same crowd will be visible tomorrow and for the next few days," he said.

The Acharya said the reason for such a crowd could be attributed to 4,000 saints who arrived at the temple town from across the country. Each brought at least two to four people along with them.

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On "pran pratishtha", he had said on Monday that Ram Rajya will begin with the ceremony, and all the inequalities will be over.

"Everyone will behave with love. From Ayodhya, the change will come to the entire country, and it will be very beautiful. And everyone will live in harmony. We will live with goodwill. Lord Ram's blessing will fall on everyone," he said earlier.

Massive rush of devotees at Ayodhya Ram temple

The temple opened its doors to the public this morning after the "pran pratishtha" of Lord Ram's idol on Monday. Both locals and visitors gathered near the main gateway along the Ram Path leading to the temple complex late on Monday night, hoping to gain early access the next morning.

The 'Bhakti Path' leading up to the temple is seeing an unprecedented crowd. The police are managing it by putting up barricades and ropes.

The Ayodhya administration reported that several lakh people had arrived in the city, a number that officials had not anticipated. Almost the entire 13-kilometre RamPath is packed with people.

To prevent unforeseen incidents, an extra force has been deployed at Ram Path, which includes the Rapid Action Force (RAF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and civil police.