Ram Lalla darshan: Huge crowds flock to Ayodhya Ram temple on second day

Days after the 'pran pratishtha' ceremony of Ram Lalla idol in Ayodhya, a sea of devotees continued to flock to the Ram temple on Wednesday

Two days after Ram Lalla's "pran pratishtha" ceremony, thousands of devotees continue to flock to Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya. Visuals from outside the temple show a huge crowd braving the cold winter morning for a 'darshan' of Lord Ram.

#WATCH | Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh: On the second day after the Pran Pratishtha, devotees gather in huge numbers at Rampath to have darshan of Shri Ram Lalla pic.twitter.com/JMI3AvYPca

— ANI (@ANI) January 24, 2024

Around 1,000 Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel have been deployed in and around the temple complex to ensure devotees get their turn for Ram Lalla's 'darshan'.

Non-stop devotees influx at Ayodhya's Ram temple

Praveen Kumar, inspector-general of police, Ayodhya, said that people are gathering in the temple town non-stop.

 

"The crowd is non-stop, but preparations are complete. We appeal to the old and Divyang people to schedule their visit after two weeks. I want to appeal to the people that there's no need to hurry for Darshan. The temple will be opened for everyone with better preparations," the senior police official said.

#WATCH | Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh: IG Range Ayodhya, Praveen Kumar says, "The crowd is nonstop but preparations are complete... We appeal to the old and Divyang people to schedule their visit after two weeks..." pic.twitter.com/E1PBnlEzDV

— ANI (@ANI) January 24, 2024

Special additional deputy-general of police (law and order) Prashant Kumar said the queue system to manage crowds has been improved. Dedicated channels for people have been made.

READ: UP CM urges cooperation as 500,000 devotees visit Ram temple on day one

"The Principal Secretary Home and I are present here to oversee the management. 'Darshan' is going on smoothly now. We have improved the queue system for crowd management," Kumar said.

#WATCH | Ayodhya: Uttar Pradesh Special ADGLO Prashant Kumar says, "People have gathered here in huge numbers. Principal Home Secretary and I have been sent here... We have improved the queue system for crowd management. We have made channels for the people..." pic.twitter.com/9b5BC05DU5

— ANI (@ANI) January 24, 2024

Vijay Kumar, director-general of police, Uttar Pradesh, said earlier that a sufficient number of security personnel had been deployed to manage the crowd.

How many people visited Ram mandir on day 1?

Around 500,000 devotees visited the Ram temple complex on day one as it opened its doors to the public on Tuesday, a day after the consecration ceremony.

A huge rush of devotees was witnessed outside the temple complex on this chilly winter's day, many of whom had queued up since 3 am to gain entry to the temple, catch a glimpse of Ram Lalla and offer prayers.

Darshan was briefly paused due to an overwhelming influx of devotees. The temple administration, in coordination with the police, decided to manage the immense crowd and ensure the safety of all visitors.

Monkey enters 'garbha griha' of Ram mandir

In a "beautiful" incident at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, a monkey entered the 'garbha griha' or sanctum sanctorum on Tuesday evening and went near Lord Ram's Utsav idol, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra said.

READ: Ram mandir impact: Muslim baby named Ram Rahim; Sita, Raghav popular picks

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the temple trust shared the incident and said that a monkey entered the sanctum sanctorum through the southern gate and went near the Utsav idol. Seeing this, the security personnel ran towards the monkey, concerned that it might drop the idol on the ground.

"As soon as the policemen ran towards the monkey, the monkey ran calmly towards the northern gate. Since the gate was closed, he moved towards the east and, passing through the crowd, went out through the eastern gate without causing any trouble to anyone. The security personnel say that for us it is as if Hanuman ji himself has come to see Ram Lalla," the trust wrote.

आज श्री रामजन्मभूमि मंदिर में हुई एक सुंदर घटना का वर्णन:

आज सायंकाल लगभग 5:50 बजे एक बंदर दक्षिणी द्वार से गूढ़ मंडप से होते हुए गर्भगृह में प्रवेश करके उत्सव मूर्ति के
पास तक पहुंचा। बाहर तैनात सुरक्षाकर्मियों ने देखा, वे बन्दर की ओर यह सोच कर भागे कि कहीं यह बन्दर उत्सव…

— Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra (@ShriRamTeerth) January 23, 2024

Ram mandir: Darshan and aarti timings

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra website has set out certain time windows for devotees to see Lord Ram Lalla: morning from 7 am to 11:30 am and afternoon from 2 pm to 7 pm.

'Aarti' timings include jagran/shringar at 6:30 am and sandhya aarti at 7:30 pm. Passes for the 'aarti' can be obtained both offline and online. Offline passes are available at the camp office at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi and require valid government identity proof.