It was a glorious moment; a moment unforgettable.
We are talking about Diwali festivities at Ayodhya on Wednesday (October 30), which saw over over 25 lakh earthen lamps (diyas) being lit and over 1,121 people performing aarti.
The Diwali festivities in the temple town in north India gained even more significance this year, as it was the first celebration of the Festival of Lights since the consecration of the Ram Mandir on January 22 this year.
The celebrations at Ayodhya also led to two Guinness World Records — most people performing aarti simultaneously and the largest display of oil lamps. Pravin Patel, the adjudicator at Guinness World Records, who visited Ayodhya with Guinness Consultant Nischal Bharot for verification, announced the new records.
Ayodhya saw a lighting of 25,12,585 earthen lamps, the most ever across the world. For the largest display of oil lamps, the previous record was 22,23,676.
The second Guinness World Record was of 1,121 vedacharyas (teachers of religious texts) performing the aarti simultaneously.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the spectacle as “amazing, incomparable and unimaginable”. “Many congratulations to the people of Ayodhya for the grand and divine Deepotsav! This Jyotiparva at the holy birthplace of Ram Lalla, illuminated by millions of diyas, is going to be emotional. This beam of light emanating from Ayodhya Dham will fill my family members across the country with new enthusiasm and new energy,” the PM said in an online post.
At the celebrations, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the transformation of Ayodhya is a proof of the “double-engine government delivering on its promise” and asserted that a similar transformation must also happen in Kashi and Mathura by 2047, when India celebrates 100 years of independence.
He said Ayodhya’s transformation was “just the beginning” and part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for the development of the heritage of Sanatan Dharma and taking it to the global stage.
“This is the first festival of lights after 500 years, after our beloved Lord Shri Ramlala has been re-installed in his grand temple. This divine and magnificent form of Shri Ayodhya Dham, illuminated with a wonderful and supernatural aura, is making all of us feel the Treta Yuga. Today Ayodhya is happy, entire India is proud. Hearty congratulations and salutations to all Ram devotees participating in ‘Deepotsav 2024’! Hail Lord Ram! Adityanath said in a post on X.
With inputs from agencies
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IN PHOTOS | 25 lakh diyas & mega aarti: Ayodhya’s Guinness Records-wali Diwali
