Ten bulls, which undertook a 1,000-kilometre-plus journey to reach Ayodhya with a special offering of ghee, got a holy dip in the Saryu river on Friday as a mark of honour.
The bulls had set off from the Maharshi Sandipani Ram Dharm Gaushala in Jodhpur with 108 steel containers of 600 litres of ghee on November 27. They reached Ayodhya at 2 am on December 7 and were then handed over to the Mandir Trust at Karsewakpuram later on Thursday.
The distance between Jodhpur and Ayodhya is 1,058 kilometres. The procession of the bulls pulling five carts was named 'Sri Ramlalla Darshan Paidal Shobha Yatra'.
A truck travelled with the animals as did two dozen devotees from Jodhpur. The buffalos were given time off to relax and carried on the truck for some distance.
The offered ghee shall be used to light diyas and in the conduct of rituals when the new temple is consecrated on January 22. Post that, it will be used within the temple premises for prayer rituals.
The decision to bring the ghee on bulls stems from the symbolism of the animal being a representative of Nandi- who is Lord Shiv’s means of transport. Lord Ram was a shiv bhakt. Shiv was also a worshipper of Ram for the latter was an incarnation of Vishnu and had inherited all his qualities.
Sharad Sharma, VHP spokesperson said, “The ghee from cows is special as 33 crore Gods reside in them. The carrying of ghee from them by bulls fortifies spiritual and religious feelings".
Upon reaching Ayodhya, the bulls and the truck undertook the panch kosi parikrama- the 15-kilometre circumambulation around some of the most significant landmarks of Ayodhya.
The bulls which undertook a 1,000-kilometre-plus journey to reach Ayodhya with a special offering of ghee
While the bulls, now housed at Karsewakpuram, shall return aboard the truck in a few days, the bullock carts shall remain in Ayodhya.
Champat Rai, general secretary of the Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, who received the ghee, broke down as he remembered the sacrifice of two kar sewaks from Jodhpur. “While I salute the saints who have made this offering….I also send my respect to Jodhpur. On November 2, 1990, when there was firing in front of the Digambar Akhara, Professor Mahendra Arora and Setharam Maali- just 19 years old, lost their lives…maybe their souls became the inspiration behind this act" he said.
