Challa Srinivas Sastry, 64, of Hyderabad, is walking 8,000 km to Ayodhya while bearing gold-plated shoes for Lord Ram, which are valued at Rs 65 lakh. His travels fall in line with the Ram Temple’s January 22 opening.
To offer the gold piece, Sastry is traveling the Ayodhya-Rameswaram path in reverse, mimicking Lord Ram’s “Vanavas” (exile). He had previously given the Ram Temple five silver bricks. On July 20, the pious traveler set off on his journey in reverse order, making stops at Shiva Lingas that Lord Ram had constructed.
After visiting important places like Trimbak, Maharashtra, Dwaraka, Gujarat, and Puri, Odisha, Sastry plans to arrive at Ayodhya within the next ten days. Wearing a gold-plated ‘padukalu’ (footwear) for Ram Lall’s idol on his head, Sastry intends to present it to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath when they arrive at Ayodhya. The footwear is fashioned with ‘panch dhatu’ (five metals).
Sastry revealed his underlying purpose, drawing inspiration from the studies of Dr. Ramavatar, a former Income Tax Department official who painstakingly charted Lord Ram’s road of exile.
“In Ayodhya, my father engaged in ‘kar seva’. He devoted his life to Lord Hanuman. He wanted the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya. Since he is no longer with us, I decided to grant his wish,” Sastry stated, as cited by PTI. The devout pilgrim picked up where he left off in Tamil Nadu after having to temporarily halt his march to visit the UK. Right now, Sastry and five other people are continuing their spiritual trip at Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh, which is around 272 miles away from Ayodhya.
Sastry, who founded the Ayodhya Bhagyanagar Sitarama Foundation, intends to build a home in the holy city and make Ayodhya his permanent home. At the location where Lord Ram was born, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to dedicate a magnificent Ram Temple on January 22.
