Curated By: Sanstuti Nath
News18.com
Last Updated: March 25, 2024, 12:16 IST
Ayodhya, India
The small idol appears carved in a lighter shade of stone but is in a similar standing position as the 'Balak Ram' sculpture (Image: X/@yogiraj_arun)
Sculptor Arun Yogiraj, who created the Ram Lalla idol for the Ayodhya Ram Mandir, has crafted a miniature version of the deity. The Mysuru-based artist shared that he carved the ‘small Ram Lalla murti’ during his free time in Ayodhya.
“After the selection of the main Murti of Ram Lalla, I carved another small Ram Lalla murti (Stone) in my free time at Ayodhya,” Yogiraj said in a post on X with images of the idol, which has since gone viral.
After the selection of the main Murti of Ram lalla, I carved another small Ram lalla murti (Stone) in my free time at Ayodhya. pic.twitter.com/KBO0rgXVPq— Arun Yogiraj (@yogiraj_arun) March 23, 2024
The small idol appears carved in a lighter shade of stone but is in a similar standing position as the ‘Balak Ram’ sculpture.
Last month, the sculptor shared a picture of special tools he used to carve the eyes of the idol of ‘Balak Ram’ placed on the eight-feet-tall gold-plated marble throne inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Ayodhya temple.
“Thought of sharing this silver hammer with the golden chisel using which I carved the divine eyes (Netronmilana) of Ram Lalla, Ayodhya,” Yogiraj wrote on X while sharing the image.
A fifth-generation sculptor, Yogiraj is an MBA from the University of Mysore who trained for six months in the HR Department of a private company.
Yogiraj had earlier sculpted the 12-foot-tall idol of Adi Shankaracharya, which has been placed in Kedarnath, and the statue of Subhas Chandra Bose which has been installed near India Gate in Delhi.
The 21 feet tall Hanuman statue at Chunchanakatte in Mysore district, 15 feet tall statue of Dr B R Ambedkar, a white amritashila statue of Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa in Mysore, six feet tall monolithic statue of Nandi, six feet tall statue of Banashankari Devi and a 4.5 feet tall white Amrita Shila statue of the King of Mysore Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar are among the idols sculpted by him.
According to a UGC-emeritus professor at the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Mysore, the Ram Lalla idol carved by Yogiraj, which is now gracing the sanctum sanctorum of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, has been sculpted from a three-billion-year-old rock.
