Sign In
Learn bits
History & Culture
Mahesh

03/01/24 06:46 AM IST

Arun Yogiraj, one of the three sculptors who made Ram Lalla’s idol for Ayodhya temple

In News
  • With the Ram temple in Ayodhya set to be inagurated recently, Karnataka BJP leaders since January 1 have been congratulating Arun Yogiraj, one of the three sculptors who have made idols of Ram Lalla (Lord Ram in his childhood).
Arun Yogiraj
  • Yogiraj, 38, is counted among the most sought-after sculptors in the country. While he has an MBA degree and even took up a job briefly, he came back to his family profession.
  • I have been assisting my father in sculpting since I was 11.
  • After working elsewhere for a few months, I realised sculpting was my passion. I came home in 2008.
  • While my father supported my decision, my mother wasn’t happy that I quit my job. She finally came around in 2014, when I received South India’s young talent award.
  • His grandfather, B Basavanna Shilpi, was patronised by the kings of Mysore, and had been trained by Shilpi Siddanthi Siddalinga Swami, the royal guru of Mysore palace.
  • Basavanna Shilpi had supplied 64 idols in just 11 months to the Gayatri temple, located on the Mysuru palace premises.
  • Arun Yogiraj has a team of 15 artisans and some students volunteering to learn the art. Besides orders from India, he has received multiple orders from USA, Malaysia and other places.
  • He also has trained many students free of cost. He runs Brahmarshi Kashyapa Shilpakala Shala trust in Mysuru, to train children in clay modelling and other skills.
Famous  work
  • Some of Yogiraj’s works include a 28-feet monolithic black granite stone sculpture of freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose for Delhi’s India Gate; a 12-feet Adi Shankaracharya idol for Kedarnath, Uttarakhand; India’s largest 10-feet monolithic white marble stone sculpture of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Mysuru; and
  • Sculptures of Lord Panchamukhi Ganapathi, Lord MahaVishnu, God Buddha, Nandi, Swami Shivbala Yogi, Swami Shivakumara, and Goddess Banashankari installed at various temples across India.
Ram Lalla Idol
  • Yogiraj said the Trust had told the three sculptors the idol should look like a five-year-old, and be 51 inch (4.25 feet) in length.
  • We were given stones from several places, like Nepal, Karkala in Uttara Kannada district, HD Kote in Mysuru district, and Makrana in Rajasthan.
  • Krishna Shila is a unique stone that does not react to any liquid and has been used in Karnataka for 1,000 years.
  • The other two sculptors who worked on the idol are GL Bhat of Bengaluru and Satyanarayana Pandey of Rajasthan.
  • The Trust will install one of these three idols inside the sanctum, while the other two will be placed within the premises of the temple.
Source- Indian Express

More Related Current Affairs View All

23 Sep

Quad grouping

'Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the United States, where he will participate in the fourth Quad Leaders Summit in Wilmington, Delaware.' Quad s the grouping of four de

Read More

21 Sep

India Achieves Tier 1 Status in Global Cybersecurity Index 2024

' India has secured Tier 1 status in the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2024, published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).' The GCI is a comprehensive assessm

Read More

21 Sep

A new White Revolution

'Operation Flood, launched in 1970, ushered in the White Revolution and transformed the dairy sector in India.' Dairy cooperatives procured 660 lakh kg of milk per day in 2023-2

Read More

India’s First Ai-Driven Magazine Generator

Generate Your Custom Current Affairs Magazine using our AI in just 3 steps