Ancient Temple Carts—Modificationsfor Structure and Steering

J.S. Rao and Bigil Kumar

Abstract Temple carts from ancient times are used to bring out Deities on festivaldays in a procession. The origin of these carts and their construction is discussed inthis paper together with current design practices befitting with changing times.

Keywords Rig-Veda � Hindu gods or extra-terrestrial visitors � Temple carts �Steering � Globally elastic but locally plastic structures

1 Introduction

Indian temples have their origins from Rig-Veda times, a period exactly notidentifiable from modern historical dating methods, but derived from inference tobe at least 4,000 years old. The epic Ramayana contains description of battles withincredible weapons cited as Brahma weapon.

The Gāyatrī Mantra a highly revered mantra, based on a Vedic Sanskrit versefrom a hymn of the Rig-Veda (3.62.10), attributed to the rishi (sage) Viśvāmitra,see Griffith [11].

This is 16th stanza of Upanishads in Devanagari script, a translation into Englishis provided by several, among them that of Easwaran [10] is “O nourishing Sun,solitary traveler, controller, source of life for all creatures, spread your light andsubdue your dazzling splendor so that I may see your blessed Self. Even that verySelf am I!”.

Jones [12] on February 2nd 1786 addressed the Asiatic Society of Bengal aboutthe origin of Sanskrit, having similarities with Latin and Greek; commonly usedwords are: Father, Mother and Horse.

J.S. Rao (&) � B. KumarKumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore 641049, Indiae-mail: jsrao@kct.ac.in

B. Kumare-mail: bigil.kumar@pricoltech.com

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015J.K. Sinha (ed.), Vibration Engineering and Technology of Machinery,Mechanisms and Machine Science 23, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-09918-7_1

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Ramayana refers to some Vedic Gods like Indra, Agni and Varuna amongothers, see Didhiti Biswas article in Dodiya [9]. The Rig-Veda and the life ofancient Indians during that period are described by Srinivasa Iyengar [25].

Mohenjo-Daro Harappa (Mound of the Dead) was discovered in 1922. Kenoyer[14] places the settlements of the Indus around 3750 BC. At this site, 37 skeletonswere found in contorted positions, in a residential district of the town, see Fig. 1. Inall there were just 44 skeletons found at this site.

At the time of Mohenjo-Daro, mankind has not known an atomic weapon. Noconventional weapons such as swords or spears were found. No scavenging animalsand their skeletons were discovered at this site. This is despite the well recorded andunderstood destruction of the city of Pompeii in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in79 AD, see De Carolis et al. [8]. Just as we ignored completely the battles describedin Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, here too in Mohenjo-Daro the mys-terious circumstances were ignored.

The first atomic bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945, in the Trinity test in NewMexico; its creator, Oppenheimer [20] remarked later “it brought to mind wordsfrom the Bhagavad Gita: Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”

According to Dales [5], the evidence given earlier suggesting that Mohenjo-Darowas destroyed by armed invaders was a quick conclusion drawn.

Suggestions were made that this might be the site where Ramayana epic battlestook place. Ramayana describes in the battle that Brahma Astra was used whichgenerated brightness more than 1,000 Suns, trees were up in flames; more signif-icantly the epic describes people who survived the battle were losing hair and nailsstarted to fall out—typical effects of radiation observed after the present day atomicexplosions, see Tsoukalos [26]. Childress [4] discusses Vimanika Sasthras (flying

Fig. 1 Skeletons at Mohenjo-Daro attributed to Massacre theory

4 J.S. Rao and B. Kumar

machine technologies) described 6,000 years ago in Sanskrit texts indicating thatthis technology existed in the olden days. The texts describe three giant citiesorbiting the earth with gleaming metal and iron with them going to war with eachother. Tsoukalos and others are proponents of the idea that ancient astronautsinteracted with ancient humans. What is it our ancestors are describing in theancient Sanskrit scripts, some type of technology that was witnessed; they didn’tunderstand nuts and bolts aspects of this technology, yet they created divine rep-resentation; the practices that they have developed are so effective, they remain inforce even today in India.

