Lord Rama myth or truth
By Dr. Vivek Arya
Rama - The Role Model Recently issue of Ramsetu is in vogue. Government filed an affadavit before supreme court stating that Rama has never existed on this earth. However, on strong opposition by other political parties and Hindu activist they withdrew the affadavit. Hindu organization like Vishwa Hindu Parishad etc claim that question relating to existence of Rama cannot be simply resolved by scientific or historical findings.
Existence of Rama is basically a question of faith for millions of people. Therefore no Government can deny existence of Rama. But these greatest advocate of Hindusim did not show guts to take on Government/Karunanidhi and proved that Rama is as historical fact and not a myth.
Neverthless , they got support from unexpected quarter i.e Hurriyat conference from Kashmir. Hurriayat also claimed that scientific or historical evidence are not yardstick to judge various issues related to religion.
Hence, whether Rama existed or not cannot be decided on base of scientific or historical findings. This is basically associated with religious sentiments of millions of people therefore government interference is unwanted.
In the mean time some of the scientists, based on astronomical data, have propounded that Rama existed around 5044 BC. In such a perplexing situation it becomes very difficult for common masses to arrive at any conclusive view regarding the existence of Rama. Hence, before deriving any conlusions we have to first analyse various facts regarding Rama and his epic Ramayana.
This article will put forth various facts which will help in resolving the issue of Rama‘s existence and will strongly conclude that Rama was an historical Mahanayaka and not any mythological character.
WHO WAS RAMA?
Maharishi Valmiki wanted to write an historical epic which can act as guiding principle for future generation. He was in dilemma over this issue. When he consulted Narada Muni. Narada Muni then suggested Valmiki to write about Rama, son of Dasratha who was born in the clan of Raghu. Here one should remember that Valmiki wrote Ramayana long after the period of Rama . This facts goes contrary to the prevalent legend that Valmiki wrote Ramayana before Rama was born. This fact has been very well stated in Valmiki‘s Ramayana.
Similarly Mahakavi Kalidas wrote Raghuvansham. This books throws light on lineage of Raghu and also states various kings who ruled after Rama. So, now the point of argument is that if Rama was a mythological character than how Valmiki could provide history of forefathers of Rama ?
Whereas in Raghuvansham how Kalidasa has provided details of forefathers of Rama and his various Santatis(successor) who ruled after him. In present times various books dealing with stories of Rama are prevalent in India and around the world. We will throw light on this issue in the latter part of this article.
WHEN WAS RAMA BORN ?
(based on Valmiki‘s Ramayana)
The burning topic in present times is, when was Rama born ?
Before dwelling on this point, first of all we have to understand that our great Maharishies has systematically divided period of shristi in Manvantars. Each Manvantar is furthur divided into chaturyugis. Each chaturyugis consist of Krita(satyuga), traita, dwapar and kaliyuga. Present Manvantar is Vaivast Manvantar. Already 27 chaturyugies of this Manvantar have passed. This is the 28th chaturyugi and first charan(period) of this chaturyugi is in continuation.
It is well known fact that Rama was born during the latter part of traita. Hence, if we assume that Rama was born in the present chaturyugi then it means he was born at least 10,00,000 years ago. The period of his birth may be more then this.
However, Vayu purana provide us the correct chronological period of Ramayana. If we take Vayu purana period into consideration then period of Rama goes to atleast 1,80,00,000 years back. Hence we can easily conclude that period of Rama is atleast 10,00,000 years to 1,80,00,000 years(this issue will be resolved in another topic “Blunders of Indian History”) .
This view is also supported by the fact that when Hanuman went to Lanka in search of Sita, there he saw elephants having four teeth . Hence this is now for archeiologist/biologist to ascertain when did such elephants existed on earth ? (The calculations of chaturyugies will be dealt in another topic “Age of present shristi”.
Whereas difficulties encountered in establishing chronological correctness of historical events for period before Christ will be dealt in “blunders of history” ). Another interesting fact that has been mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana is that the paternal home of Bharat and Shatrughan was in a country where mode of transportation was vehicle being carried by dogs or deer. When both the brothers returned to Ayodhya from their maternal home they crossed many places covered by snow and were wearing wollen clothes. Which place does this episode points to has to be ascertained.
By our logic it is Russia, as phonetically Russia sounds like misnomer of Rishi (this has been established in our article blunder of Indian/World history) Above mentioned facts clearly give us an insight into the period when was Rama born. So those who claim that Rama is only a mythological character we are providing them some more proofs which will establish that before the advent of Christinity and Islam Rama was revered throught out the world as an international cult figure.
LEGENDS OF RAMAYANA IN VARIOUS PARTS OF GLOBE
1) RAMAYANA IN RUSSIA AND MANGOLIA:-
The Deccan Herald, dtd 15 dec 1972, at its front page gave a news which state that in Elista, capital of Kalmyk in Russia, story relating to Ramayana had been published. The news furthur state that various legends of Ramayana are popular among people of Kalmyk. Various version of Ramayana are already stored at libraries in Kalmyk. The news clearly state that legends of Ramayana are very popular since time immemorial. Domodin Suren, a Russian writer, has compiled various legends popular among Mongolian and Kalmyk peoples. Prof C F Glostunky‘s manuscript ‘Academy of sciences’ is stored at Siberian Branch of erstwhile U S S R. That book deals with various legends popular along the coast of Volga river. This manuscript is in Kalmyk language. In Leningrad also various books dealing with stories of Ramayana in Russian and Mangolian languages are preserved.
2) RAMAYANA IN CHINA:-
In china, collection of Jatak stories relating various events of Ramayana, belonging to 251 AD. were complied by KANG_SENG_HUA . Another book, of 742 AD, relating story of plight of Dasratha after Rama was ordered to go for Vanvasa is still found in China. Similarly in 1600 AD, His-Yii-Chii wrote a novel with title Kapi (monkey) dwelling on the stories of Ramayana, predominantly that of Hanuman.
3) RAMAYANA IN SRILANKA:-
Naresh Kumar Dhatusena alias Kumardasa, who ruled Srilanka in 617 AD wrote ‘Janakiharan’. This is the oldest Sanskrit literature available in Srilanka. In Modern times C Don Bostean and Jhon d‘silva have written stories based on Ramayana. Till today majority of population adore and revere Rama and Sita.
4) RAMAYANA IN COMBODIA(KAMPUCHIA):
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Various rock inscription belonging to 700 AD are found in Khmer region of Combodia. These rock inscription are based on stories of Ramayana. Various temples constructed during the reign of Khmer dynasty depicts the story of Ramayana on their wall. The temples of Ankor are very famous for the stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata. These temples belong to the earlier part of 400 AD to 700 AD. One astonishing fact in these engraved pictures is that Hanuman and rest other Vanars are not shown with tail as against the popular belief of masses. (Wether Hanuman etc are monkeys, this issue will be dealt latter)
5) RAMAYANA IN INDONESIA:-
According to De Casperis, there was temple named ‘Chandi loro jongrong’ which have stories of Ramayana engraved on its wall. This temple was of 9th century AD. In Indonesia another version of stories of Ramayana named Kakavin is very popular. This story was bit different from that of Prambanan . Besides that various other version of Ramayana stories were very in early centuries after christ which itself proves that Ramayana was very popular among Indonesian people before advent of Islam. It is also an astonishing fact that first international convention on Ramayana was organized in Indonesia few years back.
