Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalanand Saraswati Maharaj said the Shankaracharyas are upholding their own dignity by skipping the Ayodhya Ram Mandir consecration event and it wasn’t an issue of ego.

The Puri pontiff said, “The Shankaracharyas uphold their own dignity. This is not about ego. Are we expected to merely sit outside and applaud when the Prime Minister installs the idol of Ram Lalla? The presence of a 'secular' government does not imply the obliteration of tradition," ANI reported. Swami Nischalanand added that their decision is rooted in the deviation from established traditions during the installation of Ram Lalla idol. 

According to reports, all four Shankaracharyas – pontiffs of major Hindu shrines – have decided not to attend the consecration ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22. The heads of the four shrines (peeths)—Joshimath in Uttarakhand, Dwarka in Gujarat, Puri in Odisha and Sringeri in Karnataka—claimed that the inauguration event was being held against the shastras or sacred Hindu scriptures. Earlier, Joshimath Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati said, “The scriptures are being undermined by carrying out consecration before the construction of the temple is complete. There is no reason for this rush.”

However, Shankaracharya of Sringeri has welcomed the event and advised devotees to chant Lord Rama’s name as ‘Taraka Mantra’. 

Meanwhile, Union Minister Narayan Rane faced ire after he said the Shankaracharyas should bless the Ram temple instead of criticising some aspects. Rane had told presspersons, “No one could do it until now. Modi and BJP took it up and a temple is being built. Should they bless the temple or criticise it? It means Shankaracharyas look at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP through a political prism. This temple is not built on politics but on religion. Ram is our God. Shankaracharyas should tell what is their contribution to the Hindu religion.”