Ayodhya Ram Mandir: All you need to know about Shaligram stones sent from Nepal for idols' construction
Shaligram stones brought to Ayodhya from Janakpur, a famous religious place in Nepal is being worshipped at the Ram Mandir. Former Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal worshiped the Mahant of Janaki Temple. After worshiping according to Vedic rituals, Shaligram Shila was handed over to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
As soon as the Shaligram Yatra entered the highway late night, slogans of Jai Shri Ram started echoing. People showered flowers and there was a lot of fireworks. On reaching Ayodhya, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust General Secretary Champat Rai, Trustee Dr. Anil Mishra, outgoing Mayor Rishikesh Upadhyay and other BJP leaders welcomed the Shaligram by showering flowers.
For the unversed, along with the construction work of Ram temple in Ayodhya, the work of Ramlala’s statue is also going on with a high pace. The idol of lord Ram will be made of these Shaligram stone. As per Hindu believes, as Shivling is considered as the form of Lord Shankar similarly, Shaligram is considered an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
What is Shaligram?
According to science, Shaligram is a black colored ammonoid fossil, found in black, brown, white, grey, blue color and sometimes with golden glow. Shaligram is generally collected by the people from the banks of the holy river Gandaki of Hinduism and is the sacred name of Lord Vishnu. However, it is also known as Salgram, as per Hindu believes.
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It is related to a village named Salgram. This village is situated on the banks of the Gandaki river in Nepal. Shaligram and Shivling are considered as deities of God. According to Puranas, only this Deity form of God should be worshipped. Apart from the Shivling form of Lord Shiva, there is only one temple of Shaligram in the whole world. Mostly in Hinduism, idols are worshipped, but before the idols, Lord Brahma was worshiped in the form of conch shell, Lord Shiva in the form of Shivling and Lord Vishnu in the form of Shaligram.
According to reports, there is a place Muktinath in Nepal. The only temple of Shaligram is present here. However, there are approximately 33 different types of Shaligrams. These 33 types are associated with the 24 incarnations of Lord Vishnu. It is said that all these 24 Shaligrams are related to the same number of Ekadashi fasts. According to the incarnations of God, the circular Shaligram is believed to be the Gopal form of Lord Vishnu.
Fish shaped Shaligram is considered as the incarnation of Matsya. The shape of the tortoise is considered to be the symbol of Kachhapa or Kurma avatar. On the other hand, the chakra that emerges in Shaligram or the Shaligram which has lines, is considered as the form of Shri Krishna.
