Turns Out They Have Started Building A Grand Ram Temple In ‘Ayodhya’

The construction of a grand Ram Temple has started in Thailand’s Ayutthaya - the country’s 15th-century capital which was named after Ayodhya, Lord Ram's birthplace. According to PTI, Ayutthaya means Ayodhya in the local language.

The PTI report says the Ram Janmabhumi Nirman Trust in Ayutthaya has performed an elaborate ‘bhumi poojan' ceremony at the construction site. The trust says the temple will help spread Lord Ram's message outside India.

The trust’s president says the temple is being constructed in Ayutthaya as the Ayodhya land dispute case is still pending in India’s Supreme Court.

"After performing rituals of bhumi poojan, the construction of a grand Ram temple has been started in Ayutthaya. As there is delay in the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya with the matter pending in the Supreme Court, we, the devotees of Ram, have started construction of a temple here," Ram Janmabhumi Trust’s president Mahant Janmejay Sharan was quoted by PTI as saying.

The temple is coming up on the bank of Chao Phraya river, which flows through the heart of Thailand’s current capital Bangkok.

The city of Ayutthaya was destroyed in a battle in the 18th century. After the battle, the new King established the city now known as Bangkok, wrote the epic Ramakien, which is Ramayana in the local language. He was called Rama I.