Ram Mandir

The Ram Mandir (ISO: Rāma Maṁdira, lit. 'Rama Temple') is a Hindu temple complex in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India. Many Hindus believe that it is located at the site of Ram Janmabhoomi, the mythical birthplace of Rama, a principal deity of Hinduism.

The temple was inaugurated on 22 January 2024 in an elaborate ceremony led by Indian Prime Minister Modi, in which the Hindu priests performed religious rituals for prāṇa pratiṣṭhā (transl. consecration) of the deity. On the first day of its opening, the temple received a rush of over half a million visitors. The temple continues to have a high number of daily visitors reportedly between 100,000 and 150,000. Ram Mandir has become one of the top religious tourism places in India, drawing over 135.5 million visitors in 2024. The temple construction was completed on 25 November 2025 with an event marked by hoisting of the Dharma Dhwaja (sacred flag).

The site of the temple had been the subject of communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims in India, as it was the former location of Babri Masjid, built around 1528. In the 1850s, a fence was erected and Hindus were allowed to worship in the outer courtyard. In 1949, the Murti (transl. sacred idol) of Rama was placed inside the fence. In 1980s, a campaign was launched by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to claim the site for Hindus, which led to the structure being attacked and demolished in 1992. In 2019, the Supreme Court of India delivered the verdict to give the disputed land to Hindus for construction of a temple, while Muslims were given land nearby to construct a mosque. The court referenced a report from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as evidence of a pre-existing non-Islamic structure beneath the demolished Babri Masjid.

On 5 August 2020, the bhūmi pūjana (transl. ground breaking ceremony) for the commencement of the construction of Ram Mandir was performed by PM Modi. The temple construction was supervised by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. On 22 January 2024, Modi served as the Mukhya Yajamāna (transl. chief patron) of rituals for the event and performed the prāṇa pratiṣṭhā (transl. consecration) of the temple. The prana pratishtha ceremony was held in the garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) where the infant form of Rama deity, referred as Ram Lalla (lit. 'Child Rama') was sanctified and worshipped with religious rituals.

The temple is designed in the Nagara style of Hindu temple architecture. The temple's main structure includes garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum) and five mandapas (domes), with shikharas (towers). The presiding deity, Ram Lalla is centrally located in the sanctum sanctorum, on the ground floor, while the first floor houses the Ram Darbar, including Ram, Sita, Lakshman, and Hanuman. The temple complex includes six smaller temples of Surya (Sun), Goddess Durga (Bhagwati), Ganesh, and Shiva at its four corners, while Maa Annapurna and Hanuman temples are on its the northern and southern sides.