A photo is doing the rounds on social media platforms which shows Shivlinga being dugout with the claim that a Shivling belongs to the Ramayana era was found during an excavation in Ayodhya on May 11, 2020.
"A 4 feet 11 inches tall Shivlinga found during excavation works at Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Hopefully, Mandal Udita Raj won't start claiming this to be a Bauddha Pillar too. With excavation, stories of the atrocities and sins of Babar and his lineage are coming out in the open. Jai Shri Ram (translated to English)," reads the caption of one such post.
अयोध्या में राममंदिर की खुदाई के दौरान
— Dr. Richa Rajpoot (@DoctorRichaBjp) May 23, 2020
4'11 इंच का शिवलिंग मिला है
मण्डल उदित राज इसे भी बौद्ध स्तम्भ न बताने लग जाए
जैसे जैसे मंदिर की खुदाई हो रही है वैसे बाबर और बाबर के वंशजों के अत्याचार और पाप की कहानी निकल रही है
जय श्री राम pic.twitter.com/24xBr9HKdm
Claim:
Viral photo shows a Shivlinga found at Ram temple site in Ayodhya during recent excavations.
Fact Check:
The claim is misleading.
A reverse image search led to a report published in Amar Ujala on July 27, 2016. According to the report, Shivalinga belongs to a temple called Mathiya Devi Mandir in UP's Farrukhabad. Further, the report said that the temple priest claimed that the Shivlinga was a part of the 250-year-old temple.
During renovation work back in 2016, the entire Shivlinga was dug out since a part of it was buried underground.
In a separate incident, however, remains of ancient temples, pillar, idols of deities and a Shivlinga were found at the Ram Janma Bhoomi (RJB) temple site in Ayodhya while the work of levelling the land was underway for the construction of proposed Ram temple on 21 May, according to a New Indian Express report.
General secretary of Shree Ramjanma Bhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust and senior VHP leader Champat Rai stated that a five-foot Shivlinga, seven pillars of black touchstone, six pillars of red sandstone, structures of flowers and broken idols of deities were found at the site.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier in February announced the establishment of a trust for construction of Ram Temple, called Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra.
Among the photos of the remains from the site in Ayodhya, none matched the viral photo of the Shivlinga.
The work started on May 11, 2020. Since then many objects have been discovered during excavation. It include many objects of archaeological importance like flowers made of stone, Kalash, Aamalak, Dorjamb etc. pic.twitter.com/uMXUV5WEc5
— Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra (@ShriRamTeerth) May 20, 2020
During the excavation, a 5 feet Shivaling, 7 pillars of Black touchstone, 6 pillars of red sandstone & broken idols of Devi-Devtas have also been discovered. Work is continuing at slow pace due to strict regulations. We will be providing updates regularly. pic.twitter.com/UI6OzknSgF
— Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra (@ShriRamTeerth) May 20, 2020
Further, according to a report by BOOMlive, Champat Rai has confirmed that the viral image is not of the Shivlinga which has been found recently.
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