Ayodhya Ram Temple gets permanent panel to supervise religious affairs
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has formed a permanent nine-member religious committee to supervise rituals, festivals, priest appointments and worship at the Ayodhya Ram Temple, ensuring strict adherence to the Ramanandi tradition and preserving the temple's religious practices
Ayodhya (UP): Bringing together some of the country’s foremost Hindu seers, scripture scholars and custodians of the Ramanandi tradition, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has constituted a permanent nine-member religious committee to oversee every aspect of worship, rituals and religious affairs at the Ram temple.
The committee, approved by the Trust’s board of trustees at its meeting chaired by president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das on Wednesday, will have the final say on matters relating to daily worship, major religious festivals, Vedic rituals, appointment and training of priests, and preservation of the temple’s traditional mode of worship.
Headed by Trust treasurer Mahant Govind Dev Giri, the panel comprises Jagadguru Shankaracharya Vasudevanand Saraswati, Swami Vishwaprasannatirth of Karnataka’s Pejawar Math, Nirmohi Akhara mahant Dinendra Das, Maniram Chhawani successor Mahant Kamal Nayan Das, Mahant Rajkumar Das of Ramvallabh Kunj, Swami Ramanand Das of Ram Katha Kunj, Mahant Mithilesh Nandini Sharan and Swami Parmanand Giri of Akhand Paramdham Ashram, Haridwar.
Among the Ayodhya-based members, Mahant Mithilesh Nandini Sharan is regarded as an eminent scholar of Hindu scriptures and had authored the ritual manual used during the consecration of Ram Lalla before the temple’s inauguration. Mahant Rajkumar Das represents the historic Ramvallabh Kunj, whose founder codified the widely practised ‘Ramarcha’ method of worship.
Mahant Dinendra Das is one of the senior saints of the Shri Panch Ramanandi Nirmohi Akhara, while Mahant Kamal Nayan Das is the designated successor of Trust president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das. Swami Ramanand Das, head of Ram Katha Kunj, is a renowned Ramayana scholar and has earlier served on religious advisory bodies.
The committee also includes prominent religious leaders from outside of Ayodhya. Govind Dev Giri is known as a religious preacher and organiser, Jagadguru Shankaracharya Vasudevanand Saraswati is the pontiff of the Uttaramnaya Jyotirpeeth tradition, Swami Vishwaprasannatirth heads Karnataka’s Pejawar Math and is a noted Vaishnav scholar, while Swami Parmanand Giri of Haridwar’s Akhand Paramdham Ashram has been entrusted with guiding the conduct of major religious festivals and ceremonies.
The committee will supervise daily ‘puja’, ‘aarti’ and other rituals, determine the dates and manner of observing major annual festivals such as Ram Navami and Vivah Panchami, plan and oversee Vedic ceremonies including ‘yajnas’, ‘Ramarcha’ and Vedic recitations, besides monitoring the appointment, training, conduct, dress code and ritual practices of priests. It will also oversee a permanent training institution for temple priests.
While the committee has been constituted, its members said detailed operational guidelines are yet to be finalised. “The committee has just been announced. We are awaiting a proper guideline or draft for the committee, including its tenure,” committee member Acharya Mithilesh Nandini Sharan told PTI.
Describing the panel as a necessary institutional mechanism, he said, “It is of course needed. I have been involved with the religious affairs of the Ram Temple and was part of the three-member panel that was set up ahead of the consecration of the Ram Temple.” He expressed hope that the new committee would have a broader mandate than its predecessor.
“Previously it was a three-member panel with a limited reference frame. Now, with a bigger panel, the scope of its activity too would widen,” he said. Another committee member, Mahant Rajkumar Das of Ramvallabh Kunj, told PTI that the panel was yet to deliberate on the details of its functioning.
“The details of the committee’s work have not yet been discussed. Work on that will begin soon,” he said. On Thursday, Mahant Kamal Nayan Das said the temple’s religious arrangements would continue to function smoothly under the new committee.
“The system through which the temple is being managed will continue to function well and improve further. Our responsibility will be to ensure proper upkeep of the temple and smooth conduct of worship and all religious activities,” he said.
Committee member and Nirmohi Akhara mahant Dinendra Das had earlier told PTI that all rituals and religious activities at the Ram temple should strictly follow the Ramanandi tradition, a principle that now forms the basis of the committee’s mandate.
The Ramanandi tradition is a Vaishnav sect that worships Lord Ram as the Supreme Being and traces its lineage to the 14th-century saint Ramananda. The Ram temple, like most other temples in Ayodhya, follows this tradition, under which daily ‘puja’, ‘aarti’, ‘bhog’ and other religious ceremonies are performed according to established Ramanandi customs and scriptures.
Temple management sources said there had been objections from some quarters over the adoption of non-Ramanandi traditions, particularly the Ramanujacharya tradition, which is largely followed in South India.
The newly constituted committee is expected to ensure uniform adherence to the temple’s established Ramanandi practices. A local temple and rituals observer, who did not wish to be named, told PTI that the Ramanandi tradition is the most suited here because Lord Ram is offered rituals as Ram Lalla, in the form of a child, while in South Indian traditions, the deity is more seen as an adult and a king in exile.
“There’s a difference in both forms of worship and rituals depending on what form of Lord Ram is being worshipped,” he stressed. Announcing the decision after Wednesday’s Trust meeting, Govind Dev Giri, who briefed media along with interim general secretary Krishna Mohan, had said the permanent committee was being constituted to oversee all religious affairs of the Ram temple and ensure the authenticity and purity of its rituals.
The move is part of the Trust’s broader efforts to strengthen institutional systems following the recent donation theft controversy while preserving the temple’s religious traditions.
