Acharya Satyendra Das, the chief priest of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple, passed away on Wednesday morning, after being in the service of Ram Lalla since 1992.
Das’s demise happens to on the Magh Poornima, the day when Lord Vishnu, of whom Ram is an incarnation, is supposed to be on earth.
Das breathed his last at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow on Wednesday, where he was being treated for complications following a stroke. He was battling other health conditions too.
#WATCH | Mortal remains of Chief Priest of Ayodhya Ram temple, Acharya Satyendra Das brought to his residence in Ayodhya pic.twitter.com/ttvfT3v7PR
— ANI (@ANI) February 12, 2025
A steady presence through the ups and downs of the Temple Movement, Das, with his flowing white beard was one of the most recognisable saints from Ayodhya.
A resident of Sant Kabir Nagar, he left his home in 1958 and came to Ayodhya. He qualified as an Acharya from the Sanskrit Vidyalaya in 1975. The following year, he became assistant teacher in the grammar department in Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya, Ayodhya, earning Rs 75 a month.
Saint Abhiram Das of the Nirvani akhara took him as a shishya. Former MP Ram Vilas Vedanti was his guru bhai (spiritual brother).
Das was tasked first with performing kirtans and paths (hymns and recitals) at the Ram Janmbhoomi before being asked to also perform kalash sthapana rituals at the start of important prayer dates.
At the time of the demolition of the Babri Masjid, Das had been serving as the main priest for nine months.
Before the new temple was thrown open to devotees in 2024, he had said that it seemed as though the pages of history had changed. He had remembered the conditions in which the deity had lived for so many decades, never once mentioning the challenges he might have faced on a daily basis. He grew sad remembering how the child deity faced the vagaries of nature, and had just seven outfits for the whole year.
Mahant Dhinendra Das, Trustee of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra, remembered the priest as the ‘centre’ of the efforts on Hindu-Muslim amity.
While the Ram Mandir today is a synonym for grandeur, Das kept up traditions with an yearly allowance of just Rs 30,000 as the Receiver (commissioner of the division) who had to have every little detail approved by court.
While health permitted, Das would participate in the Bhog Aarti during mid-day at the Ram Mandir every day.
To those who have seen Ram Lalla since his darshan was permitted, Das's passing away is the end of an era.