6) RAMAYANA IN LAOS:-
Local people when pronounce Loas in their language it phonetically sounds like the name of one of the son Rama. Besides temple of Vat- she-fum and Vat-pa-Kev remains depicts the story of Ramayana on their walls. Whereas temples of Vat-pra-kev and Vat-sisket are having books containing epic of Ramayana. Lafont, French traveler translated story of ‘Pa laka-Pa lama’ in his book named P‘ommachak in french. This book also deals with story of Ramayana popular among masses of Laos.
7) RAMAYANA IN THAILAND:-
Stories of Ramayana are still very popular among masses. In early centuries after Christ many kings has Rama as either prefix or suffix in their name ruled this country. Just like as in India we organize play of Ramayana, similarly various dramatic version or Ramayana are oraganised in Thailand till today. Similar dramatic version of Ramayana are still organized in various sout east asian countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Combodia etc.
8) RAMAYANA IN MALAYSIA:-
In Malaysia till today plays are oraganised based on the stories of ‘HIKAYAT SERI RAMA’ ,written in 14 century AD,. Dalang society organize nearly 200-300 plays relating to Ramayana. Before commencement of the play people conduct various prayers and abulations revering RAMA and SITA.
9) RAMAYANA IN BURMA:- King Kayanjhitha who reigned during 1084 –
1112 AD; regarded himself as desecendant of clan of Rama. Various books relating to the stories of Ramayana as earlier as 15 century AD are still found in Burma. Books like ‘Kavyadarsh’ , ‘Subhasit Ratanidhi’ are based on the stories of Ramayana. Zhang-Zhungpa, commentary of Ramayana was written by Taranath, which is not available in modern times. In Burma also various form of plays are conducted based on the stories of Ramayana.
10) RAMAYANA IN NEPAL:-
Oldest version of Ramayana, belonging ot 1075 AD is still found in Nepal.
11) RAMAYANA IN PHILIPINES:-
Effect of stories of Ramayana can easily felt in the customs, traditions and legends of majority of masses. Prof Juon R Francisco found that in Marineo Muslims, legend based on Ramayana is popular, in which Rama has been depicted as Incarnation of God. Similarly among Magindanao or Sulu folk Muslims also various legends based on the stories of Ramayana are popular.
12) RAMAYANA IN IRAN:-
In Hyderabad city, capital of Andhra Pradesh, there is museum name Salarjung. There one portrait which is depicting a burly monkey having a very big stone in its hand. This portrait reminds one of Hanuman holding Dronagiri. Similarly Marco Polo in his book (translated by Sir Henry Yule in English) wrote at page no 302, vol II about a peculiar belief among Muslims, spread from Afganistan to Morocco and Algeria. These Muslims believed that members of imperial house of Trebizond were endowed with short tails while mediavel continentals had like stories about Englishmen as- Mathew Paris relates…
. ; .
We are of the belief that if one seriously start investigating various legends prevalent, before advent of Islam and Christianity, in Arabic countries and European countries than existence of Ramayana and Mahabharta can be proved. Due to barbaric and dogmatic acts of these peoples wide range of literature and buildings of historical importance has been wiped out.
13) RAMAYANA IN EUROPE:
In Italy, when excavation were carried out in the remains of Astrocon civilization, then various houses were found having peculiar type of paintings on their wall. These paintaings, on closure investigation, seems to be based on the stories of Ramayana. Some of the paintings shows peculiar persons having tails along with two men bearing bows and arrow on their shoulders, while a lady is standing besides them. These paintings are of 7 century BC. It should be remembered that once Astrocon civilization was spread over 75 pct of Italy.
Sir Henry Yule in his translation of works of Marcopolo has refered to the belief prevalent among Medival Europeans that there Ancestors were having small tails. The same fact has been referred by Maharishi Dayanand in his magnum opus ‘Satyarth Prakash’. There Swamiji state that people of Europe were called as Vanaras (monkeys) ,due to their appreance in our epic like Mahabharta, Valmiki Ramayana etc. If we a analyse this statement in present context, then how we are going to define various statements like kangaroos(Australian team) meet men in blue(Indian team) at Calcutta.
Similar sort of epithets were used during World war to describe armies of different countries or else we see that we have helicopters named cheetah etc. As these words(epithets) are just a way to describe different set of people, arms etc, similarly world like Rakshas, Vanaras etc were used in our legends. These facts clearly indicates that legends of Ramayana are not work of fiction and were very popular around the world .
14) RAMAYANA IN AFRICA(CONTINENT):
People of Ethiopia call themselves as descendents of Cushites. This word Cush is basically phonectic misnomer of Kush, the son of Rama. This fact is verly established by Satpath Brahamans, commentary on Vedas. These Brahamans while explaining various mantras of Vedas uses many histrorical events to elucidate the topic.
Astonishingly in Satpath Brahaman we find reference regarding the rule of King Bharata (predecessor of Kaurav and Pandavs) in Rhodesia .
Besides many inconsistent legends inspired by epic of Ramayana are prevalent in African Communities and they basically refers to various activities of vanars.
Egypt basically derives its name from Ajpati which is one of the name of forefather of Rama. If analyse various legends prevalent in Egypt there we will found references of Dasratha(father of Rama). These facts can be very well established from various historical refernces of Brahamans.(for the proof of it see our article Blunders of Indian/World history)
15) RAMAYANA IN NORTH AMERICAN AND SOUTH AMERICAN CONTINENTS:
Before Columbus discovered North American continent European people were not knowing about it. However A DE QNATREFAGES in his book, THE HUMAN SPECIES, categorically says that Chinese people were aware about the American continent and the use to have trade relations with them America was referred as Fad-Sang. Similarly in Japanese people it was known as Fad-See. Similarly, if we refer to various historical reference in Mahabharata, Valmiki Ramayana etc we will find that American continent has been reffered as Patal Desh(Patal means below foot). If we geographically see then we will find that American continent is just below the Indian Subcontinent. We will throw greater light on this issue in our topic,
BLUNDERS OF INDIAN HISTORY/WORLD HISTORY.
But for your reference we are providing you some prevalent legends.
a) beautiful girl in Mexican tribal area till today are called as Ulopy. If we see in Mahabharata we find reference of Arjuna marrying girl named Ulopy who was daughter of King of Patal Desh.
b) W H Prescott in his book , ‘ History of conquest of Mexico’, provides various reference which prove that earlier civilization of American subcontinent have major similarities with that of Indian (Aryan) civilization.
