- Thursday, March 27, 2025
By: India Weekly
MAHANT Satyendra Das, the chief priest of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya, passed away at a hospital in Lucknow on Wednesday.
The 85-year-old was admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) earlier this month after he suffered a brain stroke.
The hospital authorities said the chief priest was on February 3 admitted to the neurology ward in critical condition.
Das, who took ‘sanyas’ at the age of 20, was serving as a priest during the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992.
Later when the government took control of the premises, he was made chief priest of the makeshift temple.
He told PTI in 2022 that he joined as the priest of the makeshift Ram Lalla temple in 1992, the year the Babri mosque was demolished.
When asked if he was present when the mosque was demolished, Das had said, “I was there. It happened before me. I was witness to it. Out of three domes, north and south domes were demolished by ‘kar sewaks’. I took Ram Lalla with its throne in my hand.”
“The demolition was over by 5 pm. Later, ‘kar sewaks’ pitched a tent and levelled the place and by 7 pm, I kept Ram Lalla there,” he had said.
Hailing from the Nirvani Akhara, Das was among the most accessible saints of Ayodhya and media persons from across the country.
While paying tributes to Das, Ram Temple Trust president Champat Rai recalled that Das took only ₹100 as remuneration when he was made the chief priest.
Prime minister Narendra Modi his death, and said that Das dedicated his entire life to the service of Lord Ram.
Condoling his demise, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said it was an irreparable loss to the spiritual world. (PTI)
