Made in steel & etched in emotion, 'world's largest' Ramayana set for Ayodhya debut

According to Aradhana Saini, a member of Sri Krishna Granthalaya Dharohar Sansthan, an Agra-based organisation; workers are slogging it out to meet the deadline for the Ram Temple opening on January 22. She said the biggest and heaviest Ramayana, made up of steel and weighing 3,000 kilograms, would be presented to the temple authorities on that day.

Agra: A first-of-its-kind Ramayana, the world's largest and heaviest one to be built ever, is being readied for Ram Temple opening on January 22. To be known as 'Badi Ramayana', the epic will be replicated not through ink in paper but in steel weighing 3,000 kilograms with a cost of one crore by Sri Krishna Granthalaya Dharohar Sansthan, an Agra-based organisation.

Aradhana Saini, a member of the organisation, said workers are working on a war footing keeping in mind the deadline for the Ram Temple opening on January 22. She said the steel-made Ramayana would be presented to the temple authorities on that day.

"Ramayana, which was originally written by poet Valmiki and is traditionally divided into seven books; deals with the life of Lord Ram from his birth to his death, narrates the story of the eldest son of King Dasarath and presents stages of life through allegory. These seven books are Bala Kanda, Ayodhya Kanda, Aranya Kanda, Kishkindya Kanda, Sundara Kanda, Yuddha Kanda and Uttara Kanda. The epic has everything to do with the emotions of Indians. It will be presented to Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra on the grand temple's opening day. What could be a better occasion than the Ram Lalla consecration day for its presentation?" Saini said.

She said the idea was conceived after she found a torn Ramayana at her house. "The idea behind writing a Ramayana in steel using the latest technology stemmed from the fact that the epic should last in written form for thousands of years to come. Our concern is the longevity issue," Saini added.

Each page of the 3,000 kilograms-heavy Ramayana will weigh 100 kg, which can be turned with the help of sensors. The epic would comprise 30 to 35 pages, she said. According to her, the ratio of its length and width will be 9×5 fits. The thickness of each page will be 2.5 feet and the width will be 5 feet.

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