Acharya Satyendra Das, the chief priest of Ramlala temple in Ayodhya, passed away at the age of 80. He breathed his last at Lucknow PGI at 7 am on Wednesday. He was referred from Ayodhya to Lucknow after a brain hemorrhage on February 3.
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The mortal remains of Acharya Satyendra Das will be brought to Ayodhya. They will be kept for the last darshan at his ashram Satya Dham Gopal Mandir. Satyendra Das was serving as the chief priest at Ramjanmabhoomi for 32 years. He is notably remembered for carrying Ramlala in his arms during the tumultuous events of the Babri demolition on December 6, 1992.
Satyendra Das was born in Sant Kabirnagar district on May 20, 1945. This district is 98 km away from Ayodhya. He lived in devotion since childhood. His father often used to visit Ayodhya, he also used to go to Ayodhya with his father.
His father used to visit Abhiramdas ji’s ashram in Ayodhya. Satyendra Das also started visiting Abhiram ji’s ashram. Abhiram Das had claimed that the idols of Ram, Laxman, Bharat, Shatrughan and Sita ji appeared in the sanctum sanctorum on 22-23 December 1949 in Ram Janmabhoomi. The further battle was fought on the basis of these idols.
Satyendra Das was very impressed by the claims of the appearance of the idols and Abhiram Das ji’s service towards Ramlala. He decided to take sanyaas to live in his ashram. Satyendra Das left home in 1958. His family had two brothers and a sister. The sister has passed away.
When Satyendra Das told his father about his decision to take sanyaas, his father also did not express any surprise. He also blessed him and said that one of my sons will take care of the house and the other will serve Ramlala.
Satyendra Das was entrusted the responsibility of managing Ram Janmabhoomi on 1 March 1992. He was given the authority to keep 4 assistant priests as well.
Then he had kept 4 assistant priests. Santosh Tiwari was also among them. After the Pran-Pratishtha of Ramlala on January 22, 2024, the responsibilities of the priests here were increased. Satyendra Das was made the chief priest.