However here we are providing you one reference which clearly state that Ramayana is not mythological epic but it bears historical testimony. According to writer of the book there is popular legend in Aztec community which state that a beautiful person named Quevtsal Katal came there from east and taught them various aspects of advanced civilization as a result his period was treated as golden era. He then went back to his original homeland because of persecution by some divine creature. This legends surprisingly does not throw light on the reasons why he returned.
Another interesting fact that has been stated by Prescott is that this legend is available in documented form. Now, none except Indian tradition can claim that they bear root to this legend. The same story has been narrated in Valmiki Ramayana, in uttarkand where it is mentioned that Salkantak Rakshas who dwelled in Lanka were persecuted by Vishnu. Due to this persecution they left Lanka and went to Patal Desh. The leader of this group was Sumali. According to Ramayana they lived in Patal Desh for long time. When they found condition congenial they returned to their homeland.
It is for readers to decide when such conclusive proof are there to establish that epic of Ramayana is not mythological legend but it is historical evidence which bears testimony to various legends prevalent around the world. Till today play named Ramasitotav is played in various communities of Mexico. To our amazement Rama has been mentioned in Bible, new testament, Mathew ch 2/18, where it is mentioned “ his voices was heard in RAMA”. Rama is proper noun there, now it is for biblical society to define who was Rama and why he has been mentioned in Bible.
Even the name of Dasratha and Ayodhya are there in Bible. We will be referring to these facts in Blunders of Indian/world History.
Now we would pose some tickling questions to the historians:
1) Why month of fasting among muslims is called Ramadhan ?
2) Why place in Gazastrip is called Ramallaha ?
3) Why place in London is named as Ramsgate ?
4) Why capital of Italy is known as Rome(misnomer of Rama)
We can provide various examples where word Rama has been used as suffix or prefix with the names of various historical places/persons or misnomer of Rama has been used as name for historical places/persons. None of the historical evidence provides conclusive answer to these facts unless we take Indian historical evidences into account.
In our article ‘ Blunders of Indian/World history ‘ we will provide proof for it. We also believe that if barabaric religion like Christinity and Islam have not gained popularity than we would have more datas to prove our point conclusively. These two semetic religion have inflicted unparrelled havoc on historical datas and buildings. They destroyed all the libraries/monuments of historical importance which does not confer their beliefs.
Still we have lot with us and we can recreate correct chronological data of world history. It is widely accepted that the King Alexander invaded India. It really sounds ironical that we are accepting this theory without any historical evidence, on the other hand we go on to deny existence of Rama despite various historical evidences are there to prove that he was not mythical but a historical Mahanayak.
These historians inorder to defy Rama‘s existence are ridiculously harping the same old tone of theory of evolution which does not have any scientific proof.(why and how theory of evolution gained importance will be dealt in our article How the universe is created. The only thing of significance regarding theory of evolution, we want to state here is that it was a tool which was invented to challenge the anarchaic/draconian supremacy of church. The church use to claim that this world was created by God out of nothing and the age of this Univerese is not more than 10000 years. By the help of evolutionary theory scientific world challenged the supremacy of churh and overcame the clergy.)
This is for readers to decide by themselves how they are going to treat Rama. We think that we have provided lot of food for thought. Those who are illogically biased may still refute the existence of Rama while those who are logical and believe that mythological character can never gain such world wide respect/reverence will start looking upon Rama from wider historical evidences.
Here we want to clarify following points:
1) Rama was not an incarnation of God but he was Mahanayak, a legendary person who lived a pristine life and is an example to be emulated till today.
2) Ramasetu, on which lot of controversy is being created, might not be built by Rama as the period of Rama is at least 10,00,000 years. During this time geographical conditions has changed drastically.
3) Valmiki Ramayana is not fiction but an epic based on historical evidence. We can analyze the issue of Ramasetu only on the basis of environmental/economical viability.
For those who are questioning existence of Rama, let them first justify wether their forefathers ever existed, by using the same yardstick which they are using for existence of Rama.
Hidden Truth of Ramayan
Ramayana:untold truths/deliberately
Here are few facts about Rama 'the avataar of lord Vishnu'.
Rama was cruel to lower caste:
Shambuka was slain (by Rama) because he was making penance which was forbidden to him by Vedas as he was a "Shudra". (Uttara Kandam, Chapter 76). Looking at his hand Rama said the Sanskrit slogan "Oh right hand, you kill this Asche Shudra unhesitatingly as killing this Shudra is the only way to get back the life of the deceased Brahmin boy.
Are you not one of the limbs of Rama?" (Valmiki Ramayanam)
Contrary to what is shown, Rama was non vegeterian:
When "god" Rama was told to go to the forest, he mournfully revealed to his mother: It has been ordained that I have to lose the kingdom, forego the princely comforts and the tasty MEAT-DISHES. (Ayothia Kandam, 20 Chapter).
Did Rama Respected his father:
Rama called his father "a FOOL, an IDIOT", mentally challenged. (Ayodhya Kandam, 53 rd Chapter).
Rama followed caste system,did not believe in women and was a brahmin Appeaser:
While telling lakshmana about the duties of a king
"Women should not be trusted" and that "Secrets should not be confided even to the wife". (Ayodhya Kandam, Chapter 100).Also he puts vedas,brahmins at top in the same chapter.
Kukuvavathy, sister-in-law of Rama, said to him -
"Oh Elder! How you love Sita more than you love yourself! Come with me and see what really is in your lovely wife's heart. Still she could not forget that fellow Ravan. Drawing a picture of Ravan on a hand-fan and pressing it closely to her bosom. She is lying on your bed with eyes closed thinking on and rejoicing at Ravan's glories. Rama sighed and went out to Sita's house. There she was found sleeping pressing to her breast the hand-fan on which Ravan's picture was drawn. (This is found in pages 199, 200 of the Bengali Ramayana written by Mrs. Chandravathi).
Dr. Charles claims
that Ramayana contains much pornographic material and cannot be read in public. He gives the following examples: Ravana's description of Sita's beauty which is lewdly detailed (refer to C.R. Srinivasalyengar's translation of Aranya Kandam - chapter 46).
In Kiskind Kandam, Rama explains to Lakshmana of his sexual experience with Sita. According to Ramayana, the Aryans (Brahmins) used to drink liquor (nine different kinds), eat meat, marry many wives and prostitution was an accepted way of life amongst the priests and gods.
Ramayana also recounts the "story of King Dasharatha who, in order to have a baby son, made a big sacrifice (yaham) of sheep, cattle, horses, birds and snakes.By this means, the King was able to have his sons - (Bala Kandam, Chapter 14. For more details on yaham, refer to the book "Gnana Surian", published by Kudi Arasu Press).