Davenport [7] spent 12 years in studying at the site; according to him Mohenjo-Daro corresponds exactly to Nagasaki. An epicenter about 50 yards wide whereeverything was crystallized, fused or melted was found. Sixty yards from the centerthe bricks are melted on one side indicating a blast. At this site even today theradiation levels are high suggesting that there was an atomic attack; see Childress,History Channel Video [4].

According to recent findings based on radio-metric dates from Bhirrana (Har-yana) the origin of the Indus Valley Civilization emerged in the 8th millennium BCin the Ghaggar-Hakra and Baluchistan area, see Khandekar [15].

Rig Veda cites chariots in many places: The chariot carrying the God is movingthrough the air with very swift motion; (Rig Veda V. 77.3). It is hard to overtake(Rig Veda. V.35.7), see Griffith [11]. Parts of Ratha are mentioned in Vedas.

Pallavas (600–900 AD) are amongst the earlier patrons who built rock-cutchariot-shaped temples of Mahabalipuram: They are called locally as Ratha(Chariot) and the Gopuram (superstructure) called Vimanas, see Fig. 2.

In Tanjore Brihadeshvara Temple (1009 AD), Fig. 3, there is an elaborate muralas given in Fig. 4; see Mohamed and Iqbal [19].

Lord Siva on his chariot with his eight arms wielding different weapons is drivenby Lord Brahma. The Ther is Earth with the Sun and Moon as wheels. Nandi,Siva’s vahana is pulling the chariot. Brahma is smiling at Siva looking at his

Fig. 2 Five Rathas ofMamallapuram(Mahabalipuram) (630–638AD)

Ancient Temple Carts—Modifications for Structure and Steering 5

inability to destroy the three demons with his bow and arrow, being closely watchedby other Gods. Siva observing Brahma’s smile turns the bow backwards and openshis third eye to destroy the asuras. This mural is recalling what our ancestors sawduring Rig-Veda and Ramayana periods.

Fig. 3 Brihadeshvara Temple

Fig. 4 Destruction ofDemons by Lord Siva asTirupurantaka on his chariotwith eight arms

6 J.S. Rao and B. Kumar

This mural clue that Gods were flying but not resident on earth is taken byVikrama Chola (1117–1135 AD) who built the first temple in Thukkachi with awheel, see Fig. 5. This was followed by Rajaraja Chola II who built the Aira-vatesvara temple (1146 AD), see Fig. 6 which has a horse-drawn chariot carved onthe front of the mandapam. This trend followed in Konark in Odisha and Hampi.

Konark Sun Temple (1278 AD) was conceived as a gigantic chariot of the SunGod, Fig. 7 shows one of these wheels. The next step seems to be taking the Godsas they are known in the scriptures to flying chariots, see Fig. 8 as depicted byHistory Channel. Rig-Veda also describes battles using Vimanas, as depicted inHistory Channel and described best by our ancestors in Fig. 9; that’s the reason whythe superstructures of temples are called Vimanas.

Stone chariots were built in Konark (1278 AD), see Fig. 10. Vijayanagara Kingsbuilt several temples in Hampi and one stone chariot in Vittala temple in 16thcentury, see Fig. 11.

It is difficult to date when the practice of chariots taking Gods on festival daysbegan; it is probably during the Vijayanagara period in 16th century. Ther itself isconsidered as the manifestation of the temple housing a God. Those pulling theTher consider to be rewarded by divine blessing. In to days practice, Rathotsava is

Fig. 5 First temple with aWheel (1117–1135 AD)

Fig. 6 Airavatesvara Templeand spoked chariot wheel

Ancient Temple Carts—Modifications for Structure and Steering 7

Fig. 7 Konark Sun Temple

Fig. 8 Battles from flyingchariots

Fig. 9 Vedic battles in Skyfrom vimanas

8 J.S. Rao and B. Kumar

an important social gathering enhancing living in harmony. An ancient Rathotsavais depicted in Fig. 12; see Dallapiccola [6].

