WHY IN NEWS?

  • Recently, Prime Minister Modi during his road show visited the Kalaram Mandir, situated on the banks of the Godavari in Nashik.

ABOUT KALARAM TEMPLE:

  • It is situated within the Panchvati area of Nashik City.
  • The temple got its name from a black statue of the Lord Kala Ram, which means “Black Ram”.
  • Lord Ram is supposed to have lived during his exile at the same point where temple is built.
  • Kalaram temple was built by Sardar Rangrao Odhekar in 1782, on the site of an old wooden temple.
  • The construction work is said to have lasted for twelve years and 2000 persons being daily employed.
  • Kalaram temple is one of the finest modern temples of Ramji in western India.
  • The temple has a 17 feet high wall of plain dressed stone which surrounds a well kept enclosure 245 feet long and 105 broad.
  • The Kalaram temple has 14 steps, which represent the 14 years of Ram’s exile.
  • The 84 pillars in the temple represents the cycle of 84 lakh species that one has to complete in order to be born as a human.
  • This temple has standing images of Lord Rama, Sita, Laxmana made up of black stone and are around 2 feet height.
  • The Ramnavami festival is celebrated here in Chaitra (March-April).

MORE ABOUT TEMPLE’S HISTORY:

  • During there 140year exile, Ram, along with Sita and Lakshman, spent the first few years in Dandakaranya forest.
  • The name Panchavati comes from the existence of five banyan trees in that area.
  • As per the epic, Lord Ram, Sita, and Lakshman set up a hut here and the presence of five banyan trees made this region auspicious.
  • Ravan, the demon king of Lanka, abducted Sita from the same Panchavati region.

SITE OF DALIT SATYAGRAHA:

  • R.Ambedkar organised a large scale protest outside the Kalaram temple on March 2, 1930.
  • Large number of dalit protesters arrived in Nashik in trucks, and surrounded the temple with a sit-in protest.
  • Over the next few days, they protested by singing songs, raising slogans, and demanded the right to enter the temple.
  • Later protesters faced opposition, when there was an incident of stone-throwing intended to stop a Ram Navami procession.
  • According to an account of the satyagraha in Dhananjay Keer’s book, Dr Ambedkar: Life and Mission, Babasaheb Ambedkar reached the spot and controlled the situation.