Ayodhya is all decked up for a grand Ram Navami celebration on Wednesday, the highlight being the 'Surya tilak' of the deity. This is the first Ram Navami since the consecration of the Ram idol at the new temple.
On Wednesday, devotees await the Sun's rays to fall on the forehead of Ram Lalla, a 'Surya tilak' of the deity, made possible by an elaborate mechanism involving mirrors and lenses. The system was tested by the scientists on Tuesday.
"The basic objective of the Surya Tilak project is to focus a 'tilak' on the forehead of the 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," Dr S K Panigrahi, scientist at CSIR-CBRI Roorkee, who was associated with the project told PTI.
Panigrahi added that the position of the Sun changes every year on the day of Shri Ram Navami. "Detailed calculations show that the date of Shri Ram Navami repeats every 19 years," he added,
The planned tilak size is 58 mm and the exact period of tilak on the forehead centre is about three to three-and-a-half minutes, with two minutes of full illumination. The sunlight will be steered from the third floor of the temple to the 'garbha griha'.
"The optomechanical system consists of four mirrors and four lenses fitted inside the tilt mechanism and piping systems. The complete cover with aperture for the tilt mechanism is placed at the top floor to divert the Sun rays through mirrors and lenses to the garbha girha."
"The final lens and mirror focus the Sun rays to the forehead of Shri Ram facing towards the east. The tilt mechanism is used to adjust the first mirror tilting for sending the Sun rays towards the north direction to the second mirror for making the Surya tilak every year on Shri Ram Navami day," he said.
"All the piping and other parts are manufactured using the brass material. The mirrors and lenses which are used are of very high quality and durable to sustain for a long period.
"The inner surface of pipes, elbows and enclosures are black powder coated to avoid scattering of sunlight. Also at the top aperture, IR (infra red) filter glass is used to restrict the Sun heat wave to fall on the forehead of the idol," Panigrahi said.
The Ram Mandir has been decked up for the celebration with devotees expected to throng the temple for Surya Tilak. Over 56 types of Bhog Prasad will be offered to the devotees. The duration of 'Darshan' has been extended to 19 hours, starting from the Mangala Aarti and continuing until 11:00 pm. The curtain will be closed only for five minutes during the four Bhog offerings.
People can also watch the broadcast on about a hundred large LED screens throughout Ayodhya. There will also be live broadcasts on the Trust's social media accounts.
