'Surreal' Surya Tilak ceremony in Ayodhya goes viral; Know the science behind it

Even the Prime Minister of India could not resist posting the images of the sacred Surya Tilak falling on the forehead of the Ram Lalla idol on Friday. The tilak ceremony lasted for nine minutes in total, starting at 12 pm on Friday.

14 priests performed rituals inside the sanctum sanctorum during the ceremony. The visuals of the sunlight kissing the forehead of the idol produced a surreal sight. Netizens were stunned by the visuals, and in no time, social media was flooded with images of the ceremony, even making Prime Minister Modi pay obeisance to Lord Ram.

However, there lies a science behind the whole apparatus that leads to the surreal visual. A 65-foot-long system of 20 pipes is the core behind the process. The sunlight falls on the device kept on the third floor of the temple, and the light gets reflected and goes to the first mirror and then travels through the pipe passing through four lenses. At the end of the pipe, a mirror is set up at a 60-degree angle to direct the sunlight to the forehead of the idol kept on the first floor.

The nine-day festival known as Chaitra Navaratri will see Hindu believers observing a strict vegetarian diet and immersing in prayers and meditation.