The Ayodhya Trust's general secretary, Champat Rai, announced on Monday that the idol of Ram Lalla, sculpted by Arun Yogiraj from Mysuru, has been chosen for installation in the Ram temple on January 22. The stone sculpture, depicting a five-year-old Ram Lalla, weighs between 150 kg to 200 kg and is set to be moved into the new temple on January 17.
Rai confirmed that the current idol of Ram Lalla would also be placed in the sanctum sanctorum of the new temple. The murti sculpted on Krishna Shila, by renowned sculptor Shri Arun Yogiraj, has been selected as Shri Vigraha of Bhagwan Shri Ramlalla Sarkar," the Temple Trust said in a post on X. He is a young, polite and cheerful young man. He also built the statues of Adi Shankaracharya in Kedarnath and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in Delhi's India Gate, Rai said.
Arun Yogiraj, one of three sculptors selected by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra for carving the 'Ram Lalla' idol, hails from a family with a generations-long tradition of idol carving. The grand opening of the Ram Mandir is scheduled for January 22, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to officiate the ceremony.