The Ram Mandir (ISO: , ), is a Hindu temple complex in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India. Many Hindus believe that it is located at the site of Ram Janmabhoomi, the mythical birthplace of Rama, a principal deity of Hinduism. It is one of the most visited Hindu temples in India.
The site of the temple has been the subject of communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims, as it is the former location of the Babri Masjid, a mosque built around 1529. In the 1850s, the British erected a fence, and Hindus were allowed to worship in the outer courtyard. In 1949, the Murti () of Rama was placed inside the fence. In 1980s, a campaign was launched by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to claim the site for Hindus, which led to the structure being attacked and demolished in 1992. In a 2019 judgement, the Supreme Court awarded the disputed site to Hindus for the construction of a temple, while Muslims were given land nearby in Dhannipur in Ayodhya to construct a mosque. The court referenced a report from the Archaeological Survey of India of a non-Islamic structure beneath the demolished Babri Masjid.
A bhūmi pūjana () for the construction of the Ram Mandir was performed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2020. The temple's construction was supervised by a trust, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra. On 22 January 2024, Modi performed the prāṇa pratiṣṭhā () of the temple. On the day it opened, the temple received more than half a million visitors, and after a month, the number of daily visitors was reported to be between 100,000 and 150,000.
An independent trust, Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, has been tasked with the management of the temple complex. There have been controversies over the alleged misuse of donations, sidelining of its major activists, and politicisation of the temple by the Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2026, the alleged theft of temple donations by some staffers led to investigations and changes in the trust leadership. Ram Madir has led to significant economic growth in Ayodhya including a new airport, revamped railway station, and township development.
Background
Rama is a prominent Hindu deity who is regarded as a () of the God Vishnu. Some Hindus view Rama as Para Brahman (). Rama holds immense significance in Hinduism. According to Hindu mythology, the Rama avatar is not supposed to exhibit any of Vishnu's divine potencies, and he leads his life as a human. As Rama is said to have possessed sixteen ideal qualities, Hindus view Rama as (), (), and ().
Birthplace of Rama According to the Hindu epic Ramayana, Rama was born in the mythical Ayodhya city on the banks of the Sarayu river. The histories of the contemporary city of Ayodhya and the mythological city of the same name are a matter of debate among scholars. Historian Hans Bakker states that the present-day Ayodhya is distinct from the mythical city, while archaeologist B. B. Lal argues that the archaeological remains at the present-day city are related to the Ayodhya described in the Ramayaṇa. Many historians state that the present-day Ayodhya was likely named "Saketa" until it was renamed in the fifth century CE by a king of the Gupta Empire, though others dispute this distinction.
Deity
The Ram Mandir is being built to commemorate the birth of Rama; therefore, the presiding deity of the temple is supposed to be the infant form of Rama, an avatar of Vishnu. Rama in that infant form was referred as Ram Lalla () by Tulsidas. However, the idol of Rama that was placed in 1949 referred to as Ram Lalla Virajman () by local Hindus. Ram Lalla was a litigant in the court case over the disputed site in 1989, being considered a "juristic person" by the law. He was represented by Triloki Nath Pandey, a senior VHP leader who was considered Ram Lalla'''s closest 'human' friend. As a new idol of the deity got installed in the sanctum sanctorum as the (lit. The main presiding deity), the Mandir Trust has informed that the Ram Lalla Virajman idol of 1949 shall henceforth be used as (lit. idol for festivals).
History
The site is the former location of the Babri Masjid, which was built in the 16th century. The mosque was attacked and demolished in 1992. In 2019, the Supreme Court of India delivered the verdict to give the disputed land to Hindus for the construction of a temple, while Muslims would be given land elsewhere to construct a mosque.
Medieval In 1528, a commander of the Mughal Empire, Mir Baqi, constructed the Babri Masjid mosque, under the order of Babur. The site chosen for the mosque is identified by many Hindus as Ram Janmabhoomi, the mythical birthplace of Rama. The earliest record of the mosque may be traced back to 1767, in the Latin book Descriptio Indiae, authored by the Jesuit missionary Joseph Tiefenthaler. According to him, the local population believed that the mosque was constructed by destroying the Ramkot temple, believed to be the fortress of Rama in Ayodhya, and the Bedi, where the birthplace of Rama is situated.
Modern Disputed location The first instance of religious violence was documented in 1853. In December 1858, the British administration created a platform for conducting rituals outside the contested site. In 1859, the British erected a fence to separate the places of worship, allowing the inner court to be used by Muslims and the outer court by Hindus to conduct puja (rituals). Murtis () of Rama and Sita were installed inside the Babri Masjid fenced area on the night of 22–23 December 1949, after which devotees began visiting the site. By 1950, the state took control of the mosque under Section 145 CrPC and allowed Hindus, not Muslims, to perform their worship at the site.
