‘Mauni Mata’: Meet the woman who will break a 30-year ‘vow of silence’ after Ram temple opening

Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya is gearing up for the grand consecration ceremony of the historic Ram Janmabhoomi Temple on 22 January. As the inauguration date approaches, an interesting story has surfaced from a small corner of Jharkhand’s Dhanbad. An 85-year-old woman named Saraswati Devi has spent over 30 years observing a self-imposed vow of silence. Her silence is set to conclude on 22 January, D-Day, when the pran pratistha of the Lord Ram idol will take place. Here’s all we know about her. Meet Saraswati Devi, an ardent devotee of Lord Ram Fondly known as “Mauni Mata,” Saraswati Devi is a mother of eight, including four daughters. The elderly woman lives in Dhanbad’s Dhaiya region with her second-eldest son, Nand Lal Agarwal, an official with Bharat Coking Coal Limited, an arm of Coal India. According to PTI, the 85-year-old embraced a life devoted to Lord Ram following the demise of her husband, Devkinandan Agarwal, in 1986. In 2001, Saraswati Devi undertook a seven-month “tapasya” (penance) at Chitrakoot in Madhya Pradesh, the place where Lord Ram is believed to have spent a significant part of his exile, as mentioned in the epic Ramayana. She has also visited spiritual places like Char Dham, Ayodhya, Kashi, Mathura, Tirupati Balaji, Somnath Temple, and Baba Baidyanathdham, among others. According to Innu Agarwal, her mother-in-law wakes up around 4 am every morning and undertakes “sadhana” (meditation) for around six to seven hours in the morning. “She studies religious books such as the Ramayana and Bhagavad Gita in the evening after ‘Sandhya Aarti’,” she said. Devi, who maintains a vegetarian diet consisting of rice, pulses, and roti, eats food only once a day and consumes a glass of milk in the morning and evening. A vow of silence Saraswati Devi has been observing a self-imposed vow of silence, a solemn pledge she undertook on the day the Babri Masjid was demolished in Ayodhya in 1992, reported NDTV. She vowed that she would break her “maun vrat” the day a Ram temple was built in Ayodhya. She communicates with her family using sign language but writes down complicated sentences, as per PTI. Nand Lal’s wife Innu Agarwal, 53, said that a few months after her marriage, she saw her mother-in-law embracing the vow of silence in devotion to Lord Ram. “After the demolition of Babri Masjid, my mother-in-law visited Ayodhya and took a pledge of ‘maun vrat’ till Ram Mandir was constructed. She used to remain silent for 23 hours a day, taking an hour-long break only at noon. The rest of the time, she communicated with us through pen and paper,” she said. Though she took a break from “maun vrat” and spoke for an hour at noon every day till 2020, she went completely silent the day the foundation for the temple was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “However, when the foundation of the Ram Mandir was laid in 2020 by PM Modi, she went for a 24-hour ‘maun vrat’ and pledged to speak only after the temple was inaugurated,” Innu said. Devi’s immediate neighbour, Sunita Devi Dalmia, 50, said, “We respect Mata Ji. We have never seen her talk… She uses sign language to communicate, and most of her time is devoted to either prayers or in the upkeep of her plants.” Another neighbour Manikant Pandey, 55, Chief Manager, BCCL headquarters, who lives in the same apartment as Mangaldeep Residency, said he had never seen Devi talking. “She is a saintly figure, and her aura reflects her spirituality. She is generous and kind-hearted and blesses all in the locality. Despite her old age, she is fit and healthy.” Mahant Manish Das of Pathar Mandir Ashram in Ayodhya told PTI: “The saint fraternity here has known her for the past over three decades. She stays with disciples of the Ashram here whenever she is in Ayodhya. She is a regular during Ram Navami and other festivals.” Slowly but surely, her dream is coming true Now, at 85, she awaits to fulfill her vow. “My life is over, Ramlalla has called me for Pran Pratistha. My penance and meditation were successful. After 30 years, my vow of silence will be broken with “Ram Naam,” she wrote, according to NDTV. The Dhanbad resident reached the temple town on Tuesday evening, where she was greeted by disciples of the Pathar Mandir Ashram near Choti Chavni to witness the inauguration of the temple. 55-year-old Hare Ram Agarwal, Devi’s youngest child and a resident of Bhowra in Baghmara block, said his mother has been invited by disciples of Mahant Nritya Gopal Das to participate in the Ram temple inauguration event. The Jharkhand BJP termed her “Shabri Mata” of the epic Ramayana and said her 30-year “tapasya” will bear fruits now. Holiday declared on 22 January The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday declared a holiday for all educational institutions in the state on 22 January, the day of the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Terming the occasion a “national festival”, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that liquor shops in the state should be closed on that day. Meanwhile, more than 500 social media influencers are set to undertake a month-long 4,500-km yatra tracing the route taken by Lord Ram to return to his kingdom in Ayodhya from Tamil Nadu’s Rameshwaram after his exile. According to organisers of the Ramotsav Yatra, it will cover five states – Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. With inputs from agencies