Rama is a historic man and the Valmiki Ramayana is a true history.
by Dr. Padmakar Vishnu Vartak,
M.B.B.S., F.U.W.A.I., Ph.D. (Lit)[Washington DC]
521 Shaniwar peth, Pune, 411030
Rama is a historic man and the Valmiki Ramayana is a true history
It was painful to read the news on 13-9-2007 that the central Govt. of India submitted an affidavit in the Supreme court that there was no historical and scientific evidence to establish the existence of Rama and the Ramayana. The Archaeological survey of India stated that the contents of the Valimiki Ramayan cannot be a historical record, because there is no proof to the characters and events, depicted therein.
This statement is agonizing because there is ample evidence in the Valmiki Ramayana to prove that it is history. I say so because I have studied the Valmiki Ramayan for many years and have done lot of research on it.
Valmiki was contemporary to Rama and he wrote the history. He says at 1-3-9 that he searched for the information and then wrote the history. When Seeta was abandoned by Rama, she came to Valmiki’s hermitage. Therefore Valmiki could gather a lot of information from her. In spite of this statement, if the Govt. does not want to believe, then how could it believe in the existence of Jesus and Mohamad Paigambar? Why the Govt. declared holiday on the birth date of Mohamad, which is not known to any book, historical or other.
The Ramayana is a true history, therefore Valimiki has given 73 ancestors of Rama and recorded which Prince married which princess. The ancestry of Rama and Seeta both is recorded by Valmiki. It is not so in case of Jesus and Paigambar. Even then the Govt agrees with them and not with Rama. Why?
If Rama was an imaginary character how should he be referred to by hundreds of books for hundreds of years? The imaginary characters are not at all referred to by other books. For example, Tarzan and Sherlock Homes are not at all referred to by other authors. The generators of those characters have not mentioned even the father and mother of their heroes. It is not the case with Rama and Seeta.
Seeta is referred to again and again, place to place, even in Lanka, which is at least 1500 miles away from the residence of Rama and Valmiki. Many places in Shri Lanka bear the names connected to Seeta. There is a place called as ‘Diwurungaha’ in Lanka, which means the tree, where Seeta took an oath of chastity. Why all historical stories are told in Shri Lanka? Only because, they are true historical facts.
In search of Seeta, Vanaras went to the east. Sugreeve told them to search for Seeta to the end of the east, which is demarcated by a golden, three branched, Tala tree, which shines from the top to bottom, carved on Uday Mountain. Kishkindha 40/53,54 describes this Tala tree having three branches. Valmiki wrote this true fact around 7292 years BC, and after 1965 AD such a three branched tree is discovered in the South America, on an offshoot of Mount Andes, near the Bay of Pisco. It is 820 feet tall, has three branches and it glitters like gold, when seen from the sky. Does this discovery not prove the Ramayana, authored by Valmiki, as true history? This one evidence alone is sufficient to prove the Valmiki Ramayana as true history.
Tulasi Ramayana is not a history, it is written in devotion, 7700 years after Rama’s demise. I have proved by astronomical mathematics that Rama’s birth date is 4th December 7323 BC. He married to Seeta on 7th April 7307 BC. Rama was to be coroneted on Thursday, 29th November 7306 BC, but had to go in to exile. Rama fought with Ravana from 3rd November 7292 BC to 15th Nov. 7292 BC. On Phalgun Amavasya, on 15th Nov. 7292 Rama killed Ravana. Valmiki has recorded Thursday and calculations show that it was the Thursday on 29th Nov. 7306 BC. This proves the Valmiki Ramayana has a true history.
Hanuman entered Lanka on1st Sept. 7292 BC and returned with information of Seeta on 3rd Sept. Rama moved his army to the south on 2nd October, reached the south sea on 22nd Oct. Nala built a temporary bridge in 5 days from 26th to 30th Oct. 7292 BC. Rama-Ravana war took place from 3rd Nov. to 15th Nov. 7292 BC. On 15th Nov. Phalguna Amavasya Rama killed Ravana. I have discovered the dates of almost 45 incidents from the Valmiki Ramayana. I used astronomy, which is a science.
Around Delhi it is supposed that Rama killed Ravana on Vijaya Dashami; this is absolutely wrong. Valmiki has clearly stated that it was Amavasya. (Yudh 92/64)
The Govt. depended on Archaeology, which is not a perfect science. During 1971, when I showed that Dinosaurs were present around Dwaraka during the Mahabharata era, around 5561 BC., the Archaeologist laughed at me saying the Dinosaurs never existed in India. But now existence of dinosaurs is well proved near Ahemedabad. Archaeologists did not approve my date of 5561 BC for the Mahabharata and 7323 BC for the Ramayana. They opined that there was no culture in such a remote past. But now a well-developed city is found submerged under the sea, in the Bay of Cambay, near Gujarath, which has water and drainage systems. It proves that the opinions of the Archaeological Survey are not believable.
It is true that the Rama Setu never existed. Valmiki calls it Nala Setu, so also Vyasa in the Mahabharata calls it Nala Setu. It was erected by one engineer Nala. Valmiki has written in clear words that Nala erected the Setu using trees. Valmiki never says that the rocks floated on water. On the contrary he states that big rocks were cut with machines and thrown in to the sea, which sank and on that foundation a Setu of wood was built. Valmiki wrote a true history, but later it was perverted by devotional writings like that of Tulasidas, in the 15th century AD.
Valmiki is keen to state the sea, there, was shallow and so boats could not go in to the sea. Today it is proved that the sea is shallow, proving the Ramayana as true history. How could Valmiki at least 1500 miles distant from the south sea write so exactly? Because he wrote history after gathering information from Hanuman, Seeta, Rama etc. Those were true characters
The Govt should not say that the Ramayana is not a history and Rama never existed. There is no evidence to say that. BJP, VHP, and others should also not say anything untrue. Why should they say it as Rama Setu? Why should they hold that the Setu was built with stones? Why should they suppose that the stones floated on water? It is all false. Valmiki was a truth abiding sage. He wrote the truth and truth only. Hindu should stick up to the truth.
The true fact is that there was a row of rocks, which made the sea shallow. Nala intelligently filled up the gaps in that row, with wood and made a temporary bridge. It was prepared 9299 years ago. How can it be present now? What is present is a natural row of rocks, which can be safely broken to prepare a way for ships. That way will save lot of fuel, time and money. It should be done. Nobody should oppose it and obstruct the national benefit. The Govt. too should avoid talking nonsense. The Govt. should abide by the truth. Rama was a true historic person and Valmiki has written a true history, though he used the form of poetry.
I am ready to help the Supreme Court and the Govt. to show the truth. I have already published a book in Marathi, “Vastava Ramayana”, which shows the true historicity of the Ramayana, fixing the dates of almost 50 incidents in Rama’s life.
Exploring the truth in Ramayana
Indians (read, Hindus) need to reaffirm their faith in their tradition and scriptures. Indian history needs to be freed from the grasp of the flag bearers of westerm interest and its blind followers.
