Chhatrapati Shivaji connection of 86 year old chief priest of Varanasi
Suerte: The rituals related to the ceremony of consecration of the idol of Lord Ram in the next temple in Ayodhya on January 22 will be directed by 86-year-old scholar Vedic karmakandi (ritual expert) Pandit Laxmikant Mathuranath Dixit from Varanasi.
He will lead a team of 121 Vedic scholars and acharyas from all streams of traditional Vedic systems across India.
According to Pandit Laxmikant Mathuranath Dixit’s son, Sunil Laxmikant Dixit is also a learned Vedic, from the lineage of Gaga Bhatt, the XVII century Kashi scholar who presided over the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji in 1674. There is specialization in Shrauta (classical words arranged in Shruti, which is heard), Smarta (based in Smriti, which is the specific body of Hindu scriptures), Yagya and Abhisheksha.
According to sources, Shankaracharya Swami Vijayendra Saraswati of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham handed over the responsibility of traditional abhishek (consecration) of Ram Lalla as the priest chief, Acharya, in the presence of Swami Govind Devagiri, treasurer of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. General Secretary. Champat Rai, during his (Shankaracharya’s) Chaturmas stay in Kashi.
In September, Shankaracharya Swami Vijendra Saraswati of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham sent a team of scholars, including Dixit and Acharya Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid, to Ayodhya to decide the dates for the consecration while meeting with Rai and other prominent saints.
