The ‘Kanak Bhawan’ is the biggest, religiously one of
the most important and architecturally an aesthetically built temple dedicated
to Lord Ram and his divine consort Sita. It is located in the pilgrim holy town
of Ayodhya in the state of Uttar Pradesh of India. This shrine
is a marvelous sample of temple architecture and design, and is the most
beautiful and attractive structure in Ayodhya. Its magnificence and charm is
not only restricted to its external façade, but the deities installed in the
sanctum are so beautiful and captivating to behold that one is left dumbfounded
and spell-bound once one sees them. The enchantment of the divine view of the
consecrated deities and their magnetic pull is of such intensity that the eyes
of the beholder are riveted by their beauty, and he finds it difficult to move
his eyes away from them. It is something to be experienced and not simply told
and read, because the words have their own limitations, and something that has
an ethereal and divine dimension cannot be put in shackles by the limitations
of words. It becomes a sort of love at first sight when the visitor is
compelled in his heart to make a promise to himself that he would come over and
over again to experience and soak in this divine glory of the Lord as much as
he can.
When the rays of the rising sun as well as that of the setting sun fall on the
building, it looks fabulous, it presents a view that is exceptionally
captivating and enchanting. The view of the face of the main structure of the
temple that faces the sun, i.e. the wall of the main shrine that faces eastward
towards the rising sun as seen from the inner courtyard, simply looks wonderful
and out of the world as the first rays of the morning sun sprays it with its
light. The same thing is experienced during the afternoon hours when the rays
of the setting sun light up the walls of the building facing westwards as seen
from the same inner courtyard. It’s a paradise of sorts for photo opportunity.
Conceived more as a sprawling palace rather
than as a shrine, the Kanak Bhavan Temple resembles
magnificent palaces of Bundelkhand and Rajasthan region of India. Its
history dates back to Treta Yug when it was gifted by Ram’s step-mother Kaikeyi
to him and his consort Sita as a marriage gift. With the passage of time it
fell to ruin, and was reconstructed and renovated many times. The first
reconstruction was done by Ram’s son Kusha in the beginning of Dwapar Yug,
again by King Rishabdeo in middle of Dwapar, and Lord Krishna is said to have
visited the ancient site in pre-Kali Yug era 614.
In the current Yug called the ‘Kali Yug’, it was first built by Chandra Gupta
Vikramaditya in Yudisthir era 2431, repaired & renovated by Samudra Gupta
in 387 A.D. (V.S. 444), destroyed by Nawab S. Salarjung II Gazi in 1027 A.D.
(V.S. 1084) and then finally reconstructed on the ruins & renovated in the
present shape by H.H. Maharaja Sri Pratap Singh Ju Deo, G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E. of
Orchha and Tikamgarh (Bundelkhand) and his Queen Maharani Vrisbhan Kunwari, and
consecrated in 1891 A.D. (V.S. 1948) Vaishkh Shukl 6th, Guru Pushya (roughly
the month of May).
There are three pairs of consecrated idols—and all of them are those of Lord
Ram and Sita. The largest pair is the one installed by Rani Sri Vrishbhan
Kunwari who was the moving force in the construction and establishment of this
temple. The pair to its right is of a medium height and is said to be those
which were established by King Vikramaaditya and were salvaged from destruction
when that ancient temple was destroyed by invaders. The third pair is the
smallest and is traditionally believed be the one that was given by Lord
Krishna to a woman hermit who was meditating on Lord Ram at this site. Krishna
instructed her to bury the idols in the ground when she leaves her mortal coil
(body) so that later on they would be discovered and act as a mark to identify
the sacred place when a king (who later turned out to be King Vikramaaditya)
would set out to resurrect this holy place during Kali Yug. It so happened by
providence that when Vikramaaditya was digging the foundation of his temple,
this ancient pair emerged, and this helped this great king
of India to locate the exact spot to establish the sanctum of his own
grand temple.
When the current temple was built, all these three pairs were installed in its
sanctum sanctorum. All the three pairs are seen now. Due obeisance and worship
are offered regularly to all of them daily in the temple.
