On Ram Navami Wednesday at noon, the Sun’s rays will hit Ram Lalla’s forehead in Ayodhya, a “Surya tilak” of the god made possible by a complex system of mirrors and lenses.
Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the Ram idol at the new temple on January 22, this would be the first Ram Navami.
The scientists tested the system on Tuesday.
“Every Shri Ram Navami day, the main goal of the Surya Tilak project is to focus a ’tilak’ on the forehead of the Shri Ram idol. The project involves shining sunlight on Lord Ram’s forehead at noon on Shri Ram Navami in the Chaitra month each year, according to Dr. S. K. Panigrahi, a scientist at CSIR-CBRI Roorkee who was involved in the project, who spoke to news agency PTI.
Dr. S K Panigrahi continued, “The Sun’s position varies annually on the day of Shri Ram Navami. According to meticulous calculations, the date of Shri Ram Navami occurs once every 19 years.” The intended tilak size is 58 mm, according to a senior scientist at the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), a division of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Roorkee. According to him, the precise duration of the tilak on the center of the forehead is between three and three and a half minutes, with two minutes of total illumination.
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Anil Mishra, a representative of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, stated to PTI that “Devotees will be allowed inside the Ram temple during the Surya tilak.” The temple trust is installing about 100 LEDs, and the government is installing 50, to display the Ram Navami festivities. From their current location, people will be able to observe the festivities.” Dr. D P Kanungo, chief scientist at CSIR-CBRI, Roorkee, described his personal experience installing this special mechanism by saying, “Actually this is meticulously planned, designed, and implemented to achieve utmost accuracy.” He stated that this will serve as evidence of our scientific knowledge and homegrown technological advancements to present to our fellow citizens, who have complete faith in and support for our scientific community.
Kanungo responded, “That is the limitation,” when asked what would happen to Surya tilak in the event of a cloudy sky. Because of our people’s faith and beliefs, we do not want to use artificial light.” After consulting with the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) in Bangalore, the CSIR-CBRI team in Roorkee has devised a 19-year mechanism to direct sunlight from the temple’s third floor to the “garbha griha.”
CBRI develops the comprehensive and detailed plan to illuminate the garbha griha, while the IIA offers optical design consultancy.
Optics and Allied Engg Pvt Ltd (Optica), a Bangalore-based company, fabricates optical elements, pipes, tilt mechanisms, and other related components.
Prior to the opto-mechanical system being installed in the Ram temple for Surya tilak, a more modest model that is appropriate for the Roorkee locality has been effectively verified. In March 2024, a full-scale model was successfully validated at the Optica site in Bangalore.
According to Dr. S K Panigrahi, multiple trials have been conducted since the installation was finished in the first week of April by the CSIR-CBRI, Roorkee team, IIA Bangalore, and Optica Bangalore.
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A spokesperson for Surya Tilak, Dr. S. K. Panigrahi, provided the following explanation of the opto-mechanical system: “The opto-mechanical system consists of four mirrors and four lenses fitted inside the tilt mechanism and piping systems.” The top floor has a complete cover with a tilt mechanism aperture to direct sunlight onto the garbha girha through mirrors and lenses.” “The sun’s rays are focused on Shri Ram’s forehead when he faces east using the last lens and mirror. Every year on the day of Shri Ram Navami, the first mirror’s tilt is adjusted using a tilt mechanism to direct sunlight towards the second mirror, which is then used to create the Surya tilak,” he explained.
“Brass is the material used in the manufacturing of all the piping and other parts. The mirrors and lenses that are used are of extremely high quality and long-lasting.
“Black powder is applied to the inside surfaces of pipes, elbows, and enclosures to stop sunlight from scattering. Infrared (IR) filter glass is also utilised at the top aperture to prevent the idol’s forehead from being overheated by the sun, according to Dr. S K Panigrahi.
He mentioned that Dr. S. K. Panigrahi, Dr. R. S. Bisht, Kanti Solanki, V. Chakradhar, Dinesh, and Sameer are members of the CSIR-CBRI Roorkee team. Project mentor, Prof. R Pradeep Kumar, is the Director of CSIR-CBRI.
Er S Sriram, Professor Tushar Prabhu, and Dr. Anna Purni S., Director IIA, are the consultants from IIA Bangalore. The managing director of Optica, Rajinder Kotaria, along with his team members Vivek, Thava Kumar, and Nagraj actively participated in the fabrication and installation process.
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