A 64-year-old man Challa Srinivas Sastry from Hyderabad, Telangana, has embarked on a 7,200-kilometre padyatra (march on foot) towards Ayodhya to present a gold-plated pair of sandals to the deity. He wants to reach Ayodhya ahead of the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony of Ram Lalla idol on January 22, according to ANI. Sastry is retracing the Ayodhya-Rameswaram route, the path taken by Lord Rama during his 'Vanavas' (exile), but in reverse. He said he wanted to undertake the journey in the reverse order, visiting all the Shivalingas set up by Lord Ram en route and commenced his walk on July 20.
Challa Srinivas Sastry while speaking to ANI said he made the pair of footwear using 8 kg silver and coated it with gold.
He further said “I am walking on the route which Lord Ram took from Ayodhya to Rameshwar. My target is to reach Ayodhya on January 15. I will hand over this 'charan paduka' to UP CM Yogi Adityanath on January 16. I am really excited to visit Ayodhya ahead of the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony of the Ram Temple on January 22.”
The sandals of Lord Ram hold a special value for Hindus. According to Ramayana, Lord Ram's half-brother Bharatha ruled Ayodhya in his stead by placing Ram's sandals on the throne as a mark of respect. Thus, Bharat carried out his administrative duties as Ram's regent during the Lord's exile.
Sastry mentioned that he's been adhering to the map “discovered” by Dr. Ramavatar, a retired official of the Income Tax Department. Ramavatar dedicated 15 years to researching the path traversed by Lord Rama during his Vanavas, and Sastry is relying on this extensive research for his journey.
"My father participated in Karseva in Ayodhya. He was a strong devotee of Lord Hanuman. His desire was to see the Ram temple built in Ayodhya. As he is no more, I decided to fulfil his desire," Sastry told PTI.
Sastry said he has donated five silver bricks so far as part of his contribution to the Ram temple after the Supreme Court verdict in 2019.
"I am currently carrying gold-plated 'padukalu' (footwear) made with 'panch dhatu' (five metals) to be given to Lord Shri Ram,” he further said. During his journey, Sastry had to pause the march for a brief period as he had to go to the UK. After returning, he resumed his walk from where he left in Tamil Nadu. Sastry, who covers 30 to 50 km a day, mentioned that the value of the pair of the gold-plated sandals was about Rs 65 lakh, a part of which was donated by devotees, as per PTI.
Sastry, the founder of the Ayodhya Bhagyanagar Sitarama Foundation, has plans to settle in Ayodhya permanently and intends to construct a house there.
The grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.