Home Minister Amit Shah extends Ram Navami wishes

"Best wishes to all the countrymen on the occasion of Ram Navami," Shah told ANI.

Meanwhile, amid his busy election schedule, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took out time between his rallies in Assam and watched the 'Surya Tilak' ritual of Ram Lalla at Ayodhya Temple on the occasion of Ram Navami.

The Prime Minister posted on social media pictures from inside his aircraft of himself watching on his handheld device a recording of the moment capturing the rays of the Sun lighting up the forehead of Ram Lalla. The photographs showed the PM without his footwear.

PM Modi said that like crores of Indians, it was a very emotional moment for him.

"After my Nalbari rally, I watched the Surya Tilak on Ram Lalla. Like crores of Indians, this is a very emotional moment for me. The grand Ram Navami in Ayodhya is historic. May this Surya Tilak bring energy to our lives and may it inspire our nation to scale new heights of glory," PM Modi posted on X.

The Ram Temple in Ayodhya witnessed the unique event at noon as the forehead of the Ram Lalla idol was anointed with a ray of sunlight, known as 'Surya Tilak' on the occasion of Ram Navami today.

The 'Surya Tilak' of Ram Lalla was done through an elaborate system connected with mirrors and lenses in the Ram Temple. The temple trust had commissioned a team of scientists to make this occasion possible. Using scientific expertise, a beam of light illuminated Ram Lala's forehead. To achieve this phenomenon, sunlight was precisely directed onto the statue's forehead using a combination of mirrors and lenses. This was carried out precisely at 12 noon for about three minutes.

The moment of the 'Surya Tilak' had devotees in raptures as chants of 'Jai Shri Ram' were heard across Ayodhya and in temples across the country. Devotees broke out into song and dance outside the Ram Janambhoomi Mandir. This is the first Ram Navami after the 'Pran Pratishtha' of the idol of Lord Ram by PM Modi on January 22 in Ayodhya.

The darshan at the temple had started at 3:30 am. The celebration was broadcast on about 100 LED screens throughout the city. It was also broadcast on the trust's social media accounts. (ANI)