Around 3,000 people applied for the post of priests at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya after the vacancies were officially advertised by Ram Mandir Teerth Kshetra on Monday. Of the 3,000, 200 will be selected for the interview rounds on the basis of merit, a trust official said.
The selected 200 candidates will undergo interviews, which will take place at Karsevak Puram, the headquarters of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Ayodhya.
Ultimately, a total of twenty candidates will be selected. The three-member criminal court that will select these candidates consists of a Hindu preacher from Vrindavan, Jaykant Mishra, and the other two are mahants from Ayodhya, i.e. Satyanarayan Das and Nandini Sharan.
The selected candidates will be ordained as priests and will also be deployed to various posts after six months of residential training. Those who are not selected will attend the training and also receive certificates and trust treasurer, Govind Dev Giri told PTI.
However, they also have the opportunity to be called up for the priestly post that will arise in the future.
The training will be based on the religious syllabus prepared by top seers. During the training, candidates will be provided with free accommodation and food facilities and will also receive Rs 2,000 as stipend.
When asked about the types of questions to be asked in the interview, Giri said, “What is ‘Sandhya Vandan’, what are the procedures and what are the ‘mantras’ for this worship? What are the ‘mantras’ for worship Lord Ram and what are ‘karma kan’ for this?”
About Ayodhya Temple
The Ram Mandir is a Hindu temple under construction in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Ram Temple, which will take place on November 24, 2024. The construction of the Ram Temple after the ground-breaking ceremony and laying of the foundation stone on August 5, 2020. The temple is being built by the Larsen & Toubro group with an estimated cost of Rs 18,000 crore.