Ayodhya priest to build Ram temple in Thailand
LUCKNOW: Even as the proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya awaits legal clearance, a saint from the temple town flew to Thailand to announce the construction of a ‘grand Ram temple’ in Ayutthaya, a city in Thailand that is believed to have derived its name from UP’s Ayodhya.
Janmejaya Sharan, the priest of Janki Das Bada Sthan temple at Ayodhya who has also floated Ram Janmabhumi Nirman Nyas Trust, performed ‘bhoomi pujan’ at Ayutthaya on Wednesday.
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Construction of the temple is scheduled from February. It will come up on 4 bigha land in Ayutthaya and funds will be raised by Thailandbased Indian community DUSHYANT KR SINGH, spokesperson, Nirman Nyas Trust
WHY A RAM TEMPLE IN THAILAND?
Talking over the phone from Thailand, Sharan said: “It’s believed that Lord Ram also travelled to Thailand while he was serving his 14 year exile. That’s why Lord Ram has great following in Thailand and there is also a city named after Ayodhya where Lord Ram was born.”
The other reason, he said, was that since there was delay in construction of Ram temple in India, the one in Thailand would bring favourable publicity for the noble cause.
Thailand is indeed dotted with temples and Ramakien, the Thai Ramayana, like its Indian version, glorifies Lord Ram though it is bereft of the same religious sanctity that is accorded in India.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) distanced itself from the ‘bhoomi pujan’ in Thailand. A senior VHP functionary described it as the “individual initiative” of the priest.
“It is his individual initiative but the VHP doesn’t have anything to do with it,” said VHP’s spokesman in Ayodhya Sharad Sharma. However, unmindful of the criticism, the Ayodhya priest and his followers announced that with bhoomi pujan done, they planned to come up with a grand temple of Lord Ram in Thailand.
“Construction of the temple is scheduled from February. The temple will come up on 4 bigha land in Ayutthaya and funds for it will be raised by Thailand-based overseas Indian community,” said spokesman of the Nirman Nyas Trust Dushyant Kumar Singh.