President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday installed the Sri Ram Yantra on the second floor of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, marking the first day of Navratri.
The yantra was on the temple's ground floor and people used to worship it but it was moved to the second storey on Thursday.
The ceremony was attended by over 100 seers and dignitaries, including Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and governor Anandiben Patel.
The installation comes amid political debates, with Opposition parties accusing the BJP of being anti-tribal and anti-lower caste.
They have pointed to Murmu's absence during the temple's consecration on January 22, 2024, and the hoisting of the Dharma Dhwaja on November 25, 2025, both events led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as evidence of exclusion. Many believe the BJP government's move was a corrective step taken in the run-up to elections in Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in April.
Murmu stayed at the temple for four hours and travelled to Mathura to attend a few more religious events to be organised in the next three days.
Murmu offered prayers in the sanctum sanctorum on the temple's second floor and then formally installed the rectangular metallic object (4 feet wide and 4 feet tall), which the temple trust has named Sri Ram Yantra.
"Once again, the Ram temple is witness to history," Murmu said in her speech. "I am feeling obliged to be in Ayodhya. The consecration of Lord Ram and hoisting of Dharma Dhwaja are written in golden letters and today I got the opportunity to establish the Sri Ram Yantra. Remembering Lord Ram and worshipping the motherland is the same to me."
The temple management claimed that its foundation would cleanse the atmosphere. Three priests chanted Vedic mantras during the event. The yantra is inscribed with Vedic mantras and features an image of Lord Ram, with lotus petals carved on all sides.
Champat Rai, general secretary of Sri Ram Mandir Teerth Kshetra Trust, said that every god or goddess has their yantra and its foundation is considered necessary. "It is meant for cleansing the atmosphere around the temple. People worship the yantra also after worshipping the deity," he said.
A journalist in Ayodhya said: "Although the President had rushed to offer prayers at the temple in May 2024, I am sure Modi will tell voters in every election rally now that Murmu, a tribal, installed the Sri Ram Yantra."