People in Bihar chant bhajans, light diyas to celebrate 'Bhumi Pujan' at Ayodhya

PATNA: Lakhs of people across the state remained glued to their TV sets and felt elated over the ‘ Bhumi Pujan ’ for Ram Temple at Ayodhya by PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday. Many performed puja, organized bhajans and ‘hawans’ and lit ‘diyas’ at home and in temples to celebrate the occasion.


Janki Sthan temple and Punaura Dham temple in Sitamarhi were decked up as the two places have been closely associated with Goddess Sita (Janki).

Vinod Das, the mahant of Janki Sthan temple, said chanting of Vedic mantras and bhajans marked the celebration there. It is believed that Sita was born at the place, which is known as Janki Sthan.

Roads in the town were painted in saffron. “We lit earthen lamps in our houses,” said Priya Ranjan Singh, a retired public servant and resident of Dumra in Sitamarhi.

Places like Fulhar, Girijasthan, Kalaneshwar and Vishwamitra Ashram in Madhubani district were also decorated for the occasion.

According to the mythology, Sita had her first ‘encounter’ with Ram in a garden at Fulhar under Harlakhi block in Madhubani district, close to Janakpur in Nepal. Tourists visit the Vishwamitra Ashram where the Guru along with Ram and Lakshman had stayed before taking part in the ‘Swyambar’ of King Janak’s daughter Sita.

Mahanth Braj Mohan Das said, “Kanyas (unmarried girls) lit 1100 ‘diyas’ and performed puja to celebrate the historic moment at Ayodhya. Many places in Madhubani have been associated with Goddess Sita, he added.

The Mahavir Mandir near Patna Junction was also decked up for the occasion. Though the temple is closed for devotees, puja was performed by the priests. Some devotees lit ‘diyas’ outside the temple in the evening. The Mahavir Temple Trust has already provided ‘Raghupati laddoos’ to be distributed among people at Ayodhya on the occasion.

It was an emotional moment for Vijay Rai (55) of Gopalpur Parsauni village under Kuchaikot block in Gopalganj district. He was seriously injured during the kar seva at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. He had to remain in Faizabad jail for nearly a month. Rai, the lone Bihar resident to be named as accused in the case related to demolition of the disputed shrine at Ayodhya, performed puja at his home with his mother Uma Devi (70) and wife Maitray Devi (50).

“Had it not been Covid-19 lockdown, I must have visited Ayodhya today,” he said and recalled how the CBI grilled him on many occasions in the case. Initially there were 40 named accused, including L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Ashok Singhal, Uma Bharti and others. Later nine others were included in the case. “I was released on bail on January 9, 1993,” Rai said.

In Ara, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) workers led by its Bhojpur district president Prakash Singh prepared and distributed 1.25 lakh laddoos among the poor. Earlier, priests recited ‘Sundar Kand’ from the Shri Ramcharitmanas and performed hawan at the Ram Janki temple at Gausganj in the town.

“We planned to celebrate this historic occasion by serving the poor. Our workers and leaders fanned out in Ara and it’s adjoining areas to distribute laddoos among the poor. We also distributed earthen lamps among them,” Prakash said.

In Bhagalpur and Banka, people bowed in reverence at the entrance of the Hanuman temples. In the evening, the residents lit up diyas and candles on their terraces to celebrate the occasion. Members of local unit of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bharat Raksha Manch, Nar Seva-Narayan Seva and others offered prayers and hoisted flags at temples and houses besides reciting couplets of the Ramayana.

(With inputs from Praveen in Ara and Kumar Rajesh in Bhagalpur)