Lucknow: Ayodhya’s Deepotsav is set to reach devotees across the world, with a digital initiative enabling people to offer lamps in the holy city without being physically present. For the 10th edition of Deepotsav in 2026, the Uttar Pradesh government, under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has set a target of lighting 30 lakh diyas across 56 ghats along the sacred Saryu river.
Adding an international dimension to the celebrations, digital religious platform ‘Sri Mandir’ has announced an initiative to facilitate the lighting of one lakh diyas at Ayodhya’s historic Rajdwar. This will be the platform’s fifth consecutive year of participation in the festival.
Through the digital facility, devotees from India and abroad will be able to dedicate lamps in the name of Lord Ram, irrespective of their geographical location. Participants can choose to offer one, five, 11 or 21 diyas.
Following the booking, priests at Rajdwar in Ayodhya will perform the prescribed religious rituals and light the lamps after taking a sankalp in the devotee’s name and gotra. The entire ceremony will be video-recorded, with the recording subsequently shared digitally with the respective devotees.
The initiative is expected to particularly benefit elderly people, those facing health-related limitations and devotees living overseas who cannot travel to Ayodhya for the celebrations.
Religious ceremonies and community service
Apart from the grand illumination, Deepotsav 2026 will feature several religious and social welfare activities. These will include an uninterrupted Akhand Ramayan recital, services for learned priests and religious scholars, and a large-scale community meal (Mahaa Annadaan) for more than 5,000 saints, devotees and underprivileged people.
These initiatives will also be organised through the Sri Mandir platform, bringing together religious devotion and community service as part of the celebrations.
Prashant Sachan, founder and CEO of Sri Mandir, said geographical distance should not become a barrier between devotees and their places of faith. He expressed appreciation for the efforts being made under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to give Ayodhya’s spiritual and cultural heritage greater international recognition.
Sachan said the platform considered it a privilege to contribute to the celebrations and aimed to ensure that the prayers and religious offerings of devotees from anywhere in the world could reach Ayodhya through proper rituals.
The digital initiative reflects an effort to combine traditional religious practices with modern technology. With millions of lamps planned along the Saryu riverfront and devotees participating digitally from across the globe, Deepotsav 2026 is expected to further expand Ayodhya’s reach as an international centre of India’s cultural and spiritual heritage.
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