'Surya Tilak' (Sun’s rays) illuminated Lord Ram Lalla idol's forehead at Ayodhya Temple on the occasion of Ram Navami. The ' Surya tilak' of the deity was made possible by an elaborate mechanism involving mirrors and lenses. The system was tested by the scientists earlier.
This was the first Ram Navami since the consecration of the Ram idol at the Ayodhya temple, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22. According to a senior scientist of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, the planned tilak size was 58 mm. The exact period of tilak on the forehead centre was about three to three-and-a-half minutes, with two minutes of full illumination, he said.
Even as Ram Lalla was to be anointed with the Surya Tilak, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a reference to the historic occasion at his election rally at Assam's Nalbari. Amid chants of ‘Jai Siyavar Ram’, the PM said “Today is the historic occasion of Ram Navami. After waiting for 500 years, Lord Ram has been seated in his grand temple. Now after a few minutes, by applying Surya Tilak to Lord Ram, his birth anniversary will be celebrated in the holy city of Ayodhya, in the Ram Temple.”
The Ram Janmabhoomi for the second time is witnessing a grand celebration, after the magnificent ceremony of pran pratishtha. Ram Navami is being celebrated with great pomp at Ram Mandir with offerings of 56 types of bhog, prasad and panjiri.
Acharya Satyendra Das, chief priest of Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, said all the arrangements for the celebration were being managed by the Trust and the occasion of Ram Navami is being celebrated with great enthusiasm.
