All 4 Shankaracharyas to Skip Ram Temple Inauguration Ceremony Due to ‘Incomplete Construction’

The highly anticipated January 22 inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya faces an unexpected hurdle: the conspicuous absence of all four Shankaracharyas, heads of prominent Hindu shrines. Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, head of Jyotishpeeth in Uttarakhand, has declared that all four Shankaracharyas, pontiffs of major Hindu shrines, will not partake in the January 22 inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

In a video on his official X handle, he claimed the ceremony goes against the sacred Hindu scriptures, or shastras, as the temple construction remains incomplete.

22 जनवरी के प्रतिष्ठा के पूर्व रामानन्द सम्प्रदाय को मन्दिर सौंपे रामजन्मभूमि तीर्थ क्षेत्र ट्रस्ट –

रामजन्मभूमि तीर्थ क्षेत्र ट्रस्ट के महासचिव चंपतराय जी के इस बयान पर पूज्यपाद ज्योतिष्पीठाधीश्वर जगद्गुरु शंकराचार्य स्वामिश्रीः अविमुक्तेश्वरानंदः सरस्वती '१००८' की प्रतिक्रिया… pic.twitter.com/h0IqLN8wFe

— 1008.Guru (@jyotirmathah) January 9, 2024

This statement follows the Shankaracharya of the Govardhana Peeth in Puri announcing his absence from the consecration of Lord Ram’s idol in Ayodhya, citing reluctance to attend merely as an observer while Prime Minister Modi performs the consecration ceremony.

Scheduled for January 22, the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya will host dignitaries like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, alongside thousands of seers from across India. The ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony is expected to draw over a lakh devotees to Ayodhya.

In related developments, Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have respectfully declined the invitation, criticizing the BJP and RSS for turning the event into a “political project.”

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP of staging a “gimmick show” ahead of the Lok Sabha polls through the Ram Mandir inauguration in Ayodhya. She emphasized her non-support for festivities that exclude other communities, stressing her commitment to unity over religious divides.