Karnataka Sculptor’s Idol Chosen For Installation At Ayodhya

BENGALURU, (IANS) – On January 2, it was confirmed that the Ram Lalla idol sculpted by Karnataka artist Arun Yogiraj has been finalized for installation at the Ayodhya Sri Ram Mandir on January 22.

His mother expressed happiness and stated that she wished that Arun Yogiraj’s father had been alive to see this achievement of his son.

Arun Yogiraj had completed the idol of Ram Lalla and handed it over to the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust last week. Arun had taken six months to create the Ram Lalla idol. He stayed in Ayodhya for the entire period and worked for 12 to 14 hours a day.

Arun Yogiraj has told the media that the task was to sculpt a 51-inch-tall Lord Ram at the age of five years.

“I had studied and researched to get the best portrait of Ram Lalla. I went to schools, and participated in children’s festivals, and programs. During my visits, I closely observed the difference between three-year-old and five-year-old boys. The challenge was to create an idol that would appeal to both south and north India. Finally, I sculpted Lord Ram holding a bow and arrow,” he stated.

“I had selected the granite taken from Bachche Gowdana Pura near HD Kote town in Mysuru district of Karnataka for the idol. The statue is 51 inches tall and 3.5 feet wide. I was asked to bring out emotions such as innocence in the eyes of a child, a blissful, majestic look, and a smile,” he explained.

Yogiraj says his family has been doing this work for 250 years, or the past five generations. His grandfather, B Basavanna Shilpi, was patronized by the kings of Mysore. He garnered attention by supplying 64 idols in just 11 months to the Gayatri temple in the palace.

Some of his works include the 28-feet monolith of Subhash Chandra Bose for India Gate in Delhi, the 12-feet Adi Shankaracharya idol for Kedarnath and sculptures of various deities in various temples across the country.