Culture

From Jodhpur To Ayodhya On Bulls, Preserved Through Herbs: The Story Of Ghee To Be Used For Ram Lalla's First Aarti

Nishtha Anushree

Dec 08, 2023, 06:17 PM | Updated Dec 14, 2023, 06:06 PM IST


People lighting up diyas in Ayodhya. (representative image)
People lighting up diyas in Ayodhya. (representative image)

The first Aarti of Ram Lalla will be performed with desi ghee from the cows of Rajasthan, which has been brought from a distance of 1,200 kilometers on a chariot of bulls in 10 days from Jodhpur. 650 kilograms of ghee has been brought to Ayodhya and handed over to the Shri Ram Temple Trust.

The ghee has been dedicated to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in Kar Sevak Puram. Along with the chariot, 108 small Shivlings have also been brought. This chariot has also been taken around Panchkosi parikrama.

Champat Rai, the Secretary-General of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, expressed gratitude to the saintly figures whose resolve brought this cow ghee to Ayodhya. He also paid his respects to the land of Jodhpur.

On 2 November 1990, when bullets were fired in front of Digambar Akhada, two individuals had lost their lives. One of them was Prof. Mahendra Arora from Jodhpur. Along with him, a young boy from Mathania village in Jodhpur was also present. His name was Setharam Mali. This inspiration has come from that very incident. Perhaps their spirits have provided this motivation. Saying this, Champat Rai became emotional.

650 kg of ghee has been prepared at the Shrimaharshi Sandipani Ramdharma cow shelter in Banar, Jodhpur. Maharishi Sandipani revealed that he had vowed 20 years ago to bring pure cow ghee when the Ram Temple in Ayodhya would be built.

Meanwhile, in 2014, he stopped a truck filled with cows that was being taken from Jodhpur for cow slaughter. The truck had about 60 cows. He rescued these cows and took them to nearby cow shelters, but everyone refused to keep them. Eventually, he decided to start his own cow shelter and take care of these cows.

"The resolution was to transport all the ghee on bulls. Initially, the ghee was collected in a pot. Due to the heat, the ghee began to melt and leak out. Cracks also started appearing in the pot. The ghee even spoiled a couple of times," Sandipani told Amar Ujala.

"It was then discovered that the ghee could be preserved for many years using the juice of five different herbs. Thus, various herbs, including Brahmi and betel leaves, were brought from Haridwar. Their juice was prepared and mixed into the ghee," he explained.

After that, the ghee was placed in steel tanks and kept at a temperature of 16 degrees through air conditioning. The result of this secure storage is that the ghee remained the same even after nine years.

Nishtha Anushree is Senior Sub-editor at Swarajya. She tweets at @nishthaanushree.


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