AYODHYA: On Ram Navami today, a special thing happened. Ram Lalla, who was welcomed to Ayodhya’s Ram Temple in January, witnessed Surya Tilak or Surya Abhishek in which sunrays fell on the deity illuminating its forehead. Lord Ram from the Ishvaku clan is believed to the descendants of the Sun God or Suryavanshis.
Scientists from IIT-Roorkee were roped in to design the Surya Tilak mechanism. They employed an apparatus with high-quality mirrors and lenses to precisely direct the Sun’s rays onto Ram Lalla’s forehead at a specific time.
Reports suggest the apparatus is a gearbox arranged with reflective mirrors and lenses. It will help sunrays from the third floor near the ‘shikara’ to be reflected into the ‘garbhagriha’ (sanctum sanctorum) at a specific time.
The tilak apparatus used components made of brass and bronze materials for their durability and corrosion resistance. Based on the lunar calendar, the gearbox has been engineered to accurately position the sun on Ram Navami day each year, as mentioned in a report by India Today. The optical path, pipings, and tip-tilts are designed without springs for longevity and low maintenance.
Scientists have already done trials of the Surya Tilak mechanism.
The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru, provided technical support on the Sun’s path, and Optica, a Bengaluru-based company, is involved in manufacturing the lenses and brass tubes.
CBRI scientist Dr Pradeep Chauhan, who helped in the design of the Ram temple, says, “100% the Surya Tilak will anoint the forehead of the idol of Ram Lalla”, as quoted by NDTV. “No electricity or battery or iron is used in the gear-based Surya Tilak mechanism”.
Pancha Dhathu, a traditional Indian alloy, has also been used in the surya tilak apparatus. Former Isro scientist Manish Purohit said, as quoted by India Today, three things have been considered while ensuring the Sun’s rays illuminate Ram Lalla’s forehead — Archaeoastronomy, metonic cycle and analemma.
Archaeoastronomy is a practice used to design monuments utilising celestial positions, said the scientist. While analemma is a figure-eight curve that tracks the Sun’s changing position yearly due to Earth’s tilt and orbit. Lastly, the Metonic cycle is a period of around 19 years during which the phases of the Moon realign with the same days of the year. This cycle was consulted to ensure the coming together of the date of Ram Navami and the ‘tithi’ it falls on, said Manish Purohit.