New Delhi: At noon on Ram Navami  on Wednesday, April 17, the Sun’s rays fell on the forehead of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya's Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir, thus ensuring a 'Surya tilak' of Ram Lalla. The Surya Tilak was made possible by an elaborate scientific mechanism involving mirrors and lenses. The system was tested by the scientists on Tuesday.

This is the first Ram Navami since the consecration of the Ram idol at the new mandir, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22.

Prakash Gupta the spokesperson of the temple told PTI, "The Surya Tilak was done for around 4-5 minutes when the sun rays were directly focused on the forehead of the Ram Lalla idol." "The temple administration prevented the devotees from entering the sanctum sanctorum at the time of the Surya Tilak to avoid overcrowding," Gupta said.

Dr DP Kanungo, the Chief Scientist at CSIR-CBRI, Roorkee, told PTI, "As planned, the Surya Tilak of Ram Lalla was perfectly executed at 12:00 pm" The system was tested by the scientists on Tuesday.

Dr S K Panigrahi, a scientist at CSIR-CBRI Roorkee, who was also associated with the project said that the basic objective of the Surya Tilak project is to focus on the 'tilak' on the forehead of Shri Ram idol on every Shri Ram Navami day. Under the project, sunlight will be brought on the forehead of Lord Ram at noon on Shri Ram Navami in the Chaitra month every year.