Lakshmikant Dixit, Chief Priest Who Oversaw Pran Pratishtha Ceremony At Ram Mandir Passes Away

Lakshmikant Dixit, the chief priest overseeing the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at the newly inaugurated Ram temple in Ayodhya passed away on the wee hours of June 22. He was a renowned scholar of the Yajur Veda and had led a team of 121 priests during the consecration ceremony on January 22.

Varanasi: Pandit Laxmikant Dixit (86), the chief priest of Kashi who led 121 Vedic Brahmins by participating in the Ram Mandir Prana Pratishtha, passed away on the morning of June 22. His last rites will be conducted at Manikarnika Ghat, family members said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the death of Dixit. In a post on 'X', he said, "The departure of Acharya Shri Laxmikant Dixit, a great scholar of Kashi and the chief priest of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Prana Pratishtha, is an irreparable loss to the spiritual and literary world."

"He will always be remembered for his service to Sanskrit language and Indian culture. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to give a place to the departed soul in his feet and give strength to his disciples and followers to bear this sorrow," he added.

A native of Solapur in Maharashtra, he had been living with his family in Kashi since many decades. His appointment as chief priest symbolised the cultural and spiritual ties between Maharashtra and Kashi.

Family members said Dixit was not well for the last few days. The pandit was a senior acharya working with the Shri Sangved Mahavidyalaya located at Mirghat in Varanasi where he was appointed as a representative of Kashi's scholarly tradition.

He was a distinguished scholar of the Yajur Veda and had led a team of 121 priests during the holy consecration of Ram Lalla on January 22nd at 12.29 PM. Sources said that he had taken inspiration in the Vedas and rituals from his uncle, Ganesh Dixit Bhatt.

Grief looms large over the region as the news of the pandit's death reached the followers of the Sanatan tradition. Astrologer Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid, receiver of the Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Award who had also found the auspicious time for the consecration of Ayodhya Ram temple has condoled the death.

After hearing the news of the passing away of Pandit Laxmikant Dixit, Dravid said, "This is an irreparable loss to the Sanatan Dharma. We shall offer prayers at the feet of Baba Kashi Vishwanath so that the departed soul rests in peace."