A special section of Vedas deal with the construction of temples and Rathas.Silpa Shastra deals with Ther construction (Maha Viswakarmiyam) script of whichis put on palm leaves between 8 and 10th AD is shown in Fig. 13 see Umapathy[27].

Shastras (Rules) to design the Thers are probably developed as early as 8thcentury AD; 1. Viswakarma Rathalaksanam, 2. Kumara Tantra, 3. Maha Vis-wakarmiyam and 4. Karanagama [13] see, Acharya [1, 2] and Mankad [18]. TheTher used in Brihadeshvara temple in Tanjore is shown in Fig. 14. In general a Thershould have a Simmasanam (Crown Chair) for the Deity, a Devasanam (Seat ofDevas) a Narasanam (Seat for priests), different Boothabars from which the CrownChair is reached, see Fig. 15.

The Ther has a superstructure like a Vamana; see Fig. 16; but this is notessentially a load bearing structure but has all decorations befitting a festive mood.

Fig. 10 Konark Templechariot (1278 AD)

Fig. 11 Stone chariot inhampi (16th century)

Ancient Temple Carts—Modifications for Structure and Steering 9

Fig. 12 Ancient Rathotsava and procession

Fig. 13 Silpa Shastras onpalm leaves

Fig. 14 Tanjore Temple car

10 J.S. Rao and B. Kumar

These Thers do not have any steering system or a braking system. The Thers arepulled by devotees and being very heavy about 300 tons in the case of Tiruvarurtemple; move inch by inch. Steering, sometimes breaking is achieved by usingwedges placed by trained volunteers. The state of Tamilnadu alone has nearly 500such Thers in different temples; each of these Thers cost around 600,000 US$.

A review of the ancient Thers is given by Rao, Bhonsle and Kumar [23].Here the modern approach to determine the stresses, a simple steering linkage

and weight reduction through topology optimization is presented.

Fig. 15 A typical temple Ratha (car)

Fig. 16 Tanjore Temple car in procession

Ancient Temple Carts—Modifications for Structure and Steering 11

2 Ther Structure and FE Analysis

Traditionally Thers are designed without the application of any structuralmechanics principles; they tend to be very heavy. The Ther shown in Figs. 14 and15 is redesigned keeping the Vedic principles intact.

The CAD model of this Ther is given in Fig. 17. It is made of Madhuca Latifoliawood with G11 = 23,800 MPa, G22 = G23 = 238 MPa and Density = 9.2 × 10−10 ton/mm3. Bending strength is 171 MPa. The weight of the Ther is found from CADmodel to be 26 tons.

Overlapping of each section is merged together in the model, i.e. no bolts arerepresented. The superstructure or Vimana or Gopuram mass is taken as 50 tons.The top of the Gopuram is at 30.398 ft. The gravity load is taken to be 9,810 mm/s2.The FE model with Hex mesh is shown in Fig. 18. Total number of elements is256,288 with 74,117 nodes. Including 500 kg mass for the Deity and 70 kg massper each of 22 persons performing offerings etc., the total mass is taken as26.665 tons. As the cart moves at a very slow speed, 1 g load is applied withboundary conditions as shown.

The maximum von Mises stress is on axle bars as shown in Figs. 19 and 20. Themaximum stress is very low and is located on the axle bars as shown in Fig. 20.

Fig. 17 CAD model of a Tanjore Ther

12 J.S. Rao and B. Kumar

3 Wedging for Cart Turning

In absence of mechanized means, wedges, see Fig. 21, are used by skilled personnelfor negotiating turning as well as breaking. This practice has led to accidents.

