Ayodhya Ram Temple: Ramayana Weighing 45kg, Priced At Rs 1.65 Lakh Reaches Ayodhya

Ahead of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony on January 22, a bookseller has offered, what is being described as the world's most expensive Ramayana, at the Ayodhya Ram Temple.

The Ramayana, which has been priced at Rs 1.65 lakhs weighs around 45 kgs and has a three-floor box.

Vedic Cosmos

Most expensive Ramayana

The Ramayana was first unveiled by the publisher, Tamil Nadu-based, Vedic Cosmos in 2023 and only 3000 copies of it have been printed.

It has 200 illustrations which are affixed with Swarovski crystals and the painting style used is inspired by Ajanta frescoes and paintings of Vijayanagar, Bengal and Mysore regions.

Vedic Cosmos

Another unique feature of the world's most expensive Ramayana is that it has all the 24,000 original m¨±la-?lokas of Valmiki Ramayana, presented in palm-leaf inspired, wooden-covered, gilt-edged ten books and also contains translations of all the seven kandas in English and Hindi in a narrative style.

Why the Ramayana is special

It was dedicated by Manoj Sati, a bookseller who reached Ayodhya with the Ramayana to attend the Ram Temple event.

"We have reached here with our beautiful Ramayana here in the tent city of Ayodhya. It has so many qualities and is the world's most expensive Ramayana. You can say the most beautiful Ramayana is in Ayodhya. Its worth is Rs 1.65 lakh," he added.

According to Sati, the Ramayana was made in a design inspired by the Ram Temple.

Vedic Cosmos

How most expensive Ramayana was made

"The design of the outer box, the paper, and everything that makes it...It has a three-floor box like the Ram Mandir being built with three floors. So it has also been designed similarly. There is a stand on the top floor to read the book," he said.

It is placed in a box made of American walnut wood and organic ink imported from Japan has been used. The paper for the book has been made in France.

"It is an acid-free paper. It is patented paper. The paper will be used only in this book. It is not available in the market anywhere." Sati said.

According to him, the motive behind the "beautiful and attractive" design is that "you will see a different design on each page. One gets to see something new on every page."

Vedic Cosmos

"The book can last for 400 years. Its beautiful bookcase is also made. So it can remain safe. The book can be read over by four generations," he said.

Pran Pratishtha at Ram Temple

The much-anticipated Pran Pratishtha will be held on Monday, January 22.

The Ayodhya Ram Temple will be open for 'darshan' for the general public from January 23, a day after Pran Pratishtha.

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