5 lakh laddus from MP's Mahakaleshwar temple reach Ayodhya

Five lakh laddus prepared at the Mahakaleshwar temple in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain city have reached Ayodhya ahead of the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple on Monday, an official said.

The laddus, weighing about 50 gm each, will be distributed to devotees as prasad on the occasion, he said.

Five trucks, shaped like chariots, decorated in saffron and adorned with pictures of Lord Ram, reached Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh with 250 quintals of laddus at around 10.30 pm on Saturday, Mahakaleshwar temple's assistant administrator Moolchand Junwal told PTI.

“On Sunday morning, we handed over the prasad to the organisation tasked to distribute it to the faithful,” he said.

People greeted the consignment with “Jai Shri Ram” chants along the nearly 1,000 km route from Ujjain to Ayodhya, according to eyewitnesses.

At least 150 temple staffers and people from social organisations were involved in making the laddus over five days in Ujjain, Junwal said.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav earlier said that Ujjain has connections with Ayodhya dating back more than 2,000 years.

Flagging off the trucks from Bhopal on January 19, the chief minister said, “Emperor Vikramaditya had built the (earlier) temple in Ayodhya. Lord Ram is returning to ‘garbh griha’ (sanctum sanctorum) after a struggle of 500 years." The temple town of Ayodhya is all set to welcome Lord Ram with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to participate in the consecration ceremony at the newly constructed Ram Mandir on Monday.

The 'Pran Pratishtha' of the idol of Ram Lalla -- the childhood form of Lord Ram -- will be attended by people from all walks of life, including representatives of major spiritual and religious sects of the country, representatives of various tribal communities and prominent personalities. 

(With inputs from agencies)