Ayodhya Ram Mandir inauguration: Who is Mohit Pandey, the 22-year-old who performed pran prathistha puja?

Mohit Pandey was one among 29 priests to perform the pran prathistha puja at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and was chosen from 3,000 applicants from all over the country after a rigorous process which even included interviews.  (Image credit: Twitter/VinayAhlawat).

The 22nd of January will go down as one of the most significant days in India's recent history as Prime Minister Narendra Modi consecrated the Ram Lalla idol at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, in front of some of the leading names from various industries and billion others watching the proceedings.

One of the other men involved in the pran prathishtha puja was Mohit Pandey, a 22-year-old priest who had the chance to perform the puja at the temple on Monday.

• Pandey enrolled into Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University's Bachelor of Arts programme in the 2020-21 academic year after completing his Class X from Ghaziabad's Dudeshwar Ved Vidyalaya.
• Later, he attended Tirupati's Venkateswara Vedic University for his Master of Arts (Acharya) degree and is preparing for his PhD.
• Pandey was one among 29 priests to perform puja at the temple and was chosen from 3,000 applicants from all over the country after a rigorous process which even included interviews. He is currently undergoing a six-month training before his appointment.

"It’s a matter of great pride for us that our student has been chosen as a priest at the Ayodhya Ram temple. We trained him here for 10 long years. It isn’t an easy test to pass. But his command over Sanskrit and pronunciation of words to worship the lord would have held him in good stead. He was trained in all these," Mahant Narayan Giri, chief patron of Dudheshwar Ved Vidyalaya, was quoted as saying by WION.

Even though the Ram Mandir has been formally inaugurated and devotees can visit for darshan, the construction is still ongoing and the sanctum sanctorum is anticipated to be completed by the end of December.