A wedge is simulated under elastic conditions with the cart moving at 2 km/h, asshown in Fig. 22. The transient stress distribution under elastic conditions isobtained by using steel material for the axle bars. The total load is directly appliedat the supports on the axle bars. Total number of elements is 54,357 with 62,570nodes. Young’s modulus is 210 GPa, Density = 0.0078 ton/m3 and μ = 0.3, Yieldstrength = 225 MPa and Ultimate Strength = 411 MPa. The von Mises stressobtained by LSdyna is given in Fig. 23.

Fig. 18 Hex mesh FE modelof the Ther

Ancient Temple Carts—Modifications for Structure and Steering 13

The peak stress observed is 277.5 MPa at 0.055 s and decreases subsequently.This value is just above the yield and if an elasto-plastic analysis this value will befalling on the elasto-plastic line just a shade higher than 225 MPa. Actually thisstress is edge of contact stress, see Chan and Tuba [3] and it is somewhat spuriousand it is arising because of the modeling that is adopted to decrease the number ofelements and computational time. This can be safely ignored.

4 Steering Linkage

A steering linkage based on Ackerman principle; see Rao [21] is schematicallyshown in Fig. 24. The CAD model of this linkage is given in Fig. 25. Figure 26shows the modifications for the Ther front wheels. The material is taken as Material—IS:961 1975 steel.

Fig. 19 von Mises stressdistribution

14 J.S. Rao and B. Kumar

It may be noted that a right movement of the handle of the coupler rod willproduce a left turn and vice versa. This understanding keeps the linkage with aminimum of only four pivots. Otherwise the linkage becomes more complex and isconsidered unsafe. Also no sliding joints are allowed.

The model for stress evaluation of the steering linkage is so chosen to minimizethe effort of computation and given in Fig. 27. Total number of elements is 111,352with 131,365 nodes. Young’s modulus is 210 GPa, Density = 0.0078 ton/m3 andμ = 0.3, Yield strength = 225 MPa and Ultimate Strength = 411 MPa.

The maximum value of stress obtained is 31.471 MPa; see Fig. 28 which is wellbelow the Yield value of 225 MPa.

5 Steering Linkage with Wedging

Figure 29 gives the Ther model of Fig. 27 with a wedge subjected to 2 km/h speed.The transient stress distribution under elastic conditions is obtained using LSdynaand the result obtained for stress is shown. The material at discontinuities at element1,741,318 goes into plastic range given by 1,048 MPa.

Under elastic analysis, this will be the kind of result as found by Rao [22].Globally elastic but locally plastic structures, a rotating turbine blade has shown1,825 MPa with average stress of 256 MPa; with an elasto-plastic analysis the peakstress was reduced to 768 MPa following the elasto-plastic law, though the averagestress was reduced to a value 216.86 MPa. Here the peak stress observed at 0.22 s is

Fig. 20 Maximum von Mises stress 4.6 MPa

Ancient Temple Carts—Modifications for Structure and Steering 15

Fig. 21 Use of wedges forcart turning and braking

2 KMPH

50 Tons

1g Gravity load

Floor & wheel has contactRigid Floor constrained in all DOF

Fig. 22 Simulation forwedging

16 J.S. Rao and B. Kumar

1,048 MPa as shown in Fig. 30. Note that no damping was assumed in this run.Actually at this location the stress will follow the elasto-plastic law in the localstress riser region. It will be necessary to determine true stress and strain using

Fig. 23 Stress field under wedging

Fig. 24 Schematic ofAckerman linkage for theTher

Ancient Temple Carts—Modifications for Structure and Steering 17

Neuberization process and the life for each wedging can be calculated using StrainBased Lifing process. That will determine the number of actual wedging operationsthat can be performed before a crack can initiate at this location. This process isdescribed by Rao [22] for similar globally elastic and locally plastic structures.With the proposed steering mechanism, one can avoid the wedging operations forsteering. The lifing process is left for a future exercise.

We next look at weight reduction of this heavy structure following topologyoptimization procedures, see Rao [22]. The procedure is explained by Rao et al.[24], while optimizing a gas turbine blade for the weight.