Vindicating traditional historiography: Ramayana accurate portrayal of ancient India
Come Carpentier de Gourdon
10 Sep 2012
A fundamental feature, but also an enduring flaw of the modern scientific method is that it strives to ignore ancient data in order to set up a cultural “tabula rasa” on which it may carry out research and build its own edifice. Traditional annals are regarded a priori as inaccurate, due to the positivistic prejudice that people in the remote past were far less knowledgeable than us, and had access only to primitive intellectual and material tools to investigate and record data.
In the case of India, the florid, allusive, metaphorical and dithyrambic emphasis of the style used by ancient bards convinced their western readers that there was little factually accurate information (at least as far as geography and chronology were concerned) to be gleaned in the old epics and poems. The cosmic resonance given to the heroes’ actions further demonstrated in their view that the haze of legend impenetrably wrapped what little factual core there might have been to the tales told. The fact that Valmiki’s Ramayana is a Kavya stood as proof in skeptical eyes that it was not in fact Itihasa – a record of real happenings.
In recent decades however, the progress in various scientific disciplines has led to a reevaluation of that supposedly “rationalistic” appraisal, and the Ramayana for one is being rediscovered as an “odyssey” that is a periplum of ancient India which is not only topographically informative but chronologically accurate to a degree which modern techniques to resuscitate the past on the basis of some archeological and epigraphic fragments could never reach.
It is strange indeed that the academic community tends to reject a lot of information contained in ancient texts which it does not understand, or does not wish to seriously consider, while it takes pride in reinventing a lost world on the basis of inevitably hazardous detective work on a few tiny indices, “recreating a skeleton out of one retrieved tooth” so to say, in the manner of Sherlock Holmes. Conan Doyle was a novelist, but one often wonders if many paleontologists, paleo-anthropologists, archeologists and ancient historians do not create fiction – or at least “faction” i.e. more or less informed guesswork or speculation – which they wish all to regard as proven fact and are very reluctant to revise even when newly discovered evidence should force them to.
Coming after many other convergent theses, the book by Saroj Bala and Kulbhushan Mishra “Historicity of Vedic and Ramayan Eras” (Scientific Evidences from the Depth of the Oceans to the Heights of the Skies, I-SERVE, 2012) enshrines a valuable array of scientific testimonies backed by hard proof, gathered by some of the best specialists in their respective fields, many holding senior posts at various national agencies of the Government of India. It argues and persuasively demonstrates that the chronological records of ancient India were reliable, at least in some cases, and that the claims of traditional scholars about the antiquity of their scriptures are correct.
Thus, the Indian royal annals quoted by Megasthenes and subsequently by other Greek writers, find support in recent findings and must be far closer to truth than the rather arbitrary attempts at reconstruction made by Western archeologists and linguists on the basis of superficial bookish information in the last hundred and fifty years. The 19th century western approach to the origins of Indian civilization was initially informed by the underlying biblical belief that the world had been created about 4000 BC and then it got influenced by the theory of evolution which saw most of mankind as slowly emerging from savagery in the last four millennia, to find its way to rational knowledge and progress in Greece around 600 BC. Such a conditioned, narrow and deterministic worldview could not harbour the data gathered from little known disciplines in which ancient Indians excelled, such as astronomy, agriculture and botany.
What are the main data provided in Bala’s and Mishra’s book, first presented at a seminar in July 2011(inaugurated by former President APJ Abdul Kalam), that are supported by many other results gathered over the last decades:
1] The Ramayana tells a story which took place in the sixth millennium BC, between 5114 BCE (Sri Rama’s birth, according to the astrological theme given by Valmiki, on Chaitra Shuddha Navami of Punarvasu Nakshatra, date when Rama Navami is celebrated to this day) and 5075 BC (the year he ascended the throne as 64th king of his “Solar” dynasty), in an area encompassing much of its modern territory, from the Ganga basin (Ayodhya and Prayag) to Sri Lanka. Many of the places and sites mentioned in the Epic (more than 250) have kept the same names and vivid traditions connected to the passage of the royal and divine trinity. They retain most of the physical and climatic features noted by Valmiki. The least that can be said is that the author or authors of the kavya were well acquainted with all those locations, personally or through the reports of other travelers.
The dates recorded for the various events narrated in the story (astronomical coordinates that can be recreated with the help of planetarium software as well as, in some cases, eclipses are listed which have been found to be factual for those dates and regions) are also internally and sequentially consistent with the unfolding of the plot. Either the expedition of Rama was chronicled by a contemporary witness who was also a skilled astronomer, or a historian (perhaps Valmiki himself) not too long later was able to reconstitute the zodiacal map out of the dates he was given or personally remembered. That seems like a remarkable achievement, but it would be in keeping with the astronomical proficiency evinced by several ancient civilizations in Asia, Africa and Meso-America, among others.
2] Although it is impossible to establish the date when the Ramayana was composed, since the oldest extant manuscript, preserved in Nepal, is “only” a thousand years old, it stands to reason that knowledge of the topography, vegetation, population and astronomical configuration at the time, of the diverse locations described, implies that the initial account dates back to the period when the narrated events took place.
Indeed, absent a computer and sophisticated software, it would have been exceedingly difficult for any poet flourishing many centuries later to “turn the zodiacal clock” back to the time when he wished to situate the story, not to mention that he had no need to do so if he was writing a work of fancy or an imaginative reconstruction. There is no escaping the conclusion that initial records at least were kept during the course of Rama’s journey (as was the use for the lives and deeds of kings) and inserted in the later epic at whatever time it was composed, but there is plenty of literary and artistic evidence that Valmiki’s classic was well known for centuries before the advent of the Common Era.
Intriguingly, as Pandit Narayan Aiyangar pointed out, there are mentions of Rama and Sita in certain Richas (hymns) of the Vedas (1) whose astronomical references has allowed Bala, Mishra and their team to date it between the ninth and fifth millennium BC.
3] On the other hand, archeological, paleo-botanical, oceanographic and remote sensing findings all coincide in the recognition that settled, refined agricultural civilisation with elaborate art and craft techniques – in wood, textiles, stone and metal – existed in large parts of India from about 8,000 BCE and possibly earlier, at the beginning of the Holocene period which, following the end of the last glaciation, ushered in an era propitious to the development of agriculture, and hence to demographic growth and cultural progress.
Evidence for it is concentrated in the Indus-Saraswati-Ganga-Yamuna river system between present-day Afghanistan and Iran and the modern state of West Bengal (Mehrgarh, Kot Diji, Naushero, Dholavira, Lahuradeva, Jhusi, Takwa, Hettapati et al). Some regions covered by that civilization were in contact with and active at sea, as the Rg Veda repeatedly indicates, from at least the fourth millennium BCE (i.e. the port of Lothal and others, some of which have been located submerged under the sea). There is also archaeo-agricultural evidence that rice, wheat, barley, grapes and many other food crops (up to 29 kinds of grains, pulses, fruits and vegetables) were cultivated by the seventh or sixth millennium BC.
