"As if Hanuman ji himself came for a darshan of Ram Lalla," the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust said of a monkey that had entered the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on the day it was thrown open to devotees.
Hanuman, the Monkey God, completes the picture of Lord Ram and Goddess Sita.
And in the days leading up to the 'pran pratishtha' ceremony of the Balak Ram idol at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and a few days after that, people recounted unusual incidents of monkeys paying obeisance to Lord Ram. 
If someone posted a clip of a monkey climbing a bamboo pole to "touch the feet of Lord Ram" on a flag, another person shared a video of a langoor visiting a puja place and bowing at the 'havan' site.
RECENT VIRAL VIDEOS OF 'HANUMAN' AND LORD RAM
A recent video, where a monkey climbed up to the sacred pedestal inside a temple full of devotees, went viral on social media.
"The monkey who came to the temple did not touch the bananas and anything given to eat, he quickly sat near Shri Ram, touched the feet of Lord Shri Ram and went away," said the post caption on X.
As the monkey climbed to reach the idols of Lord Ram, Sita and Laxman, the devotees were seen praying with folded hands and chanting "Jai Shree Ram" and "Jai Shree Hanuman", in front of the spectacle.
"On the day of the consecration of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya on 22 Jan 2024, a monkey visited the Shri Ram Temple in Lonavala, Maharashtra," the post by a user named, SK Chakraborty added, about the place and time of the incident.
The users reacting to the video called it "some divine force," and said, "the monkey knows his roots (he meant Hanuman belongs to Ram)."
Another video posted on the same day of the inauguration of the Ram Mandir (January 22) made the social media users go 'wow.' A langoor was seen visiting a yajna vedi, meant for Shree Ram naam-jap, surrounded by devotees.
The langoor soon bowed down.
"Hanuman Dada ke anek roop (many forms of Lord Hanuman)," said the caption describing the moment.
Another video of a monkey clinging on to a saffron dhwaj (flag), is said to have been captured on January 22, the day 'pran prathistha' of Balak Ram was done in Ram Temple Ayodhya.
"Hanuman ji will be the happiest bhakt to see Lord Shri Ram virajman in Ayodhya Nagri," said a user on X, linking the incident to Hanuman's love and affection for Lord Ram.
Moments like these that celebrate Hanuman and his importance in Lord Ram's life, have been hailed to be divine. Whether a coincidence or otherwise, devotees of Lord Ram saw these moments of monkeys and langoors submitting to his 'Lord,' and could not resist, saying, "Jai Shree Ram (glory to Lord Ram)."
ARUN YOGIRAJ TALKS OF MONKEY VISITS
Then there was the Balak Ram sculptor Arun Yogiraj himself, who shared a surprising story about regular visits by a monkey that would want to see the Lord Ram idol being made.
In an exclusive interview with India Today TV, Yogiraj said every day around 4-5 pm, a monkey used to come to his door.
"When, during the cold, we covered the gate, it used to come and bang on the door. I wasn't sure if it was the same monkey, but it used to come daily at the same time. I told Champat Rai, the general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, about it, and he said that maybe it also wants to see Lord Ram's idol," Arun Yogiraj said.
THE ICONIC MONKEY PHOTO OF THE RAM MANDIR MOVEMENT
There is a long history of the association of monkeys to the Ram Mandir movement.
An iconic photo of that association was brought to public consciousness ahead of the January 22 'pran pratishtha' ceremony.
The photo is of a monkey on the central dome of the now-demolished Babri Masjid.
On October 30, 1990, 'karsevaks' (volunteers) surged past barricades and hundreds of armed security personnel and hoisted saffron flags atop the Babri Masjid. 
Shot at and lathi-charged, the karsevaks were driven away. Then security personnel proceeded to remove the saffron flags.
However, a monkey perched on the central dome safeguarded one of the flags from being removed for hours. Only after the monkey went away late at night, were the security personnel able to remove the flag.
The disputed Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992. The dispute over the site saw a prolonged legal battle, which ended with the Supreme Court's landmark judgment in 2019.
A magnificent Ram temple has come up at the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi site.
That is where the "beautiful Hanuman appearance" took place a day after the 'pran pratishtha' ceremony. The Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust claimed that a monkey entered the 'garbha griha' (sanctum sanctorum) of the Ram Mandir, where the idol of Ram Lalla was placed.
The trust said that the security personnel saw the monkey's visit as a "divine blessing", taking it to be Lord Hanuman himself coming to see Ram Lalla. This added to the claims of unusual sightings of 'Hanuman' during the days of the Ramn Mandir ceremony.
Published On:
Feb 5, 2024
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