Volunteers had been installing tiny clay oil lamps on the stone stairs of the river Saryu for many days. It almost got finished by Saturday, November 7.
The tenth edition of Deepotsav will illuminate more than 30 lakh clay oil lamps in 56 ghats on November 7, a day prior to Diwali. According to the mayor of Ayodhya, Girish Pati Tripathi, “Everything is ready.”
The goal is to break a record that Ayodhya has set for itself. The organizers intend to beat the Guinness World Record of Deepotsav 2025, which saw the lighting of 26.17 lakh diyas.
This figure has been certified by Guinness officials who counted the lamps of 2025 using drones. There are some discrepancies regarding the 2026 record. While many sources mention "over 30 lakh," one travel portal states 33 lakh.
This activity depends entirely on volunteers. There are around 35,000 volunteer students who are making the necessary arrangements. A tourism website gives a somewhat lesser number of 33,000, and last year's sources mention that the volunteers belonged to Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University.
Volunteers have put their efforts into placing diyas at the ghats.
The entire evening has been designed as a show. The state government has prepared a show of the incidents of the Ramayana in the sky using nearly 2,100 indigenous drones, along with green firecrackers.
The event will also feature international shows and a mass aarti of River Saryu. Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will preside over the event.
The light show does not stop there. More than 3.3 million diyas are expected to be lit around the city, apart from the more than 30 lakh on the ghats of Ram Ki Paidi.
The entire city has been decorated with lights and other embellishments, and artists depicting Lord Ram, Sita and Hanuman have been used for the same. People from all over the country have come to see the spectacle.
It’s much bigger than its starting point. Deepotsav was first held at Ayodhya in 2017 with around 1.71 lakh diyas.
Within the period of just nine years, this figure has been magnified almost 18 times through the goals set by the organisers themselves. Each year, the organizers present it as a platform to demonstrate the spirituality of the city.
Counting is precise. During last year’s attempt, Richard Stenning of Guinness declared the counting process would involve scanning QR codes to account for the number of participants and divide the venue into sections overseen by stewards.
Any lamps that remain unlit or any inconsistencies are deducted from the total tally. This implies the target is just a target until all lamps are lit and counted.
The previous year's Deepotsav established two records. Apart from the lighting of lamps, 2,128 individuals performed the aarti at once, and this too was recorded as another record. This year, as per one travel guide, the state has made an announcement about 2,100 participants.
Access to Ram Ki Paidi will likely be restricted tightly. According to a travel guide, in 2024, police blocked all 17 roads entering the ghat, and only volunteers, invitees, and pass-holders were allowed access. As there is no announcement regarding the pass for 2026 from the sources analyzed, tourists are advised to consult local authorities.
For the UP Government, Deepotsav is a flagship event. For the city, it is an opportunity to attract tourists and business before Diwali. For critics, the size and cost of such events pose issues that were not considered in the reports reviewed.
