Ram Mandir Pran Pratistha: Ram devotees visit various places for an ‘auspicious darshan’ of this bird as they believe it will bring them good luck.

Agra: With just a few hours left for the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony to begin, the devotees in Agra thronged the Chambal Wildlife Sanctuary to see the Indian roller birds, known as Neelkanth birds in the Ramayana. They believed that Lord Ram conquered Ravana’s Lanka after seeing this bird.

As per a report by India Today, environmentalist and wildlife enthusiast Devashish Bhattacharya said the population of Neelkanth birds in Chambal has increased by about 4 percent.

Neelkanth Birds And Ramayana Connection

Another social worker Vijay Upadhyay said it is believed that before killing Ravana, Lord Ram touched the leaves of the ‘Shami’ tree, and after seeing Neelkanth, he conquered Lanka. They believe that the Neelkanth is considered to be the form of Lord Shiva.

To kill Ravana, Lord Ram was accused of killing a Brahmin, for which Lord Ram had performed severe penance to Lord Shiva. That time, Lord Shiva had appeared to Lord Ram in the form of Neelkanth. For this reason, Neelkanth is considered to be the form of Lord Shiva, said Vishal Sharma, Vice Chairman of Hindustani Biradari.

Why Devotees Consider Neelkanth Birds as Auspicious

As it is mentioned in the Hindu holy book, people are visiting various places of this bird for an ‘auspicious darshan’ and they believe it will bring them good luck.

It should be noted that the Neelkanth birds, generally seen in tropical regions, are visible in large numbers in Chambal and its surrounding areas, and their population is increasing.

However, the experts said Neelkanth is many times confused with the Kingfisher (Alcedinidae), whereas the two are morphologically very different. The neck of this bird is brown with white streaks, the head and belly are blue, while the primary feathers are pale blue with purple-blue tinges.

Pran Prathistha Ceremony in Ayodhya Today

The development comes as the Pran Prathistha ceremony in Ayodhya will be held on Monday amid tight security. The historic ritual of ‘Pran Pratistha’ of Ram Lalla will take place in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, saints, and a host of distinguished guests.

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust announced on Sunday that the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony will be marked by a dazzling musical event titled ‘Mangal Dhwani’. The ‘Pran Pratishtha’ of Shri Ram Lalla at Ayodhya Temple will be held at 12:30 pm.

The Central Government announced on Thursday that all its offices will be closed for half a day on January 22.

Many states have announced a holiday for the Pran-Pratishtha ceremony. Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Tripura, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are among them. In Delhi, LG VK Saxena on Saturday approved the closure of government offices and educational institutions for half day till 2:30 PM on January 22.

The Uttar Pradesh government has tightened security in the city by setting up a dial 112 monitoring centre at Lata Mangeshkar Chowk.