Ram Navami festivities kick off in Ayodhya as ‘Surya Tilak’ ceremony of Ram Lalla takes place at noon

Ayodhya, April 17 (IANS) – The Ram temple in Ayodhya saw a huge rush of devotees on Ram Navami, with doors opening at 3:30 a.m. Trust General Secretary Champat Rai confirmed extended darshan timings and the cancellation of special darshan passes.

During the festival, darshan will begin at 3:30 am with Shringaar Aarti at 5 a.m. Devotees can offer food to God, participate in darshan till 11 pm, followed by Bhog and Shayan Aarti. Prasads will be distributed after Shayan Aarti.

VIP darshan has been stopped until April 19, and devotees are urged to keep personal items safe. A passenger service center near the temple entrance provides public facilities, while live telecasts of temple events are shown at 100 locations in Ayodhya.

The grand highlight will be the Surya Tilak ceremony on Wednesday, where the Sun’s rays will fall on Ram Lalla’s forehead. The mechanism, involving mirrors and lenses, will ensure the ‘Surya Tilak’ is achieved on every Shri Ram Navami.

Dr. S.K. Panigrahi, associated with the project, explained, “The basic objective of the Surya Tilak project is to focus a ’tilak’ on the forehead of the Shri Ram idol on every Shri Ram Navami day.” The system was successfully tested on Tuesday.

The city has been beautifully decorated for the occasion, giving a festive atmosphere for devotees and locals alike to enjoy the celebrations in Ayodhya.