4] While the permanence of poetically embellished historical memories is significant to any cultural anthropologist or historian immersed in the local Indian cultures, the estrangement of western “armchair” scholars of centuries past from the facts on the ground, both geographical and chronological, explains why they generally ignored traditional references, preferring to speculate about unprovable linguistic derivations and suspected origins of the “Indo-European” Rama whom they did not wish to place earlier than 1200 BC (assuming he had ever existed) in order to make him fit in with the supposed date of the Aryan invasion, set by them three hundred years earlier, in an era comfortably less ancient than the Biblically hallowed Chaldean and Egyptian archaic dynasties.
Yet it turns out that if we follow the zodiacal data provided in the Ramayana and check out with the help of modern scientific capabilities, we find Rama’s life is much more accurately recorded – in some cases down to the day and time, such as the hero’s birth, his departure for exile, the death of the “monkey-king” Bali in Kishkinda, the slaying of Ravana in battle and Rama’s victorious return to Ayodhya for his coronation – than those of many axial figures of “western” civilization, beginning with those in the Bible and Greek Epics which, however, appear relatively recent by comparison. Needless to say, the planetary and astral relative positions noted in the Ramayana do not recur for many thousands of years, so that there is little uncertainty about the period in which they took place.
5] It is also archeologically borne out that the wooded and forested areas of Central India where Sri Rama, his consort, and his brother dwelt and traveled during their 14-year exile, were haunted by tribes and dotted with ashrams or spiritual/educational colonies headed by rishis, proficient in various branches of knowledge.
For example, the Ramayana refers to Rishi Agastya, who is traditionally held to have lived at the very tip of South India near Cape Comorin where several places are named after him, and to have had his ashram near modern-day Nasik where he gave Rama, on his way to Lanka, some spiritual and material weapons to fight Ravana. Agastya (whose name etymologically is said to mean “calmer of the ocean” or “mountain thrower” but which may in fact come from a Tamil euphemism for the soul: “he who belongs inside”) gave his name to the star Canopus because he was the first to observe it and Canopus became visible over the horizon in the Northern Deccan and the Vindhyas only from about 5100 BCE, thereby providing one more internally coherent zodiacal reference.
Legend has it that Agastya was born in a pitcher and that he was the head of the Vellalar clan of South India. Coincidentally or not, Canopus (Kah Nub in Egyptian, which means “golden earth” and applied to both the star and the town) was the name given to a port city in the Nile Delta, famous for its clay vases with a human head that represented a local icon of Osiris (Oser-Isvar), seen as god within a pitcher. The Indian Agastya, like the Egyptian Canopic god, was associated with the sea and ships and in “western” astronomy Canopus, also known as the Southern Pole Star, is part of the Argo Navis constellation. For the Chinese and Japanese, Canopus is the Old Man’s Star, a clear reference to the Vedic spiritual master.
6] The Ramayana also describes several caves, some inhabited, and indeed in the Central mountainous belt stretching from the Western Ghats to the Bay of Bengal innumerable rock dwellings and sanctuaries display many types of art, from Paleolithic parietal paintings to monumental Hindu, Jain and later Buddhist sculptures and cave architecture. Central India appears to have been, as the Ramayana and the Vedic texts describe it, a wilderness where scholars, hermits, students and ascetics took refuge and built hermitages away from the densely populated and urbanized northern plains.
7] The picture that is emerging out of geological, paleo-climatic and oceanographic findings is that between 12,000 years BCE (when many ancient annals record the great floods that marked the end of the glacial period) and 5000 BCE, the melting of glaciers gradually raised the level of the oceans by a stupendous 80 meters in the Indian Ocean/Arabian Sea region (according to a report by Dr. Rajiv Nigam, head of the paleo-climate project at the National Institute of Oceanography quoted in the book), submerging huge tracts of land and releasing mighty rivers that flowed down from the Himalayan massif towards the sea.
The Puranas indicate that two of Rama’s royal ancestors, more than twenty generations earlier, undertook large scale projects to channel the water from the Shivalinga glaciers eastwards towards the Bay of Bengal in order to control the floods in the Punjab-Rajasthan area. The chroniclers attributed the rise of the ocean around that period to the release of large amounts of fresh water thereby engineered. The same scriptures also refer to a number of tribes or nations that migrated from the subcontinent in the same era (around 6000-5500 BC) towards West and North Asia.
We can also conclude from that that Rama lived considerably earlier than the era when the “Indus Valley” civilization port of Lothal was built, as archeological evidence shows, since the Arabian Sea level was higher than it is now between 6000 and 4000 years ago. From that latter date the port had to be abandoned as the coastline had changed following a new drop in sea level which probably enabled Sri Krishna to build his capital at Dwarka on reclaimed land, according to the Mahabharata.
Coincidentally, it has been convincingly established that a similar rise in the level of the North Atlantic submerged the so-called Doggerland, the “British Atlantis” which encompassed what is today the United Kingdom as well as Scandinavia. That vast and densely populated Greater Europe gradually sank under the water between 18 and 5500 BCE. An exhibition entitled “Drowned Landscapes” on the discoveries made in this area by a collective of Scottish, English and Welsh Universities is currently taking place at the Royal Society, since July 2012.
At the time Rama and his army reached the southern tip of India at the place since known as Rameswaram, the sea level was still about 3 meters below the present one, and indeed, the bridge reportedly built by the architect Nala for the king of Kosala and his troops is still visible less than 3 meters below the surface.
According to the Geological Survey of India’s research, that bridge or causeway is an artificial construction. Specifically its report says: “Ramasethu is a natural formation, the top portion of which appears to be man-made” as it consists in part of stones and rounded coral pebbles that were obviously transported and put there. This observation tallies with the Ramayana’s description of the way the causeway was built by connecting many islets and shoals strung along the Palk Strait, filling in the gaps and building a road on top. Considering that this structure is over 30 kilometers long, its construction ranks as one of the most stupendous achievements of archaic mankind.
The Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences further noted: “There are some raised Teri formations that supported a vast assemblage of Mesolithic, microlithic tools indicating the presence of strong human habitation and activity as early as 8000 to 9000 years before present and as late as 4000 years ago”.
8] The Ramayana describes Sri Lanka, which has kept its original name since, as a part of the “Aryan” civilisational area. Its King Ravana, from the Rakshasa tribe, a descendent of Visravas, was a brother of Kubera, the lord of wealth also euphemistically called the “king of the world”, monarch of the northern quarter (Uttarakurus), beyond the Himalayas, who ruled the yakshas (from where the god Thraco-greek Iacchus-Bacchus and the Tibetan Yaks seem to have taken their name) and gandharvas (Gandhara – Gedrosia for the Greeks – is modern day Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan). The name of Kubera is etymologically related to Siberia, if we keep in mind the sata/centum dichotomy – which is not split by a clear East/West divide, contrary to the original theory – among Indo-European languages. The Shubras or Shubrians for instance were a Middle Eastern, probably Iranian people, settled in Eastern Asia Minor who were conquered and assimilated by the Assyrians from the 8th century BC onwards.