In the 1980s, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), belonging to the Hindu nationalist family, Sangh Parivar, launched a new movement to reclaim the site for Hindus and to erect a temple dedicated to the infant Rama (Ram Lalla) at this spot. The VHP began to collect funds and bricks with "Jai Shri Ram" written on them. Later, the government under Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi gave the VHP permission for () to proceed, with the then Home Minister, Buta Singh, formally conveying the permission to the VHP leader, Ashok Singhal. Initially, the Government of India and the Government of Uttar Pradesh had agreed that the s would be conducted outside of the disputed site. However, on 9 November 1989, a group of VHP leaders and Sadhus laid the foundation stone by digging a pit adjacent to the disputed land. The () of the sanctum sanctorum was constructed there. The VHP then laid the foundations of a temple on the land adjacent to the disputed mosque.
Demolition of the Babri Masjid
On 6 December 1992, the VHP and the Bharatiya Janata Party organised a rally at the site involving 150,000 volunteers, known as karsevaks. The rally turned violent, the crowd overwhelmed the security forces and tore down the mosque.
The demolition of the mosque resulted in several months of inter-communal violence between India's Hindu and Muslim communities, causing the death of an estimated 2,000 people in Bombay (now Mumbai) as a direct consequence, and triggering riots all over the Indian subcontinent. A day after the demolition of the mosque, on 7 December 1992, The New York Times reported that over 30 Hindu temples across Pakistan were attacked, some set on fire, and one was demolished. Hindu temples in Bangladesh were also attacked.
On 5 July 2005, five terrorists attacked the makeshift Ram temple at the site of the destroyed Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. All five were shot dead in the ensuing encounter with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), while one civilian died in the grenade attack that the attackers launched to breach the cordoned wall. The CRPF suffered three casualties, two of whom were seriously injured with multiple gunshot wounds.
ASI excavations Reports on two archaeological excavations in 1978 and 2003 conducted by the ASI claimed to have found evidence indicating that a temple existed on the site. The claims were heavily disputed by critics as contradictory and unreliable. Archaeologist K. K. Muhammed maintained that remains of a Hindu temple were found in 1978, and accused several historians of averting a settlement for the dispute.
Court rulings Over the years, various title and legal disputes took place, such as the passage of the Acquisition of Certain Areas at Ayodhya Act in 1993. In 2010, the Allahabad High Court ruled that the of disputed land be divided into three parts, one going to the Ram Lalla or Infant Rama, represented by the Hindu Mahasabha for the construction of the Ram temple, one going to the Muslim Sunni Waqf Board, and one going to Hindu religious denomination Nirmohi Akhara. All three parties involved appealed against the division of disputed land to the Supreme Court.
In the Supreme Court's verdict on the Ayodhya dispute in 2019, it was decided that the disputed land would be handed over to a trust formed by the Government of India for the construction of a Ram temple.
The court referenced the 2003 report from the ASI, as evidence suggesting the presence of a structure beneath the demolished Babri Masjid, that was found to be non-Islamic. The Supreme Court, in its landmark judgement concluded that the underlying structure beneath the mosque was not an Islamic structure, and also concluded that no evidence was found that a non-Islamic structure was specifically demolished for the construction of the Babri Masjid. Another salient aspect in the apex court's judgement is on the question on the claim of Hindus that disputed structure as the birthplace of Rama. The court observed that the Hindu claim is 'undisputed' and opined that there is clear evidence that Hindus believed that site to be Rama's birthplace.
Terror attack
On 5 July 2005, five Lashkar-e-Taiba's terrorists attacked the makeshift Ram temple at the site of destroyed Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, India. All five were shot dead in the ensuing gunfight with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), while one civilian died in the grenade attack that the attackers launched in order to breach the cordoned wall. The CRPF suffered three casualties, two of whom were seriously injured with multiple gunshot wounds.
Trust formation and start of construction The trust was eventually formed under the name of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra. On 5 February 2020, it was announced in the Parliament of India that the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi had accepted a plan to construct the temple. Two days later, on 7 February, of land was allocated for a new mosque to be built away from Ayodhya city in Dhannipur village.
Architecture
The original design for Ram Mandir was devised in 1988 by the Sompura family of Ahmedabad. The Sompuras have contributed to the design of over 100 temples worldwide for at least 15 generations, including the Somnath temple. The chief architect of the temple was Chandrakant Sompura, assisted by his two sons, Nikhil Sompura and Ashish Sompura, who are also architects.
A new design, with some changes from the original, was prepared by the Sompuras in 2020, per the Hindu texts, the Vastu shastra and the Shilpa shastras. The temple will be wide, long and high. Upon completion, the temple complex became the world's third largest Hindu temple. It is designed in the Maru-Gurjara architecture of Nagara style, a type of Hindu temple architecture found primarily in northern India. A model of the proposed temple was showcased during the Prayag Kumbh Mela in 2019.