PM virtually witnesses Surya Tilak ceremony at Ayodhya Ram temple

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday virtually witnessed the ‘Surya Tilak’ ceremony held at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on the occasion of Ram Navami, which was marked by religious fervour and drew lakhs of devotees to the holy town.

The festival, marking the birth of Lord Ram, falls on the ninth day of Chaitra Navratri. The ‘Surya Tilak’ illuminated Ram Lalla’s idol at the grand temple.

“Earlier today, I witnessed the Surya Tilak that took place at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir, Ayodhya. May the blessings of Prabhu Shri Ram always remain upon us,” Modi said in a social media post.

At around noon, during the auspicious ‘Abhijit Muhurat’, the Surya Tilak ritual was carried out, with precisely channelled sun rays illuminating the deity’s forehead for about nine minutes through a specially aligned system of lenses, a temple trust member said.

Fourteen priests conducted the rituals inside the sanctum sanctorum in accordance with Vedic traditions. Following the ceremony, the temple doors were briefly closed and ‘bhog’ comprising 56 dishes was offered to the deity.

Officials said this was the second Surya Tilak ceremony since the consecration of the Ram Lalla’s idol at the temple on January 22, 2024.

A specially designed mechanism — featuring around 20 ‘ashtadhatu’ pipes along with four lenses and four mirrors — was used to direct sunlight onto the deity’s forehead from a height of nearly 65 feet.