Nayagarh: Over 1,000 km away from the historic city of Ayodhya, another grand Ram Temple today became a spiritual landmark, standing tall atop a hill around 1,800 feet above sea level in Odisha. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed consecration rituals at the opening of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya, the village of Fategarh in Nayagarh witnessed the inauguration of a 73-foot-tall shrine dedicated to Lord Ram.
According to local media reports, the temple, standing at a height of 165 feet, was completed through generous donations from villagers and devotees across the state. The residents of Fategarh contributed half of the funds required for the temple’s construction.
The hill temple is expected to become a potential magnet for tourism, according to local reports.
Earlier, the villagers used to pray at this temple at the time of drought as a call for rain. Thus, they used to call it Giri Govardhan that is sacred hill as per Hindu beliefs. With time, the belief of the villagers turned this hill into the abode of Lord Ram.
The temple is constructed as per the traditional Odia architecture seen in Tara Tarini temple, Konark Temple, etc. The sanctum sanctorum of the temple is 65-ft high. There are four other temples of Sun God, Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha and Lord Hanuman, surrounding the main temple. The temple is being given final touches as around 100-150 worked continuously for four years to complete the construction of this shrine. For the temple inauguration ceremony on January 22, the Fatehgarh temple trust has reportedly invited Puri Shankaracharya and Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb.
