New Delhi: Ahead of the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22, Hyderabad’s 64-year-old, Challa Srinivas Sastry has embarked on an 8,000-kilometre padayatra to the temple.
Sastry is following the Ayodhya-Rameswaram route, mirroring Lord Ram’s ‘Vanavas’ (exile) in reverse. Sastry is retracing the steps by carrying gold-plated footwear, made with ‘panch dhatu’ (five metals) worth Rs 65 lakh ($78,133) for Lord Ram and intends to present the article to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath upon reaching Ayodhya. Sastry had previously donated five silver bricks to the Ram Temple.
Sastry started the journey on July 20 last year, stopping along the Shiva Lingas established by Lord Ram. The devotee hopes to reach Ayodhya in the next 10 days, having visited important landmarks such as Puri in Odisha, Trimbak in Maharashtra and Dwaraka in Gujarat.
“My father participated in ‘kar seva’ in Ayodhya. He was a strong devotee of Lord Hanuman. His desire was to see the Ram temple built in Ayodhya. As he is no more, I decided to fulfill his desire,” Sastry said as quoted by PTI.
After the journey, Sastry plans to settle down permanently in Ayodhya by constructing a house in the sacred city.
