The temple located at the premise of the Ram Mandir in the sacred temple of Jodhpur in India is a place of worship for millions of Hindus who throng on the occasion of Diwali and other festivals as well. However, a curious feature is that many non-Hindus visit this sacred temple during the auspicious occasion of Diwali and pray to Lord Shiva that they bring happiness and prosperity to their families. Some even believe that this temple has the power to grant them all the wishes they wish for. This is because the temple is located right where the Lord had left his home and went into meditation to learn magic. Even today many non-devotees visit the temple during the festival only to find out that the Shri Ram Mandir is not there!
Although it is widely believed that the construction of the Ram Mandir was done by a great sage named Ram Chandra Purana, the actual story of Ram Mandir has a different story behind it. Ram Mandir was built by the fifth-centurycentury king Jagat Chandra Bose to create an idol of Lord Shiva so that he could sacrifice himself for the Hindu religion. When the king was away from his palace, his wife told him that she wanted an idol of her husband. Since the concept of god was new to her, she asked her brother to build the Ram Mandir in their honor.
In order to fulfill their wife’s request, the royal couple decided to build a small temple of Lord Shiva in the compound built for Ram Raja Yashtak. This was done with the help of a team of laborers. With this special Ayodhya till day, even today the Lord’s devotees pay homage at the temple of Ram Mandir and worship him on the auspicious occasion of Diwali. In fact, there are very few places where you can see the footprints of Lord Brahma and the image of lord Shiva. The reason for the popularity of the temple of Ram Mandir is one of its ground-breaking ceremony.
The foundation stone ceremony is a very important part of the entire Hindu temple of Ram Mandir. This is the moment when the devotee offers sacrifice to the lord. Every year, on the first day of Diwali, on reaching the main gate of the temple they start throwing flowers like flowers of happiness and praise. The entrance is adorned with lights and the whole surroundings are filled with fragrance. The entire temple is draped with flowers, both for the approaching guests and to offer homage to lord Shiva. When the devotees reach the top of the staircase they throw stones on the foundation stone of the temple.
On Bhai Dooj, the first day of Diwali, as all Indians know, the prime minister of India visits the city of Ujjain, in the state of Maharasthra. The whole region was under the rule of the Mauryas and later the Brahmins took over the temples and converted them into beautiful heritage hotels and centers. At Ram Mandir temple, a lot of arrangements had been made for the grand occasion and the huge temple, the Taj Mahal, had already been built by the then rulers of Ujjain. The grand hall where the Taj Mahal stands has a unique ceiling painted by lord Shiva and has been inscribed with his praises.
The Ujjain rulers were succeeded by the Chandravans in India. After the demise of the Maurya dynasty, there was a period of chaos and disorder in the country. There were numerous differences between the Hindu and the Jains, which led to numerous schisms. To bring an end to this chaos, the new concept of Shastra came into being and under this concept various Yogis including Ramayana and mahatma Gandhi wrote different treatises for the general masses. After the demise of Chandravans and the coming back of the Mauryas, the worship of God head was given a totally new meaning as it is done now by the followers of the Hindu religion.
