 "Ram Navami in Ayodhya: Devotees throng celebration held after 500 yrs")
On Ram Navami, thousands of devotees from across the country visited Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday, April 1. It is an auspicious festival for Hindus and Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted people on this occasion. He said that this is the first time the festival will be celebrated after Ram temple's consecration.
On Wednesday, the much-awaited Surya Abhishek of Ram Lalla also occurred around noon and the event lasted for four minutes. The event used a special instrument to focus the sun's rays and form a tilak on Ram Lalla's forehead.
Top updates on Ram Navami at Ayodhya Ram Temple
Devotees took a dip in the Saryu River in Ayodhya before visiting Ram temple. At night, devotees start moving to ghats. Darshan at Ram temple begins at 3.30 pm.
This is the first time Ram Navami will be celebrated after the consecration of Ram Lalla's idol at the new temple. The Ram temple was inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi on January 22.
Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust's member Anil Mishra said during Surya tilak, devotees will be allowed within the Ram temple. Around 100 LED screens are being put up by the temple trust and 50 by the government to mark the Ram Navami celebration. Devotees can celebrate the celebration from where they are present.
Praveen Kumar, Inspector General of Police, said that security arrangements have been made for all devotees. He told ANI that areas are distributed into zones and sectors, volunteers and force multipliers are put in place and arrangements have also been made for the heavy vehicle movements.
Around 56 types of bhog prasad will be offered to Ram Lalla.
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As per Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, scientists from Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, have calculated the Surya tilak timings based on the sun's movement. The trust also said, “The ‘Surya Abhishek’ of Ram Lalla will be performed using an optomechanical system with high-quality mirrors and lenses.”
During his visit for the Deepotsav celebration on October 23, 2022, Modi had suggested to trust members that the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Mandir should be constructed in such a way that the sun rays fall directly to Ram Lalla's idol on Ram Navami, similar what is said have happened at the Konark Sun temple in Odisha in history.
A permanent canopy has been put up on the Janmabhoomi Path to protect devotees from Sun while a temporary canopy has been put up on the Bhakti Path as well.
Ayodhya administration has set up booths at 29 locations in the Mela area from Tedhi Bazar up to Naya Ghat.
The trust extended the darshan duration to 19 hours, started from Mangala Aarti and continuing till 11 pm. The curtain before the deity will remain closed for only five minutes during the bhog offerings.