Why are idols kept in water, grain, honey before Pran Pratishtha?

Ram Lalla will be installed at the new Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22 after the 'Pran Pratishtha' or consecration ceremony. Let's see the rituals before Pran Pratishtha.

When a deity's idol is carved, it is struck by the craftsman's tools. To heal those injuries, the idol is immersed in different things. This is called 'Adhivas'.

If there is any damage to the idol or the quality is poor, it gets detected during the Adhivasa. Only after these processes the idol is consecrated.

The purpose of submerging the idol in water is to check whether it is whole and not damaged. This process is called Jaladhivas.

The idol is fully covered in Dhanya or grains such as rice or wheat, a full night. This is done to further purify the idol.

After Dhanyadhivas, the idol is immersed in honey overnight. After that, it is also kept in flowers or medicated water.

In this way, the idol of the deity has to go through 108 such processes before consecration. If someone is not able to do such a big process, then at least 12 adhivasas are done.