‘Pran Pratishtha Without Head, Eye’: Shankaracharya Explains Why Ram Temple Incomplete

Ayodhya: Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand of Uttarakhand Jyotish Peeth explained on Sunday why he won’t be attending the inauguration ceremony of the Ayodhya Ram temple on January 22.

The Shankaracharya said a temple is the body of God, the temple’s peak represents God’s eyes and the ‘kalash’ represents the head, while the flag on a temple is God’s hair.

“It is not right to instil life (pran pratishtha) in the body without its head or eyes. This goes against our scriptures. Hence, I will not be going there because if I go, people will say scriptures have been violated in front of me. Hence, we have raised the issue with responsible people, especially with the members of Ayodhya Trust, that the celebration should be done once the temple is fully constructed. Discussion has been going on,” the Uttarakhand Shankaracharya detailed.

He is among four Shankaracharyas who won’t be going to the consecration programme scheduled for Monday after next. The other Shankaracharyas set to skip the high-profile event are from Odisha, Karnataka and Gujarat.

Shankaracharyas are the supreme authority of Hindu scriptures.

The decision of four Shankaracharyas has triggered a massive controversy, with Congress party basing its excuse to decline the invitation around the explanation that the temple was not complete.