 "Unique Surya Tilak ceremony marks first Ram Navami at Ayodhya temple")
India is celebrating Ram Navami and the occasion is special in Ayodhya where the Ram Janmabhoomi temple was inaugurated in January.
Ram Lalla, the deity at the temple, is wearing a yellow attire and will receive 56 bhog offerings throughout the day, reports said. The temple will remain open for 19 hours.
The day began with the Mangala Aarti at 3.30 am, coinciding with ‘Brahma Muhurta’, followed by rituals like ‘Abhishek’, ‘Shringar’, and ‘Darshan’. The ‘Shringar Aarti’ took place at 5 am, with continuous worship thereafter.
Ram Navami celebrations at the temple anticipated abundant offerings and prayers, concluding with ‘Bhog’ and ‘Shayan Aarti’ at 11 pm. Reports suggested that to accommodate the large crowd, arrangements are made for prasad distribution post the Shayan Aarti, near the temple exit. Pilgrims were advised to deposit prohibited items before entry.
Acharya Satyendra Das, the chief priest of the temple, expressed his happiness at the occasion. The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust issued an advisory due to the expected surge in devotees, cancelling VIP darshan and aarti passes from April 16 to April 18.
VIP guests were urged to visit after April 19. Prasar Bharati is broadcasting the celebrations at Ram Mandir live on Doordarshan.
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‘Surya Tilak’ ceremony
A ceremony that is being talked about is ‘surya tilak’. NDTV reported that a 5.8 cm beam of light illuminated the deity's forehead at noon, using a specialised instrument set up by a team of ten Indian scientists at the Ram Mandir. For approximately 3 to 3.5 minutes starting noon on Ram Navami, sunlight will be directed onto the statue's forehead using mirrors and lenses, the report claimed.
Commissioned by the temple trust, scientists from a leading government institution devised the 'Surya Tilak mechanism', involving collaboration between CBRI, Roorkee, and IIAP, Bengaluru. Using reflective mirrors and lenses, sunlight rays are directed to the inner sanctum, employing established principles of solar tracking, the report added.
Large influx of visitors
Around 2.5 million people are expected to visit Ayodhya for three days and seek blessings from Ram Lalla, Moneycontrol.com reported, citing airport officials. Arrangements have been made to facilitate their pilgrimage, ensuring easy access via local transportation and parking, it added.
Ayodhya is bracing for an influx of travellers, with 99 flights scheduled to land at the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport. The airport started operations with an inaugural flight from Delhi and now serves as a direct gateway for flights from 14 cities. Operating with an average of 10 to 12 daily flights, the airport also accommodates passengers arriving for darshan through 1 or 2 chartered planes.
Citing officials, Moneycontrol’s report said 50 flights and 40 chartered planes are expected to touch down in Ayodhya until April 19 for Ram Navami. These flights connect Ayodhya with major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Patna, Jaipur, and Hyderabad.