The villagers’ faith and belief is based on some ancient texts and books which link the village to Lord Rama. Land records in the name of Lav and Kush still exist, says an archaeological expert
Even as the fever, excitement and euphoria reaches an unprecedented scale and pitch, on the eve of the January 22, temple consecration in Ayodhya, celebrations have begun at the historic Gharram village, 18 km from Patiala, a special report by Aman Sood in The Tribune, Chandigarh says.
Residents of this village believe that it has a close association with Lord Rama, their implicit faith and belief is based on some ancient texts and books which link the village to Lord Rama.
They have not as yet received any invitation officially, but hope and expect that during the ongoing ceremonies, the village would receive due recognition.
A Punjabi University publication titled “Patiala and its Historical Surroundings”, of 1969, says that ‘Patiala can lay some claim to Lord Rama’.
Villagers say that many ancient books mention the fact that Raja Dashrath’s wedding entourage (baraat) came to Gharram where he married the Maharaja’s daughter, Rani Kaushalya. Thereafter, Shree Ram was born in his maternal grandfather’s palace, the local Maharaja Khoh Ram.
A visit to the village shows that an ancient fort, now in ruins, is also there even as many excavations have been done in the past to establish this claim
“Some historical remains are still here. We just want some credit as the village is historic and there is a lot linked to ancient Hindu mythology. We are happy that finally the Pran Pratishta ceremony of Ram Lalla idol at the Ayodhya temple is happening and it will be good if the history of our village is highlighted,” the Tribune report quoted Gurmeet Singh, 56, an ex-panchayat member, as saying.
“Not only myself, but generations have grown up in the village listening to the stories of our village’s links with Lord Rama”, he said.
The villagers believe Lord Rama was born not in Ayodhya, but in their village. However, historians have not been able to establish that link, even as they believe that the village is of great historical importance and closely linked to ancient history.
Dr Param Bakhshish Singh, former Head of the Department of Punjab Historical Studies, Punjabi University, said, “The villagers have long been associating themselves with Lord Rama and a lot of research in this village has been done and more needs to be done to establish their claim”, he stated.
A visit to the village shows that an ancient fort, now in ruins, is also there even as many excavations have been done in the past to establish this claim.
Another expert Manmohan Kumar, who was a former head of Department of History, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, says an excavation at Gharram was done in 1975-77.
“I was part of that excavation. Although no direct links to the Ramayana could be established, centuries-old material was found,” he states. “As per available records, some land still exist in the name of Luv-Kush — the sons of Lord Rama.
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