Fig. 25 Proposed Ackerman steering linkage

Two Wheel Joints

Steering Base and Wheel Joint Pivot

Coupler Rod

Coupler Rod and Wheel Joint Pivot

Sleeve

Fig. 26 Modifications for steering linkage

18 J.S. Rao and B. Kumar

Considered as rigid bodies

50 Ton

1 g gravity

Fig. 27 Simple model for stress evaluation in the steering linkage

Fig. 28 Maximum von Mises stress 31.471 MPa

Fig. 29 Steering linkage with a wedge and peak stress location

Ancient Temple Carts—Modifications for Structure and Steering 19

6 Wight Reduction

Figures 19 and 20 give the distribution of von Mises stress in the Ther structure.The maximum value is found to be only 4.6 MPa. There is obviously a considerablematerial sitting idle in the structure which can be removed to the extent allowedaccording to Vedic rules and keep the structure still safe under the prevailingconditions.

Earlier designs like the present Ther were made based on durability conditionand tend to be more rigid and heavy in weight. The designs were based onapproximate methods, stress concentration charts and factor of safety. All this haschanged with the advent of high speed computation and topology optimization wasdeveloped to address the needs of advanced designs consistent with minimumweight, optimum performance for different physics state quantities such as pressure,temperature etc., and see Rao [22].

Fig. 30 Peak stress timehistory

Fig. 31 von Mises stress inthe middle cross-sectionacross the Ther

20 J.S. Rao and B. Kumar

Following this procedure Figs. 31 and 32 show the relative densities of the mainstructure of the Ther at the middle sections along and across the Ther. The materialin blue color region can be removed and restructured to reduce the weight.

Fig. 32 von Mises stress in the middle cross-section along the Ther

Fig. 33 Rearrangement of the cross bars on wheel chassis before and after optimization; thickness(height) maintained the same so as not to change the overall dimensions. a Mass of thecomponent = 2.164 tons. b Mass of the component = 1.562 tons

Ancient Temple Carts—Modifications for Structure and Steering 21

The rearrangement of the structure by removing the material in low relativedensity blue regions thus obtained is shown in Figs. 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39.

The original structure weight 17.383 tons is reduced to 15.272 tons. Thereduction achieved here is 11.76 %. A reduction in the weight helps in reducing thepeak stresses, particularly while steering.

Fig. 34 Rearrangement of the boothabar. a Mass of the component = 3.577 tons. b Mass of thecomponent = 3.434 tons

Fig. 35 Rearrangement of the simma boothabar. a Mass of the component = 3.139 tons. a Massof the component = 2.839 tons

22 J.S. Rao and B. Kumar

Fig. 37 Rearrangement of the Narasanam. a Mass of the component = 2.792 tons. b Mass of thecomponent = 2.467 tons

Fig. 36 Rearrangement of the Adhistanam. a Mass of the component = 2.231 tons. b Mass of thecomponent = 1.756 tons

Ancient Temple Carts—Modifications for Structure and Steering 23

7 Conclusion

The origin of temples and Thers is traced back from Rig-Veda times. The Thersdesigned by Vedic rules appear to be good structures according to modern finiteelement analysis. The wedging practiced to steer the Ther can be unsafe that canlead to failures. A steering linkage is designed and the details presented. The weightof the structure is reduced by following topology optimization.

Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to Chairman Padmabhushan Dr. Mahalingam ofKumaraguru College of Technology and Chief Executive Officer Mr. Bobby John of PricolTechnologies, Coimbatore for their support in this work.

Fig. 38 Rearrangement of the Devasanam. a Mass of the component = 2.035 tons. b Mass of thecomponent = 1.887 tons

Fig. 39 Rearrangement of the Simmasanam. aMass of the component = 0.633 tons. bMass of thecomponent = 0.5121 tons

24 J.S. Rao and B. Kumar

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