Mahant Satyendra Das, the 85-year-old Ayodhya Ram Temple head priest, passed away yesterday, leaving millions of devotees in grief. Mahant Satyendra Das suffered a brain stroke recently and was admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences earlier this month in Lucknow. “Satyendra Das ji, chief Priest of Ram Mandir Ayodhya, breathed his last today. He was admitted to HDU (High Dependency Unit) of the neurology ward on February 3 with a stroke in critical condition,” the hospital said. He also suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed his agony and pain through social media platform X.

Long association with the Ayodhya Temple
Mahant Satyendra Das is the longest-serving chief priest of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Satyendra Das served the temple from his 20s, even on December 6, 1992, when the Babri Masjid was demolished. It was Satyendra Das who shifted the idols to the nearby Fakire Mandir before the demolition and placed them in Ram Janmabhoomi after the demolition. Ever since the consecration ceremony of the new Ram Temple in Ayodhya began in 2024, Satyendra Das has been serving as its chief priest.

A Man of Compassion
Satyendra Das was friendly and accessible to everyone who visited the temple. The media used to frequently visit him for updates and insights on temple developments during its construction. In 2024, he also appeared in the documentary series The Battle of Ayodhya, which explores the Ayodhya dispute. As a temple head, he has dedicated his whole life to religious service. During the first anniversary of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony on January 11. Acharya Satyendra Das witnessed it and called it “very beautiful”.

His son Pradeep Das said that the cremation of his father will take place on the banks of the Saryu River in Ayodhya on Thursday. The body will be taken from Lucknow to the holy city of Ayodhya.

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