Mahant Satyendra Das, the chief priest of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya, passed away on Wednesday at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) in Lucknow. He was 85 years old.
He was admitted to the hospital on February 3 after suffering a brain stroke and had been in a critical condition in the High Dependency Unit (HDU) of the Neurology ward.
The hospital issued a statement confirming his death, saying, “Satyendra Das ji, chief priest of Ram Mandir Ayodhya, breathed his last today. He was admitted in HDU of the Neurology ward on February 3 with a stroke in critical condition.”
A day after he was hospitalised, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited SGPGIMS to meet the ailing priest. He discussed the progress of treatment with the doctors and provided necessary guidelines.
Satyendra Das, a member of the Nirvani Akhara, had served as the chief priest of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple since the age of 20.
He remained in this role during the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, and continued to oversee prayers offered to the Ram Lalla idol under a makeshift tent after the structure’s demolition.
Widely respected and known for his accessibility, he was a key figure in the Ayodhya movement and frequently engaged with the media on developments related to the Ram temple. He was also among the first Hindu priests to oppose a petition seeking to ban the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Bangladesh.
Earlier, on January 11, Satyendra Das was seen celebrating the first anniversary of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at the Ayodhya temple.
Vishva Hindu Parishad’s Ayodhya-based spokesperson, Sharad Sharma, said, “He was a widely respected figure and among those who knew the history of the Ayodhya movement by heart. We condole his death.”
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