Sunil’s Ramayan Wax Museum

Sunil’s Wax Museum in Ayodhya has lifelike images of the Ramayan. In my opinion, a must visit Museum. The owner Sunil Kandalloor, alongwith his brother’s family has also set up other museums in the country

Ram Lalla’s replica

Ram Lalla’s replica

Valmiki who wrote the Ramayan

Ramchandraji with his brothers at Maharishi Vashisth’s ashram

Ram ji with bow

Ram ji

King Dasrath and his three wives

Ram, Lakshman Sita

Sita ji

Ram, Lakshman and Sita leaving for exile

Lakshman swore he would not close his eyes

Ram

Jatayu who fought Ravant to save Sita and sacrificed his life

Sita in Ashok vatika

Hanuman

Ravan did tapasya and prayed to Shiv and Brahma for his great powers

Hanuman

Contribution in the construction of Ram Setu - the small squirrel dipped itself in the sea, rolled in the sand, and shook off the grains and tiny pebbles to fill the gaps between the rocks. Ram stroked the back of the squirrel which give it the three stripes

Ram with his bow and arrow

Luv and Kush in the background with the Ashwamedh horse

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Previous : Bharat Mandir/ Bharat Kund, Nandigram, Ayodhya

Bharat Mandir/ Bharat Kund, Nandigram, Ayodhya

During Lord Rama's 14-year exile, his devoted brother Bharat refused to claim the throne. Instead, he placed Ramchandraji's wooden sandals (Charan Paduka) on the royal seat and governed the kingdom as an ascetic from Nandigram. 

The temple

Bharat’s living stay is shown in a floor below the temple

The entrance to the area

A rare Hanuman with a dhanush

Bharat

Ram ji’s charan padukas

A closer look at the padukas

While carrying the Dronagiri mountain with the Sanjeevani herbs to save Lakshman, Hanuman flew over Nandigram near Ayodhya. Bharat saw a giant figure in the sky, mistook him for a demon and shot an arrow. Hanuman fell to the ground chanting "Ram, Ram". Hearing the divine name, Bharat rushed to him, and learned about Rama's victory in Lanka and the condition of Lakshman This historic meeting is commemorated at the Hanuman Bharat Milan Mandir located in Bharatkund,

Bharat and Hanuman Milap

The depiction of Luv and Kush with the Ashwamed ghoda

Bharat performed his daily ritual baths and austere penance at the large sacred pond known as Bharat Kund.

Bharat Kund

The location also houses temples commemorating the emotional reunion of Rama, Bharat, and Hanuman upon Rama's return from exile. 

There are several of such quotes all over

Next : Sunil’s Ramayan Wax Museum

Previous : Ashrams we visited

Ashrams we visited

It was our fortune to meet Jagatguru Ramdineshacharya ji Maharaj and Mahant Girish Das ji in our flight to Ayodhya who, and without any request from us, were good enough to immediately get us VIP passes for Ram Mandir. The in-flight interaction was insightful so much so that we subsequently went to their Ashrams.

Jagatguru Ramdineshacharya ji Maharaj of Hari Dham Peeth shared some of his photos with Yogi ji. His Ashram has about 20 students living there who are being trained in our texts, our mantra and Puja Vidhi. There is also a Gaushala with about 10 cows. He conducts Shri Ram Katha, Shrimad Bhagwat Katha, Krishna Katha, and bhajans in various places and has his own YouTube channel: Jagatguru Ramdineshacharya Ji Maharaj Official Channel  

I asked him about the ten Avatars of Vishnu, more specifically the ninth avatar since many consider it to be Gautam Buddha while others believe it is Balram. However, he reminded us that as per Bhagwat Puran, there are 24 avtars of Vishnu. Amongst the Dasavtars, the Buddha referred to is not Gautam Buddha whose teachings differ considerably from Hinduism. A little research showed that in Hindu scriptures like the Srimad Bhagvat, Vishnu ji’s avatar of Buddha is described as the son of Anjana, born in the region of Gaya (Kikaṭ) and that this incarnation appeared at the beginning of the Kaliyug (3102 BCE) to preach non-violence and reform materialistic practices.

