Gold-Plated Ramayana ‘Restored’ at Ayodhya Ram Temple After Former Home Secretary Raises Concern, Trust Says Copy Now on Display for Devotees

SUNIL NEGI

Ayodhya/New Delhi

A gold-plated copy of the Ramayana donated by former Union Home Secretary Laxmi Narayan has been placed for public display and daily worship inside the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple complex in Ayodhya, ending months of uncertainty over its whereabouts, according to the donor and temple sources.

Laxmi Narayan, an 80-year-old retired IAS officer and a self-described devotee of Lord Ram, said he and his family prepared the gilded Ramayana using proceeds from his lifelong savings and family jewellery as an offering to the temple. The copy was handed over to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra General Secretary Champat Rai as a personal act of faith, with a request that it be kept under secure arrangements so pilgrims could view it and draw inspiration from its ethical teachings.

According to Laxmi Narayan, the copy was initially kept at a designated spot inside the temple precincts but was later moved and could not be located for several months. He said he did not receive a formal receipt for the donation despite repeated follow-ups. The former bureaucrat said he raised the matter with senior contacts in Uttar Pradesh, including an advisor to the Chief Minister, and also approached VHP leaders and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, but did not get clarity at the time. He subsequently chose not to pursue the issue publicly.

*Background to the concern*
The matter resurfaced in recent weeks amid wider public debate over donation management at the Ram Temple. Social media posts by the head of the World Sindhi Federation flagged the reported absence of two hundred silver bricks that the organization claimed it had donated to the temple years ago. The posts, widely shared online, added to questions being raised by some donors about tracking, acknowledgment and safe custody of valuable offerings made to the shrine.

Following renewed media attention, Laxmi Narayan said he was informed that the gold-plated Ramayana had been located and restored to its original place for devotee darshan. “I have no complaint against anyone now since the precious Ramayana has been restored and placed at the requisite space inside the historic Ram temple,” he said.

Temple authorities have not issued a detailed public statement on the timeline of the copy’s movement, but sources familiar with the arrangement said the Ramayana is now part of the display meant for pilgrims visiting from across the country.

The episode comes at a time when the Teerth Kshetra Trust is under increased public scrutiny over transparency in donations and inventory of precious offerings. Trust officials have previously said that all donations are accounted for and kept under security, and that large or valuable items are placed for public viewing in accordance with temple protocols.

For now, the donor says the issue stands resolved with the copy back on display. The broader conversation, however, continues around record-keeping, donor acknowledgment and regular public updates on valuables received by major religious institutions.

_Byline: Sunil Negi, Editor, UKnationnews_