Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple won’t appoint new chief priest—Here’s why

Uttar Pradesh: There will no longer be a chief priest in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya. The post fell vacant after the death of Mahant Satyendra Das. Giving information about this, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Secretary Champat Rai said that now it would be an exaggeration to call a priest as the chief priest because there is no scholar as Mahant Satyendra Das. There is no priest of his age and respect at this time.

What did Champat Rai say? 

Satyendra Das, the chief priest of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple, died in February this year. The post has been vacant since then. He breathed his last at the Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS). His body was buried in the Saryu river in Ayodhya. Champat Rai said that we had talked to Satyendra Das about this six months ago.

There will be no chief priest now. "There is no one as high in age and respect as Satyendra Das. No one has been the Mahant of Hanumangarhi for so long. He said he had been serving since 1993. He used to get a monthly salary of Rs 100. Champat Rai said that now everyone in the temple is a new and young priest. No one is as scholarly as him. It would be an exaggeration to address someone as the chief priest now.

Who was Acharya Satyendra Das?

Satyendra Das, a Hindu mahant, was the chief priest of the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi temple even before the Babri Masjid demolition. He was among the first Hindu priests to denounce the petition seeking a ban on the International Krishna Consciousness Association (ISKCON) in Bangladesh. Acharya Satyendra Das was considered to be one of Ayodhya's most accessible saints and was often approached by media persons for information on developments related to Ayodhya and the Ram temple.