Rama’s Bridge
Rama’s Bridge – Rama Setu – Adam’s Bridge
In the great Indian epic of Ramayana, written several thousand years ago, the author Valmiki speaks of a bridge over the ocean that connects India and Sri Lanka.
The epic, which spans almost 24,000 verses, tells the story of the life of the divine prince Rama.
Rama, the crown prince, was forced to renounce his right to the throne and go into exile for fourteen years.
During his stay in the forest, his wife Sita was kidnapped by the evil demon king Ravana and brought to Sri Lanka.
Rama organized a massive army that led to Sri Lanka, unable to move troops across the ocean, was advised by the sea god to build a bridge over the water.
Rama asks the Vanaras for help in building it, raising a road between the mainland and Lanka, building it with rocks and boulders, which are described as mountains.
The construction project was said to have lasted five days and had a length of 100 leagues.
The bridge, once completed, allowed Rama to transport his Vanara army across the ocean to Lanka, with the killing of Ravana and the liberation of Sita returning to India.
The first signs of human habitation in Sri Lanka date back to around 1.75 million years ago: the Stone Age.
The age of the bridge is equal to the archaeological estimates.
According to Ramayana – the bridge was built in the third age of man or “treta yuga”.
The treta yuga or third era of man was estimated 1.7 million years ago.
So the time frame cited by Indian legend and scientific reality coincide closely.
Located in the Palk strait, off the southeastern border of India, formed by sand banks, it is characterized by a long and narrow strip of land typically composed of sand, silt and small pebbles.
Once this strip of land was believed to be a natural formation, however, images taken from a NASA satellite showed that this formation of land was a long broken bridge beneath the surface of the ocean.
Now called “Adam’s Bridge”, it stretches 18 miles from mainland India to Sri Lanka.
Dr Badrinarayanan, a former director of the Geological Survey of India, carried out a survey on this structure and concluded that it had been created by man.
Dr Badrinarayanan and his team drilled 10 holes along the alignment of Adam’s bridge. What he discovered was surprising.
About 6 meters below the surface there was a layer of sand limestone, corals and boulder-like materials.
His team was surprised when they discovered a layer of loose sand, about 4-5 meters below and then hard rock formations below.
A team of divers descended to physically examine the bridge.
The boulders they observed were not composed of a typical marine formation.
They were identified as coming from both sides of the causeway.
Dr. Badrinarayanan also indicates that there is evidence of ancient quarries in these areas.
His team concluded that:
the materials on both sides were placed on the sandy bottom of the water to form the causeway which is indicative of an intelligent design, outside the realm of natural forces.
Sri Lanka is indeed the perfect place for children and for people who like animals and nature.
This country is incredibly green.
It is impossible not to find elephant herds on safari or even on the same road traveling.
It is also very easy to see leopards, macaques and other types of monkeys, giant squirrels, jackals, etc. etc
Furthermore, walking with children and adults through the Peradeniya Botanical Garden is a delight. Along with the giant trees and millions of plants, we will also find monkeys and other animals in this immense place.
