From Hyderabad to Ayodhya: Karsevak's Son Undertakes Padayatra With Gold-Plated Paduka for Lord Ram
To fulfill his 'karsevak' father's dream, a 64 year-old man from Hyderabad has embarked on a padayatra toward Ayodhya with a gold-plated footwear for Lord Ram.
- India News
- 2 min read
HYDERABAD: In order to fulfill his 'karsevak' father's dream, a 64 year-old man from Hyderabad has embarked on thousands of kilometres of padayatra towards Ayodhya to present gold-plated footwear to Lord Ram, with his journey coinciding with the consecration of the grand temple on January 22.
Challa Srinivas Sastry is traversing the Ayodya-Rameswaram route, covered by Lord Rama during 'Vanavas' (exile) in reverse. Sastry told news agency PTI that he wanted to undertake the journey in the reverse order touching all the Shiva-Lingas established by the Lord en route, and that he began his trudge on July 20.
Having already travelled through Puri in Odisha, Trimbak in Maharashtra and Dwaraka in Gujarat, Sastry would now be covering a distance of nearly 8,000 km on foot, carrying on his head the footwear that he hopes to hand over to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath upon reaching the holy city.
Sastry, who is hoping to reach the destination in less than two weeks, has reportedly been following the map "found out" by Dr Ramavatar, a retired Income Tax Department official, who did research for 15 years on the passage that Lord Ram had followed during the Vanavas.
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"My father participated in Karseva in Ayodhya. He was a strong devotee of Lord Hanuman. His desire was to see the Ram temple built in Ayodhya. As he is no more, I decided to fulfill his desire," Sastry told PTI, adding that he has donated five silver bricks so far, as part of his contribution to the Ram temple, after the Supreme Court verdict in 2019.
The gold-plated 'padukalu' (footwear) that Sastry is carrying along, has been made using 'panch dhatu' (five metals), and is worth around Rs 65 lakhs. Sastry, who reportedly covers around 30-50 kilometers on daily basis, plans to settle down in Ayodhya Dham permanently, and intends to construct a house there. With five others, he is currently in the Chitrakoot region of Uttar Pradesh, and is at a distance of about 272 kilometers from Ayodhya, PTI quoted Sastry as saying.