• The making of the Shri Ram Mandir, Ayodhya is only the first step. It is now important to visualise how Ayodhya can re-build and strengthen the Civilization in India and other countries of Southeast Asia where Ramayana continues to be part of their heritage. Author outlines Three Circles of Responsibility.

The Lesson of Somnath

There is an important lesson from independent Bharat that must not be forgotten: Somnath Mandir.

After Independence, the reconstruction of Somnath Mandir became a powerful expression of civilizational recovery. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel supported its reconstruction, while K. M. Munshi played a central role in carrying the project forward. The reconstruction ultimately became a public and institutional effort, rather than simply a project of the state.

The initiative also generated considerable debate. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was uncomfortable with the participation of the President in the inauguration, reflecting his concern about the relationship between the modern Indian state and expressions of civilizational revival. President Rajendra Prasad nevertheless attended the consecration in May 1951.

The Somnath Mandir was rebuilt. The consecration took place. A historic civilizational task was been accomplished.

But, perhaps the larger lesson of Somnath lies not merely in what was achieved, but in what should have followed.

The reconstruction of a Mandir cannot, by itself, be the final objective of a civilizational movement. The reclamation of a sacred institution must become the beginning of a wider programme of renewal - of Dharmic education, scholarship, traditional knowledge, sacred geography, cultural institutions, Mandir institutions and Hindu social organisation.

Somnath was reclaimed but the achievement did not fully transform into a comprehensive, long-term civilizational programme. That is the lesson Ayodhya must absorb.

The Lesson of Ayodhya

Every great civilizational movement must learn to think beyond achievement.

A civilisation cannot stop after reclaiming an institution. It must ask how that institution will be sustained, what it will nurture, and what it will make possible for generations to come.

The reclamation of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi has been one of the defining civilizational movements of modern Indian history. The construction and consecration of Shri Ram Mandir represent the fulfilment of a centuries-old aspiration.

However, the completion of the Mandir should not be understood as the conclusion of that journey but be understood as the beginning of a new responsibility.

We cannot rewrite what happened after Somnath but can learn from it.

The question before Ayodhya ji is therefore no longer merely whether Shri Ram Mandir has been reclaimed. The question is what Shri Ram Mandir will enable Hindu civilisation to build next.

Shri Ram Mandir, Ayodhya. 2024.

From Mandir to Civilizational Institution

A Mandir becomes a civilizational institution when its influence extends beyond its walls and its Dharma extends beyond its rituals. Its responsibility cannot end at the Garbha Griha.

The reconstruction of Shri Ram Mandir has created a new centre of civilizational gravity. Every important decision taken in Ayodhya ji now has the potential to influence the future direction of Hindu civilisation and not merely the pilgrims who visit the city.

The reclamation of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi therefore marks not the end of a civilizational journey, but the beginning of a new responsibility.

The question before Hindu society is no longer whether Shri Ram Mandir should exist. It exists. The question is no longer merely how it should be protected. It must be protected.

The bigger question is - What will we build around it, through it and because of it?

A Mandir can be reclaimed in one generation. Its traditions may need to be transmitted across a hundred generations.

A structure can be completed by architects and engineers but a civilisation around that structure must be built by Acharyas, scholars, devotees, educators, families, administrators, institutions and society.

That requires more than preservation. It requires scholarship, institutional imagination and inter-generational thinking.

It requires us to understand Shri Ram Mandir not merely as a completed structure, but as a living civilizational institution whose influence can extend far beyond its walls and across generations.

The question, therefore, is not simply what Ayodhya has regained. It is what Ayodhya can now create.

That responsibility unfolds through three expanding circles.

The First Circle: Ayodhya ji

Bank of Ayudhya, Sukumwit Street, Bangkok, Thailand. 2009. 

Every civilisation requires a centre. For Hindu civilisation, Ayodhya ji is not merely a sacred city. It is a living symbol of Shri Ram, a sacred geography and now a visible centre of civilizational renewal.

The first responsibility of Shri Ram Mandir therefore begins at home.