Ravana, Kubera’s brother and Rama’s foe is also said to be descended, like all Rakshasas, from Rishi Pulastya and to be a great devotee of Shiva (3) so that his cultural kinship with both the “Aryan” Rama and the “Dravidian” Agastya is attested, over and above the conflict. A common origin for the peoples of the subcontinent from North to South was hence recognized and anthropology vindicates that belief as both the Sinhalese and Tamil inhabitants of Sri Lanka belong to the greater Indian genetic family.
The authors of the book under review have visited various sites in Sri Lanka and identified various sites described by Valmiki rather precisely, including the caves opening on four sides of a hill that led to Ravana’s rock-hewn fortress, in the region of Nuwara Eliya, the island’s central massif. The tradition of building palaces on top of steep rocky hills, surrounded with terraced gardens and harbouring deep caves used for habitation, defence and worship, remained alive until medieval days in Sri Lanka as can be seen in the renowned sites of Sigiriya and Dambulla.
8] Over and above the fact that hominid bone remains and tools found in the Indian subcontinent date back to more than two and a half million years (4), DNA research yields the definitive conclusion that the Indian population is overwhelmingly homogenous since some 55,000 to 60,000 years when it is believed to have moved in from Africa. Strangely (but is it?), some traditional Puranic chronologies situate the beginnings of civilization with the arrival of the first Manu of this cycle some 56,000 years ago. In Southern Siberia, recent genetic tests have shown that an earlier human population, known as Denisovian, sharing many traits with Melanesians and Australian aborigines, mingled with homo sapiens newcomers before vanishing as a separate genus, probably migrating from the South, about 50,000 years ago.
The Greek historians after Megasthenes quoted the Indian royal annals as beginning with the first sovereign of the Solar Race whom the Greeks called Bacchus or Iacchus (Ikshvaku in Samskrit), in 6776 BC (5). That fits chronologically with the nomenclature of 63 kings who ruled Kosala before Sri Rama as listed in Valmiki’s opus (whereby Ikshvaku would have lived some sixteen to eighteen centuries before Sri Rama), and indeed, since about 7000 BC at least all scientific data confirm that an autochthonous civilization experienced consistent development, displaying increasing sophistication and expanding far and wide even beyond the subcontinent. Royal annals further assert that Rama’s two sons and the sons of his brothers and half-brothers, eight in all, ruled as many kingdoms, spread from the Eastern Gangetic plain to the confines of Afghanistan (Taxila and modern-day Peshawar).
9] From a climatic point of view, it is logical to assume that the first settlements of homo sapiens in the subcontinent were located in the South, closer to the Equator and less affected by glacial ages. Indeed, there are traces of prehistoric villages in Tamil Nadu which predate the Toba’s explosion in Indonesia, as shown by the volcanic ashes that covered them around 60,000 years ago. The first Indian civilization should thus have taken root in the South before moving northwards and settling in the riverine plains in the shadows of the great Himalayan chain, well after 12,000 BCE. If that is so, Ravana and his Sri Lanka kingdom would have belonged to an elder branch of the Indic ethnic family.
10] Contemporary developments in linguistic archeology, however disputable those may be, reveal at least according to P. Foster and A. Toth (2003) (6) that Indo-European languages are probably derived from a common ancestor that was already spoken more than 10,000 years ago. From about 5000 to 3500 BCE there are traces of the expansion of that linguistic family throughout Eurasia, from Urals and the Volga to Central Asia. J Greenberg (7) has gone further back in time and tried to show the existence of a common Eurasian macro-family that includes non Indo-European ones, such as the Uralic, Altaic (Turkic) and Afro-Asiatic languages, formerly known as Semito-Hamitic as well as Elamo-Dravidian. His thesis connects with the Nostratic theory in its various interpretations, which generally propose the existence of a common proto-Nostratic source in the Epipaleolithic Age, towards the end of the last glaciation.
There is much common ground as well with the hypothesis of Paleolithic Continuity or PCC (8) which India’s pre-history and history, corroborated by human genetics, illustrate with great clarity as this report shows. Bomhard estimates that 5000 BC (Rama’s age) was when the Proto-Eurasiatic linguistic family divided into Indo-European, Proto-Uralic and Proto-Altaic branches.
The academic school which seeks to prove since Colin Renfrew, that there is an Anatolian origin (in modern day Turkey) for all those “Paleolithic” languages, has not made its case beyond doubt so far, and there might well have been a common linguistic motherland spread over a wide area comprised between North-Western India and Eastern Asia Minor.
Atkinson’s phylogeographic attempt (sciencemag, August 23, 2012 by Nicholas Wade) to establish the common forebear of all Indo-European languages by using a computer to mimic in reverse the evolution of 103 languages of that family, yields Anatolia as the urheimat some 8 to 9500 ago; but its conclusion is disputed by other experts who continue to believe that the westward Indo-European expansion began only in the fifth millennium BCE, either from Asia Minor or from the Black Sea steppe region. However, it is not even clear whether the Kurgan culture, the supposed ancestor, beyond the fact that it was Eurasiatic, was Indo-European or Uralic; so a lot of controversy remains. Further, the now confirmed existence of an epipaleolithic civilization in submerged “Doggerland” even before the dawn of the Holocene throws in disarray all the other theories about human migrations.
The motherland of Eurasiatic or Nostratic languages more than 12000 years ago remains undetermined and could as well as been located in South Asia as in Anatolia.
11] The evidence of a steep but gradual sea level rise in the first five millennia of the Holocene force us to consider the possibility that many settled and populated areas were swallowed by the ocean, and that only those populations which moved to higher grounds were able to survive. That accounts for the traditions preserved in South India about the vanished continent of Kumari Kandam that some have identified with legendary Lemuria, and also for the discovery of extensive urban ruins, more than 8000 years old, under the water of the Gulf of Khambat and Arabian Sea off the coasts of Gujarat and Saurashtra. Tamil civilization traces its origins back to the once emerged lands which now lie beneath the Indian Ocean to the west of Sri Lanka, and the earliest known Dravidian royal dynasty, the House of Pandya, claimed to have ruled over Kumari Kandam and that could only have been before the sea level rise, i.e., prior to the seventh millennium BCE.
Coincidentally Plato recorded that Atlantis, which he located beyond the pillars of Hercules, sank into the Atlantic Ocean sometime after 9600 years BCE, probably as a result of the post-glacial sea level rise around the time when “Doggerland” also became submerged in various stages.
12] There are many “supernatural” elements in the Ramayana (as in all ancient epics, such as the Iliad, Odyssey, Mabinogion, Beowulf et al) which have made scientifically minded scholars wary of lending any credence to the story as a whole. However, the insertion of prodigious characters and miraculous events seems to have been a required feature for heroic tales and records of the ancient world on all continents. The interpretation of those epics need not be literal. In the Ramayana, the vanaras, monkeys who formed Rama’s army along with other wild animals may be regarded as forest dwelling tribesmen which had the langhur or macaque as their totemic animal and emblem, just as the crest of Kosala was the two fishes that have remained in the arms of the successive dynasties of Awadh (Ayodhya) (9) until the present.
