KATHMANDU, JANUARY 25

Nepal will send two shilas (stones) from the Kali Gandaki River to Ayodhya to build idols of Lord Ram and Sita at the Ram temple to be built by Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra (a trust) there.

Nepali Congress leader and former deputy prime minister Bimalendra Nidhi, who hails from Janakpur, the birth place of Sita, is coordinating the Janaki temple's efforts to send the two stones from the Kali Gandaki River where shaligrams are found in abundance.

Mahantha (priest) of Janaki temple Ram Tapeshwar Das and Nidhi will be among 250 people who will travel to Ayodhya when the two stones are transported to the Indian religious city. Nidhi said that the two shilas were likely to reach Ayodhya on February 1. Stone convoys will travel through Pipraun Girjasthan of Madhubani, Bihar, which holds religious significance, and will make night stops at two places -- Muzaffarpur and Gorakhpur -- before reaching Ayodhya on February 1.

One stone will weigh approximately 18 tonnes and the other 12 tonnes.

The stones will be handed over to Janaki temple by Gandaki Chief Minister Khagaraj Adhikari tomorrow.

Mahantha of Janaki temple, Nidhi, and Vishwa Hindu Parishad Minister Rajendra Singh Pankaj will be present during the handover ceremony.

Before the transportation of the stones from the Kali Gandaki River, Nidhi and his wife worshipped at Galeshwar Mahadev temple on the banks of the Kali Gandaki River near Beni, in Syangja district on the occasion of Maghe Sankranti (January 15).

Local level and provincial leaders representing all the major parties had joined them.

Nidhi said Janaki temple would later send a bow to Ram temple in Ayodhya as per the specification of Ram temple trust. Nidhi said Ayodhya and Janakpur were places of historic importance and the use of Nepali stones for sculpting Ram and Sita idols and the bow from Nepal would reflect deep religious and cultural bonds between the two countries.

The Sher Bahadur Deuba government had authorised handing over of stones to Ayodhya.

Legend has it that Sita, also known as Janaki, was the daughter of king Janak of Nepal. She married Ram.

Every year, Janakpur not just celebrates the birth of Lord Ram, but also the wedding anniversary of Ram and Sita. Nidhi has been coordinating with authorities in India and the Ram Temple Trust in Ayodhya for over two years to take this initiative forward.

In his conversation with former Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri in 2020 in Janakpur, Nidhi proposed sending a bow to Ayodhya.

Nidhi said he thought of sending two stones to Ayodhya only after talking to Indian authorities, particularly Champat Rai, general secretary, Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra in Ayodhya.

Nidhi said in December 2022 they got clearance from the Nepal government to send the two stones and a bow to Ayodhya .

The two shilas will first be brought to Janakpur from the Kali Gandaki River for public viewing before being sent to Ayodhya. Nidhi said they had received permission from the Department of Mines and Geology to send the two stones to Ayodhya.

A version of this article appears in the print on January 25, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.