Surya Tilak ceremony trial held in Ayodhya Temple ahead of Ram Navami celebrations

The Ayodhya Ram Temple is set to celebrate Ram Navami with the Surya Tilak ceremony, where sunlight will illuminate Lord Ram's forehead. Designed by Indian scientists, this unique event uses mirrors and lenses to precisely time the sun's rays.

Ahead of the Surya Tilak ceremony at Ayodha Ram Temple on Sunday (April 6), a trial was done on Saturday (April 5) and it lasted exactly 90 seconds. At this time, experts of IIT Roorkee, IIT Chennai were present.

The holy city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh is gearing up to celebrate Ram Navami, marking the birth of Lord Ram, with thousands of devotees flocking to the Ram Mandir to worship the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The city is fully decorated, and all arrangements have been completed in the Ram temple to ensure a secure and spiritual experience for the devotees.

Surya Tilak ceremony

One of the biggest highlights of the day is the Surya Tilak ceremony, a once-in-a-year spiritual event where a ray of sunlight, resembling a tilak, falls directly on the forehead of the idol. Designed by Indian scientists, the ceremony uses a special mirror and lens-based apparatus to ensure the sun's rays fall on the forehead of Lord Ram's idol at exactly 12:00 pm on Ram Navami day every year for about six minutes.

Mechanism behind Surya Tilak

The Surya Tilak mechanism is designed scientists from the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee. The mechanism uses a gearbox and reflective mirrors and lenses to redirect sunrays from the third floor near the shikara to the Garbha Griha (sanctum sanctorum) using well-known principles of tracking the Sun's path. CBRI scientist Dr. Pradeep Chauhan, who helped design the Ram temple, assured that the Surya Tilak would anoint the forehead of the idol of Ram Lalla with 100% accuracy.

Ceremony Timings

The Surya Tilak ceremony timings are as follows:

- 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM: Anointment of Ram Lalla
- 10:30 AM to 10:40 AM: Curtain remains closed
- 10:40 AM to 11:45 AM: Curtain reopens, followed by Bhog offering
- 12:00 PM: Surya Tilak and symbolic birth of Lord Ram

A similar Surya Tilak mechanism exists in some Jain temples and at the Sun Temple at Konark, but they are engineered differently.