Jagatguru ji Maharaj was pleased to honour us.

  

We then went to the ashram of Mahant Mahamandaleshwar Shri Girish Das ji Maharaj, Head Priest of Dandiya Mandir (डाड़िया मंदिर के पीठाधिपति महामंडलेश्वर महंत गिरीश दास महाराज ) He too has students there – all boys of course. The centre of the hall has a beautiful temple. Mahant ji plans to further renovate the temple in the next few months. 

The little saint

There are about 10 boys living in the ashram. Mahant ji narrated the story of this little saint. On the death of his father, his mother sought support for her son and her daughters. Since the ashram does not keep girls there, the boy was taken into the ashram where all his expenses are taken care of, also his education in school and teachings in our rituals are taught.

Shri Girish Das ji Maharaj  was also pleased to honour us

Next : Bharat Mandir/ Bharat Kund, Nandigram, Ayodhya

Previous : Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, Ayodhya

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, Ayodhya

Over the last few years, tourism in Ayodhya has been further heavily influenced. After finally winning the long-drawn legal dispute, a new Ram Mandir was constructed. Dedicated to Lord Ram in his child form, the temple opened its door for worship after the Pran Pratistha ceremony on 22nd January 2024 (Pran Pratistha प्राण प्रतिष्ठा is the  sacred Hindu ritual that breathes divine life into a newly carved idol). Although the present structure began its construction in 2020, the temple has its roots centuries back and is built at the site of the earlier temple razed down by the Mughals invaders centuries ago.

The temple houses the idol of Ram Lalla, the child form of the lord. Adorned with elaborate jewelry and offerings of common toys made of silver, the idol of Ram Lalla inside the temple represents the five-year old form of Lord Ram.

In the temple's garbha griha, the newer idol also has the smaller and older idol of Ram Lala that was worshiped in a nearby tent for decades. The original, older Ram Lalla idol is a small 5 to 6 inch divine sculpture  that “appeared” inside the “Babri Masjid” on the night of 22/12/1945 and served as the chief litigant for the Hindu side in the title suit. It was kept in a makeshift tent/structure under a tarp (tirpal) for decades before being moved to a temporary structure in March 2020 

Photography is not permitted, taken their website

Carved out of black stone, the newer idol of Ram Lalla sits adorning elaborate gold jewelry, with each of them chosen after extensive research about the appearance and grandeur of Lord Ram Details can be read here: https://upayodhya.com/articles/ram-lalla-idol-jewelry-guide

Outside the garba griha are the statutes of Jay and Vijay, the gate keepers of Vaikunth who due to a curse were born on earth as Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha in the Satya Yug, Ravan and Kumbhakarn in the Treta Yug, and finally Shishupal and Dantavakra in the Dvapar Yug. With the main temple dedicated to Lord Rama, the extended four corners have temples of Lord Surya, Goddess Bhagwati, Lord Ganesh, and Lord Shiv.

On a floor above we have temple with idols of Ram darbar - could not be on the main temple since this is dedicated to the young Ramchandraji - when he was obviously not married. This was consecrated on 5/6/25. 

The Ram Darbar features idols of Lord Rama, Goddess Sita, Lakshman, Bharat, Shatrughan, and Hanuman Ji.

View of Ram Mandir

Our visit to Ram Mandir

(Work on the temple is still going on and is expected to be completed by 2030)

Next: Ashrams we visited 

Previous : Background to Ram Mandir, Ayodhya

Background to Ram Mandir, Ayodhya

Bhagwan Vishnu, the Preserver in Hindu religion has taken several avatars or incarnations. Amongst the ten Dasavtars, Ramchandra ji is the seventh avatar, born towards the end of the Treta Yug, the second of the four ages in Hindu cosmology. 

