Over 26 lakh lamps Illuminate Ayodhya, Deepotsav 2025 becomes global spectacle

Ayodhya came alive on Sunday evening as Deepotsav 2025 lit up the holy city with an astounding 26,17,215 lamps, marking the ninth edition of the grand celebration. Devotees from across India and abroad thronged the city, chanting "Shri Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram," while offering prayers along the banks of the Saryu river. Temples, lanes, and homes glittered in devotion, creating a mesmerizing spectacle. Under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's leadership, Uttar Pradesh set two new Guinness World Records: one for the sheer number of lamps lit across the city and another for 2,128 Vedacharyas, priests, and seekers performing Maa Saryu Aarti simultaneously, verified through drone counts and certified by Guinness World Records officials. The feat was made possible by over 32,000 volunteers from Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University and local organisations, who responded to the chief minister’s call to light lamps in homes, temples, monasteries, ashrams, and public squares across Ayodhya.

The evening culminated in a grand aarti at Ramkatha Park, attended by Adityanath, cabinet members, and saints, where worship was offered to Lord Ram, Goddess Sita, Lakshman, Bharata, Shatrughna, and Hanuman. As the devotional song "Ram Aaye Awadh Ki Or Sajni" played, flowers were showered from a helicopter, and a symbolic coronation of Lord Ram filled the air with reverence. Lord Ram, Lakshman, and Goddess Sita were depicted descending from the Pushpak Viman via helicopter, with the chief minister himself pulling the sacred chariot, evoking sentiments of the Treta Yuga among devotees. Saints, sages, and dignitaries, including Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Dr Ram Vilas Vedanti, Raghavacharya Maharaj, Kamal Nayan Das Maharaj, Santoshacharya Maharaj (Satua Baba), state ministers, and Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Nyas officials like Champat Rai and Mayor Girish Pati Tripathi, extended blessings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Adityanath during the festivities.

Since 2017, Adityanath has expanded Deepotsav from a modest 1.71 lakh lamps into a festival of global significance featuring over 26 lakh lamps, symbolising faith, unity, and pride in Sanatan Dharma. Earlier in the day, visitors enjoyed 22 tableaux depicting episodes from the Ramayana, performances by artists from Russia, Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, along with over 2,000 Indian performers. Streets were adorned with flowers and rangolis conveying messages of prosperity. The night sky dazzled with a drone show of 1,100 indigenous drones recreating Lord Ram's divine form and scenes from the Ramayana, leaving devotees awe-struck. The chief minister later visited the Ram Temple, offering prayers and performing aarti at the sanctum and Ram Ki Paidi, accompanied by Champat Rai, Dr Anil Mishra, Sangh Pracharak Gopal Ji, and other dignitaries.