Revered Shankracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati on Thursday said in Varanasi that the time chosen for the “bhoomi pujan” and laying the foundation of the Ram Temple is “inauspicious” as August 5 falls in the Dakshinayan Bhadrapad month and is the second day of Krishna Paksha.
“In the Hindu scriptures, construction for home or temple is prohibited during the Bhadrapad month,” he said, and gave an example of Vishnu Dharma Shastra and the Naivagna Ballabh Granth to support his claim.
However, the Kashi Vidhyat Parishad termed Shankaracharya’s claims as baseless, saying that Lord Rama is an universal hero and questions should not be raised on construction of the temple.
Ram Janmabhumi temple chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das has challenged the claim of Shankaracharya that Bhadrapada month is not auspicious for the bhoomi pujan of the Ram temple.
Similar views were presented by Mahant Parhamans Das of Tapasvi Chavni of Ayodhya, who said the entire Bhadrapad month is auspicious for any religious work.
The Ram Temple, once ready, will be 161-feet high. This would be an increase of 20 feet from the original design that was readied in 1988.
It may be recalled that a five-judge bench of the SC led by then CJI Ranjan Gogoi had in November 29 ruled in favour of Ram Lalla Virajman and allotted the entire disputed land in Ayodhya for temple.