 

Born into the Kosala (कौशल) Kingdom of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, Lord Ram was the son of King Dashrath and his wife Queen Kaushalya. Eldest of the four sons of the King, Ramchandra ji had three stepbrothers – Bharat, Lakshman, and Shatrughna. Lord Ram was the crown prince, however, Queen Kaikeyi, the mother of Bharat conspired to send Lord Ram to exile for 14 years and her son be crowned instead. Bound by a promise given to the Queen Kaikeyi years ago, the King finds himself unable to refuse her wish. In respect towards his father, and without any discussion or quarrel Lord Ram simply chooses to obey the commitment of the King.

The city of Ayodhya, where Lord Ram was born, had an ancient temple which held immense religious significance among Hindu devotees. Perhaps one of the first things the Mughal king Babar did on reaching India in the early sixteen century was to get the temple demolished and a mosque constructed over it leading to long-standing communal tensions that lasted over a century with clashes and destruction, and protracted litigation. Finally in 2019, the Supreme Court awarded the land to us Hindus with a separate land to Muslims.

But when was his date of birth? We say it was the end of Treta Yug. The four yugs (Satya, Treta, Dwapar and Kaliyugs) make one Mahayug, which is 43,20,000 years long. The conclusion of Treta Yuga marks  departure / disappearance of Lord Ram

Puranic and traditional texts place Lord Rama's birth in the Treta Yuga, millions of years ago.  According to the Valmiki Ramayan, and as per our lunar calender, Lord Ram was born on the ninth day (Navami) of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) of the lunar month of Chaitra, an event celebrated annually as Rama Navami.

 

Historical and astronomical interpretations vary among scholars and astrologers, using planetary descriptions in our texts etc. and on the basis of calculation. According to present Gregorian calendar, some sources on the internet, give the date as 22nd February 7119 BCE so over 9000 years ago. Some other dates are January 10, 5114 BCE (at 12:30 PM): and February 3, 5674 BCE.

Previous : Hanumangarhi in Ayodhya

Hanumangarhi In Ayodhya

Hanuman Garhi is considered to be one of the most sacred sites in Ayodhya, said to be the place from where Hanuman, while residing in a cave, guarded the city of Ayodhya. Hanuman is a Chiranjivi (immortal) and is widely known as the eternal guardian and protector of Ayodhya, to whom Ramchandra ji handed over the care of Ayodhya while leaving Earth for his abode Vaikunth - please also read the post on Guptar Ghat (to be posted later). Darshan at Hanumangarhi is done before going to the Ram mandir.

According to the Skand Puran, King Vikramaditya built Hanuman Garhi along with 360 other temples. But Aurangzeb destroyed Hanuman Garhi temple, and built a Mosque. Ramanandi Bairagi ascetics subsequently reclaimed it, removed the Mosque and rebuilt the shrine, with subsequent patronage, land revenue support, and development tied to Awadh rulers.

Hanuman Garhi Temple is shaped like a four-sided fort with circular ramparts at each corner, housing shrines dedicated to Hanuman. There are 76 steep steps to reach the main temple, where the garba griha adorned with silver carvings, awaits (however we entered from the back side where the steps are around half). The central hall has three intricately designed doors leading to the inner chamber Within, a 6-inch deity of Hanuman, depicted in his youthful (Bal) form, is positioned on the lap of his mother Anjani.  

The Garba Griha behind the crowd 

Enlarged view of the Garba Griha

A silver tulsi garland, inscribed with the name of Ram is adorned by Hanuman. The verses of the Hanuman Chalisa are inscribed on the temple walls. The temple features a Victory Pillar, known as Vijay Stambh (of gold?) which Hanuman ji is said to have brought back with him from Lanka.

The Vijay Stambh

Our visit to Hanumangarhi

Other murtis at Hanumangarhi

Next : Background to Ram Mandir, Ayodhya

Previous : Badrinath or Badrikashram