Lucknow,

12 Feb (HS): Acharya Satyendra Das, the respected chief priest of Ayodhya's

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple, died on Wednesday at the Sanjay Gandhi Post

Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow, as a result of stroke

complications. After having a stroke on February 3, Chief Minister Yogi

Adityanath went to see Acharya Satyendra Das in the neurology ward's High

Dependency Unit, where he was getting intense treatment from the Neurology

department's Senior Consultant.

Remarkably,

only weeks before his sad demise, Acharya Das gladly participated in the first

anniversary of the Pran Pratishtha ritual at the Ayodhya temple. He

characterized the celebrating occasion as extraordinarily magnificent, full of

spiritual grandeur.

His

death marks the end of an illustrious era in temple history. His passing brings

an end to an era for many who remember him as a powerful religious figure. The priest

had served as spiritual leader in Ayodhya for more than six decades.

Das,

who belonged to the Nirvani Akhara, was well-known for his accessibility and

extensive understanding of Ayodhya's historical and spiritual terrain. During

his term, there were key periods, such as the tumultuous era of the Babri

Masjid destruction in 1992. Sharad Sharma, a VHP spokesman in Ayodhya,

expressed his sympathies, citing Das's revered reputation and deep knowledge of

the Ayodhya cause.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi