About Ram Lalla Pran Pratishtha Diwas
Ram Lalla Pran Pratishtha Diwas is the anniversary of the consecration of the child form of Rama at the new Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, held on 22 January 2024. The temple trust keeps it by the Hindu calendar as Pratishtha Dwadashi, on Paush Shukla Dwadashi, which falls on Tuesday, 19 January 2027. Many devotees also remember 22 January, the date of the ceremony in the Gregorian calendar.
On 22 January 2024, the image of Ram Lalla, Rama as a five-year-old child, was consecrated in the sanctum of the new Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. The rite is called pran pratishtha, the installing of life breath, after which Hindus regard an image as the living presence of the deity rather than a carved stone. The main ceremony took place around midday, between about 12:15 and 12:45 pm, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi performing the rites in the sanctum.
The image in the sanctum is a 51-inch standing figure of the child Rama, carved by the Mysuru sculptor Arun Yogiraj. The deity's formal name is Balak Ram, the boy Rama, and devotees call him Ram Lalla, the affectionate name for the infant Rama in Awadhi and Hindi.
Why the anniversary moves
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, the trust that runs the temple, keeps the anniversary by the Hindu calendar, not by 22 January. The consecration fell on Paush Shukla Dwadashi, the twelfth day of the bright half of the month of Paush, and the trust's general secretary, Champat Rai, has said that the temple celebrates all its festivals by the Hindu calendar. The trust calls the anniversary Pratishtha Dwadashi. Panchangs also list the same tithi as Kurma Dwadashi, a day for Vishnu's tortoise form.
A lunar year is about eleven days shorter than the solar one, so the tithi comes about eleven days earlier each year, and then jumps forward by a month after an extra (adhik) month is added to the Hindu calendar. That is why the first anniversary fell on 11 January 2025 and the second on 31 December 2025.
Because of the adhik month in mid-2026, Paush Shukla Dwadashi does not occur at all in the 2026 calendar year; the next one falls in the second half of January 2027. In 2028 it comes twice, once in early January and again in late December. Panchangs usually take the day on which Dwadashi is current at sunrise. When the tithi starts after one sunrise and ends before the next, they assign it to the day it mostly covers, so calendars made for different cities can differ by a day.
How it has been kept
- 22 January 2024Pran pratishtha of Ram Lalla
Paush Shukla Dwadashi; the consecration takes place around midday in the new temple
- 11 January 2025First Pratishtha Dwadashi
A three-day programme from 11 to 13 January, with abhishek and a maha aarti for Ram Lalla at about 12:20 pm on the first day
- 22 January 2025First anniversary by date
Large crowds come for darshan on the Gregorian anniversary
- 25 November 2025Dhwajarohan
A saffron flag is raised on the temple spire on Vivah Panchami
- 27 December 2025 to 2 January 2026Second Pratishtha Dwadashi
A Mandal Puja by Swami Vishwaprasannateertha of the Pejawar Math with 108 Vedic scholars, daily Ramcharitmanas recitation and Ram Katha, Ramlila and music; the main day is 31 December
In Ayodhya the day is a temple festival, with long queues for darshan, recitation of the Ramcharitmanas at Angad Tila, and evening cultural programmes. In homes and neighbourhood temples elsewhere, families who keep it usually do a short puja before a picture of Ram Lalla, recite the Hanuman Chalisa or the Ram Raksha Stotra, light a diya and offer something sweet such as panjiri or kheer.
The day sits between the other dates of Rama's year: Ram Navami, his birth, in Chaitra, and Vivah Panchami, his wedding to Sita, in Margashirsha. The dhwajarohan of November 2025 took place on Vivah Panchami.
Writing to people who keep the day
This is a temple anniversary, not a national festival or a public holiday, and not every Hindu marks it. Send your message to family and friends who follow the temple or who went for darshan, and keep it devotional. A colleague of another faith does not need to be wished, and an office message is better left out unless your workplace has a puja.
Jai Shri Ram, Maa and Papa. Today is Pratishtha Dwadashi. I lit a diya before Ram Lalla's picture this morning and thought of the day we watched the pran pratishtha together.
You are in Ayodhya on Pratishtha Dwadashi, what luck. Please bow to Ram Lalla for us too, and bring back some prasad if the queue allows.
Dadi, you waited your whole life to see Ram Lalla in his own temple. On the anniversary of his pran pratishtha, sending you my pranam and a Jai Siya Ram.
Jai Shri Ram. On the anniversary of Ram Lalla's pran pratishtha, may his blessing reach you wherever you are, even without a darshan this year.
Today Ram Lalla completed another year in his new home in Ayodhya. Let us read one story from the Bal Kand together tonight and light a diya for him.
Ram Lalla ki pran pratishtha ki varshgaanth par aapko aur aapke parivar ko hardik shubhkamnayein. Jai Shri Ram. (Warm wishes to you and your family on the anniversary of Ram Lalla's consecration.)
- Pran pratishtha
- The rite that installs the deity's presence in a new image
- Ram Lalla
- The child Rama, the form worshipped in the Ayodhya sanctum
- Pratishtha Dwadashi
- The temple trust's name for the anniversary, kept on Paush Shukla Dwadashi
- Paush Shukla Dwadashi
- The twelfth day of the bright fortnight of Paush, around late December or January
- Adhik maas
- The extra lunar month added about every three years to keep the calendar in step with the seasons
How to wish someone on Ram Lalla Pran Pratishtha Diwas
This is a devotional anniversary, so a wish is a prayer more than a party line. Mention Ram Lalla, Ayodhya, darshan, a diya at home or the Hanuman Chalisa, and keep the language of bhakti: "Jai Shri Ram", "Siyavar Ramchandra ki jai". Write to people who keep the day, not to everyone in your contacts, and leave politics out of it. If you are unsure which date someone follows, a message on either the tithi or 22 January is fine.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi.
When is Ram Lalla Pran Pratishtha Diwas in 2027 and 2028?
Ram Lalla Pran Pratishtha Diwas is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2028 it falls 10 days earlier than in 2027.
- 2027may vary by location
- 2028may vary by location
Frequently asked questions
Why is the Ram Mandir anniversary not celebrated on 22 January?
The consecration on 22 January 2024 fell on Paush Shukla Dwadashi, and the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust keeps all temple festivals by the Hindu calendar. So the trust marks the anniversary, called Pratishtha Dwadashi, on that tithi, which moves in the Gregorian calendar; many devotees still visit on 22 January as well.
When were the first and second anniversaries of the Ram Lalla pran pratishtha?
The first anniversary, by the tithi, was kept on 11 January 2025, and the second on 31 December 2025. Both were Paush Shukla Dwadashi, the tithi of the original consecration on 22 January 2024.
Why is there no Pratishtha Dwadashi in 2026?
The Hindu calendar added an extra month, an adhik maas, in mid-2026, which pushed Paush Shukla Dwadashi from late December into January 2027. So the second anniversary fell on 31 December 2025 and the third falls in January 2027, with none in the 2026 calendar year.
What is Kurma Dwadashi?
Kurma Dwadashi is the name panchangs give to Paush Shukla Dwadashi, a day associated with Kurma, the tortoise form of Vishnu. It is the same tithi on which Ram Lalla was consecrated at Ayodhya, so the two are marked on the same day.
What can you do at home on Pratishtha Dwadashi?
Devotees who cannot go to Ayodhya usually do a short puja before a picture of Ram Lalla, light a diya, recite the Hanuman Chalisa or a chapter of the Ramcharitmanas, and offer a simple sweet as prasad.
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