25L diyas lit up Ayodhya on 'Guinness Deepotsav'

Ayodhya: The grand Deepostav celebrations in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya saw over 25 lakh earthen lamps being lit together - a new world record.

The Deepotsav showcased the spiritual, traditional, and cultural essence of the holy city, with performances by artists from six countries -- Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Indonesia -- along with a Ram Leela presentation from Uttarakhand. Additionally, various artists from different states performed at the event.

Two Guinness World Records -- most people performing aarti simultaneously and the largest display of oil lamps -- were set at the eighth edition of Deepotsav. The two records were set in the holy city with over 25 lakh earthen lamps (diyas) lit together and 1,121 'vedacharyas' (teachers of religious texts) performing aarti simultaneously.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath led the celebrations as he, along with his cabinet members and others, lit the first few lamps to mark the launch of the Deepostav -- the first since the consecration of Ram Lalla temple on January 22 this year. The entire town was decked up for the event even as music dedicated to Lord Ram beamed from all corners reverberating in the air. Adityanath first had 'darshan' of Lord Ram, then paid his respects at his feet, according to a statement from the government.

Ayodhya was all about festivities on Wednesday as a procession with vibrant tableaux bearing characters from Ramayan made its way through the temple town as part of the eighth Deepotsav celebration. At its conclusion, the procession carrying the mythical characters was received with an 'aarti' by Yogi Adityanath, who also pulled the chariot on which artistes playing Lord Ram, Sita, Lakshman, and Hanuman were seated. The characters were brought to Ayodhya earlier in a helicopter, in a nod to the mythical Pushpak Viman referred to in Ramayan. Eighteen tableaux depicting episodes from Ramcharitmanas were showcased during the procession which moved stately from Saket Mahavidyalaya to Ram Katha Park to the sound of firecrackers and bursts of gulal. The floats were inaugurated by Culture and Tourism Minister Jaiveer Singh, MLA Ved Prakash Gupta, and Mayor Girish Pati Tripathi. Saket College students illustrated the 'Putrayeshti' Yagna and Shri Ram's coronation, taken from Ramcharitmanas, in their tableaux. Folk artists narrated the depictions live. For this year's Deepotsav, Saket Mahavidyalaya has crafted 18 stunning tableaux, 11 by the Information Department and seven by the Tourism Department.