Ayodhya ji must evolve into a centre of Dharma, scholarship, Gurukul education, research, civilizational memory, cultural preservation and institutional leadership.

The rebuilding of Ayodhya ji cannot end with roads, airports, hotels and pilgrim facilities. These are necessary foundations but infrastructure alone does not create a civilizational centre.

A civilizational centre requires institutions that generate knowledge, transmit traditions, nurture scholars, educate generations and preserve memory.

Ayodhya ji must therefore aspire to produce institutions capable of sustaining Hindu civilisation for centuries to come.

This is the First Circle of Responsibility.

The Second Circle: Bharat

The responsibility of Shri Ram Mandir does not end at the boundaries of Ayodhya ji.

For millions of Hindus, Ayodhya ji represents an ideal. What develops there - its institutions, scholarship, priorities and leadership - will inevitably influence Mandirs, educational institutions, scholars, devotees and policymakers throughout Bharat.

Shri Ram Mandir must therefore become a source of guidance, scholarship, inspiration and civilizational confidence for the entire nation.

It can help strengthen the wider Mandir ecosystem, encourage Dharmic education, support traditional knowledge systems, preserve civilizational memory, nurture Acharyas and scholars, and contribute to the cultural renewal of Bharat.

The responsibility is not to create one exceptional Mandir in one exceptional city but to create an ecosystem in which Mandirs across Bharat are able to rediscover and fulfil their wider civilizational role.

This is the Second Circle of Responsibility.

The Third Circle: The Global Ramayana Civilization

Ramayana performance in Southeast Asia. Pic by Benoy K Behl.

The story of Bhagwan Shri Ram does not end at the borders of Bharat.

Across Nepal, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Mauritius, Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Guyana, South Africa, the United Kingdom, North America and many other parts of the world, the Ramayana continues to shape identities, traditions, festivals, literature, performing arts and collective memory. Read  Ramayana performances in Southeast Asia and India

Millions who may never visit Ayodhya ji nevertheless regard Shri Ram as part of their civilizational inheritance.

For them, Ayodhya ji is not merely a city. It is a sacred civilizational reference point.

The responsibility of Shri Ram Mandir therefore extends beyond Bharat itself. Ayodhya ji can become a place that helps nurture, connect, document and strengthen the worldwide Ramayana tradition.

It can become a meeting point for scholars, artists, practitioners, communities and institutions that have preserved different expressions of the Ramayana across centuries and continents.

The Mandir rebuilt after centuries of aspiration can become a source of strength and connection for all those who continue to preserve the legacy of Shri Ram across the world.

This is the Third Circle of Responsibility.

Three Circles, One Responsibility

These three circles should not be understood as three geographical markets of influence. They are three expanding circles of responsibility.

Ayodhya ji → Bharat → Global Ramayana Civilization.

The movement is geographical, but its deeper meaning is civilizational.

What begins in Ayodhya ji must strengthen Bharat.

What strengthens Bharat can enrich the wider Ramayana world.

And what is preserved across the global Ramayana civilization can, in turn, deepen Bharat's own understanding of its civilizational inheritance. The circles therefore are not separate. They are interconnected.

Ramayana Panel at Kailasa Temple, Ellora.

The Way Forward

The Mandir of stone is now complete. The larger work has only begun.

The task before our generation is to ensure that Ayodhya becomes more than a destination for pilgrims. It must become a centre of Dharma, knowledge, culture, scholarship, Seva and civilizational confidence - first for Ayodhya ji, then for Bharat, and ultimately for the global Ramayana civilization.

A structure can be completed in one generation. A civilisation must think in centuries.

The reclamation of Ayodhya gave us the Mandir. The responsibility of our generation is to give that Mandir a civilizational future.

That is Ayodhya: The Way Forward.

Author Sandeep Singh is author of Temple Economics and A Decade for Mandir. This article is based on his forthcoming book, Ayodhya: The Way Forward.

Also read

1. Experience of Ayodhya Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha held on January 22 2024

2. Why is making of Ram Mandir important for Asia

3. Architecture of Sri Ram Mandir