Kerala’s Padmanabhaswamy temple presented Onavillu, a traditional hand-painted ceremonial bow to Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir on Thursday (18 January) ahead of its consecration ceremony on 22 January.

In a function held at 5:30 pm, Padmanabhaswamy temple’s tantri (priest) Tharananellur Satheesan Namboothiripad and administrative committee members gave Onavillu to representatives of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

Onavillu is a ceremonial bow that is presented to the Padmanabhaswamy temple deity every year on Thiruvonam day. The wooden bow has pictorial depictions of themes related to Lord Vishnu and his avataras (incarnations).

It takes 41 days to prepare this bow. Made of yellow kadam (tree) and mahogany wood, the bow is then painted yellow on both sides. After this, one side is painted in red, followed by painting of depiction of fables.

Red, white, black, yellow, green, blue and orange colours of natural dyes are used for this miniature painting and red tassels give it the finishing touches, as per The Hindu’s report.

This is one of the many gifts that the Ram Mandir is receiving ahead of its inauguration. Last week, Gita Press, Gorakhpur sent religious books to Ayodhya as a gift for guests coming to Ayodhya for the ceremony.

Similarly, a procession of 500 people from Nepal’s Janakpur brought 1,100 bhars (baskets) of items intended as wedding gifts for Lord Ram.