What is ‘surya tilak’ of Ram Lalla? Know science behind unique occurrence

On the occasion of Ram Navami on Wednesday, April 17, the unique design of the Ayodhya Ram temple led to a bright celestial occurrence on the Ram Lalla idol. At exactly noon on Ram Navami, a ray of the Sun or a ‘surya tilak’ illuminated the forehead of the Ram Lalla idol.
The innovative arrangements of mirrors and lenses channeled a sun beam on the forehead of the Ram Lalla idol today, and will do so every year on Ram Navami. This phenomena will occur on the ninth day of the Chaitra month every year to mark the birth of Lord Ram.
A member of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Anil Mishra, told PTI, “During the Surya tilak, devotees will be allowed inside the Ram temple. Around 100 LEDs are being put up by the temple trust, and 50 by the government, which will show the Ram Navami celebrations. People will be able to see the celebrations from where they are present.”
The Trust further said, “The ‘Surya Abhishek’ of Ram Lalla will be performed using an optomechanical system with high-quality mirrors and lenses.”
The arrangement of lenses and mirrors inside the newly constructed Ram Temple in Ayodhya allowed a single ray of sun illuminate the forehead of the Ram Lalla statue at exactly noon for every Ram Navami from this year onwards. The ‘surya tilak’ will signify the auspicious day of Lord Ram’s birth.
“The basic objective of the Surya Tilak project is to focus a ’tilak’ on the forehead of 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.
The scientist pointed out that the position of the sun changes every year and according to detailed calculations, the date of Ram Navami repeats every 19 years.
The planned size of the tilak appearing on the forehead of the idol was 58 mm. The tilak was be visible of Ram Lalla’s forehead for around three to three and a half minutes, with two minutes of full illumination.
The CSIR-CBRI scientist explained that the sun rays entering the Ram Mandir will initially fall on a mirror installed on the top floor of the temple. The rays will be directed to another mirror on the second floor of the temple using three strategically-placed lenses.
The sun beam will be directed to the sanctum-sanctorum of the Ram Mandir through the second floor using another mirror, appearing on the forehead of Ram Lalla idol for the ‘Surya Abhishek’ on the occasion of Ram Navami.