IN PHOTOS | 25 lakh diyas & mega aarti: Ayodhya's Guinness Records-wali Diwali

FP Explainers • October 31, 2024, 11:06:21 IST

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Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh presented a breathtaking spectacle on the eve of Diwali. The celebrations, which included lighting 25 lakh diyas (earthen lamps) and 1,121 people performing aarti, also set two Guinness Records. This is the first Diwali festivities for the temple town since the consecration of the Ram Mandir

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IN PHOTOS | 25 lakh diyas & mega aarti: Ayodhya's Guinness Records-wali Diwali

A laser show lights up the skies at a ghat on the banks of the Saryu River during ‘Deepotsav 2024’ on the eve of the 'Diwali' festival, in Ayodhya. PTI

It was a glorious moment; a moment unforgettable.

We are talking about Diwali festivities at Ayodhya on Wednesday (October 30), which saw over over 25 lakh earthen lamps (diyas) being lit and over 1,121 people performing aarti.

The Diwali festivities in the temple town in north India gained even more significance this year, as it was the first celebration of the Festival of Lights since the consecration of the Ram Mandir on January 22 this year.

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**Deepotsav celebrations on the eve of Diwali in Ayodhya, India. This is Ayodhya’s first Diwali celebrations since the consecration of the Ram Mandir. AP**

The celebrations at Ayodhya also led to two Guinness World Records — most people performing aarti simultaneously and the largest display of oil lamps. Pravin Patel, the adjudicator at Guinness World Records, who visited Ayodhya with Guinness Consultant Nischal Bharot for verification, announced the new records.

Ayodhya saw a lighting of 25,12,585 earthen lamps, the most ever across the world. For the largest display of oil lamps, the previous record was 22,23,676.

**Devotees light earthen lamps on the banks of the Saryu River on the eve of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, in Ayodhya. AFP**

The second Guinness World Record was of 1,121 vedacharyas (teachers of religious texts) performing the aarti simultaneously.

राजतिलक की है तैयारी, आ चुके हैं भगवाधारी 🛕#Ayodhya #AyodhyaDham #HappyDiwali #FestivalOfLights #Deepavali2024 #दिवाली #DiwaliCelebration #DiwaliWishes #diwalivibes #HappyDeepavali pic.twitter.com/FDUrcAgUZj
— Aanand Krishna (@aanand_krishnaa) October 31, 2024

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the spectacle as “amazing, incomparable and unimaginable”. “Many congratulations to the people of Ayodhya for the grand and divine Deepotsav! This Jyotiparva at the holy birthplace of Ram Lalla, illuminated by millions of diyas, is going to be emotional. This beam of light emanating from Ayodhya Dham will fill my family members across the country with new enthusiasm and new energy,” the PM said in an online post.

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**The Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya were mind bending. From the PM to the common man, all were amazed by the celebrations. Image Courtesy: @piyushgoyal/X**

**Have you ever seen anything as beautiful as this? That’s what Ayodhya looked like on Wednesday when it marked its eighth Deepotsav festivities. AP**

At the celebrations, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the transformation of Ayodhya is a proof of the “double-engine government delivering on its promise” and asserted that a similar transformation must also happen in Kashi and Mathura by 2047, when India celebrates 100 years of independence.

He said Ayodhya’s transformation was “just the beginning” and part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for the development of the heritage of Sanatan Dharma and taking it to the global stage.

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Ayodhya is finally celebrating grand Diwali with Prabhu 🪔✨️

Jai shree Ram🚩 pic.twitter.com/CffVCR3wY5
— Varsha Singh (@varshaparmar06) October 30, 2024

“This is the first festival of lights after 500 years, after our beloved Lord Shri Ramlala has been re-installed in his grand temple. This divine and magnificent form of Shri Ayodhya Dham, illuminated with a wonderful and supernatural aura, is making all of us feel the Treta Yuga. Today Ayodhya is happy, entire India is proud. Hearty congratulations and salutations to all Ram devotees participating in ‘Deepotsav 2024’! Hail Lord Ram! Adityanath said in a post on X.

**Devotees light ‘diyas’ (earthen lamps) at the ‘Ram ki Paidi’ during ‘Deepotsav 2024’ on the eve of the Diwali festival, in Ayodhya. Image Courtesy: @piyushgoyal/X**

**People watch fireworks along the banks of the Saryu River, on the eve of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, in Ayodhya. AFP**

With inputs from agencies

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