Varanasi: Acharya Laxmikant Dixit, the chief priest who led the consecration ceremony of Lord Ram's idol at the Ayodhya Ram temple earlier this year, passed away early Saturday morning at the age of 85 in Varanasi.

Sunil Dixit, Laxmikant Dixit's son, told India Today TV that his father had gone to bed as usual the previous night. He awoke at 6:30 am and, while heading towards the bathroom, suddenly lost consciousness.

Acharya Laxmikant Dixit was a key figure in the historic event on January 22, when he oversaw the installation of Lord Ram's idol in Ayodhya by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He was regarded as an esteemed scholar of Yajurveda.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Modi expressed his condolences over Laxmikant Dixit's passing.

“Dixit ji was a renowned man of the scholarly tradition of Kashi. I got his company on the inauguration day of Kashi Vishwanath Dham and Ram temple. His demise is an irreparable loss for society,” PM Modi said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also mourned Acharya Dixit's demise, praising him in a statement as a revered scholar from Kashi (Varanasi) and an esteemed figure at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi.

Adityanath grieved his death as an irreparable loss to both the spiritual and literary domains.

“He will always be remembered for his service to Sanskrit language and Indian culture," Yogi Adityanath said.