Watch: face of new 'Ram Lalla' idol revealed

The face of the new 'Ram Lalla' idol has been revealed with several images of deity doing rounds of the social media.

The images show the 51-inch statue of a 5-year-old holding a bow and arrow.

Earlier in the day, photographs of the idol with the face covered with a yellow cloth were released by VHP leader Sharad Sharma. The idol has been placed in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple ahead of the January 22 consecration ceremony.

On Thursday afternoon, the new idol of Lord Ram was placed in the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple, ahead of the consecration ceremony.

The 51-inch idol of Lord Ram as a child, sculpted by Mysuru-based sculptor Arun Yogiraj, was brought to the temple on Wednesday night. This was done amid chanting of prayers, according to the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust.

Dixit said the 'pradhan sankalp' was performed by Anil Mishra, a member of the trust.

"The idea behind the 'pradhan sankalp' is that the 'pratishtha' of Lord Ram is being done for the welfare of all, for the welfare of the nation, for the welfare of humanity and also for those who contributed to this work (related to the temple).

"Apart from this, other rituals were also performed. 'Vastras' were also given to Brahmins and work has been assigned to everyone," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the January 22 consecration ceremony at the Ram temple, which is expected to be opened to the public the next day.

Temple trust general secretary Champat Rai had told reporters here on Monday that the consecration ceremony will begin at 12:20 pm and is expected to be completed by 1 pm on January 22.

(with PTI inputs)