Ayodhya’s Deepotsav 2025 registered 26.17 lakh diyas; make it to Guinness World Records; watch dazzling pics
Ayodhya has set another brand new world record this Diwali by lighting a whopping 26.17 lakh (2,617,215) earthen lamps along the Saryu River. It was a spectacle of light that left Ayodhya gleaming! It was a part of the yearly Deepotsav celebrations around the Ram temple. As per organisers, the event was verified and certified by Guinness World Records. Let’s find out more about the record:How the counting was doneOfficials described the event as the largest single-place lighting of diyas recorded ever in history! Guinness representatives reportedly used drone footage for this. There was also an organised counting protocol to verify the figure. There were stewards on the ground and QR-coded tracking systems to ensure perfect registration of lamps and participants. It is a great achievement for Uttar Pradesh. The UP government also did the independent counting before the official recognition.
Well, the record was not only said for the diyas. Organisers said a separate record was created for the largest simultaneous aarti where 2,128 priests and aartidars performed. It was also done along the ghats. That simultaneous aarti was conducted in the shadow of the newly prominent Ram temple. This year’s 26.17 lakh figure continues a rapid expansion of the event since Deepotsav began in 2017. Official numbers show a steady climb: what started as small numbers today has grown into a great show.
Previous numbers reported 1.71 lakh diyas in 2017 and roughly 15.76 lakh in 2022. It has attracted thousands of volunteers from colleges, civic groups and local communities who placed and lit the earthen lamps.
The festival also covered dozens of ghats and public spaces, with volunteers, police, emergency services and sanitation teams working in concert to manage crowds, traffic and safety. Modern technology was integrated here including drones and QR-code tracking to meet standards required for an official world-record attempt. Lakhs of visitors, including domestic and international pilgrims, witnessed the spectacle.
For Ayodhya, it was the day of diyas. Deepotsav also shows the city as a focal point for cultural tourism. The pictures of flickering diyas against the river are likely to circulate widely on social and global media. This is going to place Ayodhya on the festival map.
