Mahavir Mandir in Patna. The temple is set to get a makeover before Ram Navami this year. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Jan. 25: The Mahavir Mandir in the state capital will get a new look before Ram Navami with the temple authorities deciding to replace the two sets of copper kalash atop the shrine with gold.

The temple management has also decided to renovate the exterior of the shrine and change its interior design. The last time the over 300-year-old temple was renovated was in 1983.

“The first phase of the temple renovation will be over before Ram Navami, which will be celebrated either on March 31 or April 1,” Mahavir Sansthan Nyas Samiti secretary Acharya Kishore Kunal told The Telegraph today.

“We have decided to give a different look to the Mahavir temple. A Bangalore-based firm has started work. Five days ago, a team has arrived from Bangalore to take the measurement of the copper kalash that will be replaced with a gold one. The minimum cost for this will be about Rs 10 lakh,” added Kunal, who is also the chairman of Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts.

There are two sets of kalash atop the shrine. One of them is 15-foot-high and comprises four kalash. The other — 11-foot-high — is a set of three kalash.

“Chances are high that the cost of the new kalash would go up because of the market price. The design of the original kalash will not be changed. The structure of the temple will also be the same,” Kunal said.

The existing sets of kalash were installed on March 4, 1985. “We want to give a new look to the temple. We decided to change the kalash first because they are atop the temple. We also decided to use gold to make the new kalash because the shine of the metal will not fade for at least 50 years. Besides, the gold kalash will glitter and will be visible from quite a distance,” he added.

The interior of the temple will also get a new look. The inferior quality marble will be replaced with Makrana marble, considered the best in the country and available only in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Besides, red granite will be used to replace the marble tiles on the exterior walls of the shrine. The red granite will be brought from Bangalore.

Kunal said the temple management has earmarked Rs 25 lakh for the first phase of temple renovation. This, however, does not include the cost of the gold kalash. Idols of Hanuman and the Lord Buddha are worshipped in the temple. In 2011, Acharya, a retired IPS officer, had installed a statue of Dalit saint Ravi Das on his birth anniversary in the shrine.