It is a universal tradition in fables and legends to lend animals many of the moral and physical features of human beings and involve them in the story as equal protagonists. The vanaras may well be Central India’s pygmies cited by Ctesias, who reported that they were experts in archery and provided soldiers to various kings. They also may be at the source of Greek reports about India’s kalystroi or cynocephali, a dog-headed, monkey-tailed population of mountain-dwelling hunters and herdsmen with a reputation for honesty and justice. Jatayu, the giant eagle that tried to rescue Sita from her abductor in the Ramayana appears to be a mythified vulture identified in ancient travellers’s accounts with the fabulous griffins, semi-human birds of prey which kept watch over gold mines.
13] There remains however an enigma which is harder to unravel. One is the repeated and detailed mention of sophisticated weaponry, quite out of character with the technology of that pastoral age, and of flying vehicles, including the golden puspaka vimana (shaped like a flower or lotus and also alluded to as a cloud in the sky) which Rama took from the slain Ravana in order to fly back to his capital city in a few hours, after taking many months to complete the onward journey on foot. Analysing this aspect of the story is another subject, which “Historicity of Vedic and Ramayana Eras” does not address. But we can only wonder whether Ravana and his Rakshasas, as the oldest branch of the post-glacial population in the subcontinent, closer to the submerged land of Kanya Kumari, had kept or gained access to an advanced scientific knowledge that their northern cousins long settled in the Sapthasindhu region had lost. That would account for the semi-divine or supernatural status they were given in the cosmography of the day.
The inevitable conclusion of this review of available facts, old and new, is that civilization in India – as in other parts of the world – is much more ancient than archeologists generally think, and that most sites excavated so far in Sumer, Iran, Anatolia, Egypt and the Indus Valley, are more recent, by several thousand years, than the cities and settlements described by Valmiki.
India’s civilisation can only be compared in terms of antiquity with the contemporary societies of Egypt, the Levant, Asia Minor, Iran and Central Asia whose early, often monumental remains, found at Gobekli, Catalhoyuk, Jericho, Zarzian, Hissar and Keltiminar date back to the age of the Vedas. As Valmiki’s masterwork indicates, Rama and his India were the heirs of a very ancient indigenous culture rooted in the pre-holocene glaciation period.
Notes
1] Aiyangar notes that the Rig Veda mentions Rama Margaveya who first pressed the soma sacred brew, whereas the Yajur Veda dedicates four stanzas to Sita, daughter of Prajapati. The author, who also notes that Rama Jamadagni or Parasurama is an older avatara of the Sri Rama archetype, gives an astronomic interpretation of most Indian myths and epics and equates Rama with the god Indra and with the Sun, while Sita is the star Betelgeuse, and Ravana the moon. This however, does not contradict the original human history as it is common for legends and their characters to assume a cosmological dimension. For instance, the fact that George Washington owed his given name to an Indo-European dragon-slaying Spring God (Georges) similar to Indra does not make the father of American independence less historically real.
2] In Northern Pakistan, Kashmir and Uttarakhand, skeletal fragments and lithic tools date back to 2,5 -2 million years before present. Proto-Hominid remains in the Kalagarh basin of Uttarakhand (Ramapithecus) are about 10 million years old.
3] Shiva, one of the many names or euphemisms given to Rudra “The howler” or the “Red One”, seems related to the Thracian Evoe, (Iahweh?) used both as an invocation and a surname of Bacchus or Iacchus. In Indian languages certain names lost their initial s consonant, as in siddhi (samskrt) to iddhi (pali).
4] The Greek interpretation of the first Indian king’s name as Iacchus translated as Dionysos suggests that it was derived from the Vedic Ikshvaku who came second after Manu in the traditional chronology. The Greeks generally equated Iacchus-Bacchus with Shiva as both were said to dwell in the mountains (Kailash, the Caucasus or Zagros respectively) surrounded by wild animals and to induce a sacred intoxication in their followers. The wedding of Bacchus and Ariadne, a foster daughter of the Cretan bull, also has connections with Nandi-riding Shiva’s betrothal with Parvati. Vishnu on the other hand was identified by them with Herakles-Hercules who also carried the mace, wore a lion skin (Narasimha?) and was celebrated for twelve heroic feats reminiscent of the Indian God’s ten world-saving avatars.
5] P. Foster and A. Toth “Towards a Phylogenic Chronology of Ancient Gaulish, Celtic and Indo-European” PNAS, 100 (15), 9079-9084 (2003). They conclude that Indo-European languages took shape in 8100 BCE (between 9600 and 6600 BCE) and that Celts reached Britain about 3200 BCE.
7] “Indo-European and Its Closest Relatives: The Eurasiatic Language Family” (2 vols, 2000-2002)
8] The Paleolithic Continuity Theory or Paradigm expounded by Mario Alinei in his book Origini delle Lingue d’Europa (1996) holds that Indo-European languages in Europe are indigenous and developed during the Paleolithic period, but it is disputed also on genetic grounds as recent mitochondrial DNA research (B. Bramanti, sciencemag.org) has shown in 2009 that a large influx of farming people in Europe at the beginning of the Neolithic provided the ancestry of most modern Europeans by supplanting the earlier Paleolithic hunter-gatherers (see Arrredi, Poloni, Tyler Smith’s The Peopling of Europe in Michael Crawford’s Anthropological Genetics (pp. 380-408)).
9] Note that according to his astronomic birth chart, Dasaratha was born with the Sun in Pisces (Meena). His son and heir Rama was born under the sign of Aries (Mesha the Ram), which follows Pisces in the zodiacal cycle. There are parallel cosmological, symbolic and historical dimensions in the epic.
The author is Convener, Editorial Board, World Affairs Journal. In 1999, he co-founded the Telesis Academy in Switzerland, dedicated to the study of the ancient wisdom of East and West in the contemporary scientific context. He has been associated with the Nuclear Disarmament Forum and the Foundation of Global Dialog in Switzerland.
The Ramayana – Myth or Fact
The Ramayana constitutes the epic literature of India along with the Mahabharata and Puranas. Its been deeply influencing the Indian social religious and moral thought as well the Indian literature.
To quote Swami Vivekananda “the Ramayana and Mahabharata are the two encyclopedias of the ancient Aryan life and wisdom portraying an ideal civilization which humanity has yet to aspire after”.
MacDonnell says “probably no work of world literature secular in its origin has ever produced so profound an influence on the life and thought of people as the Ramayana.”
As all the other literary forms the origin of epics can be traced to the Vedas. The Samveda hymns styled as ‘ancient ballads’ by Winternitz are supposedly the source of both epics (developed from the narrative) and drama (developed from the dramatic elements of the ancient ballads.)
The ‘gatha narasamsis’ were songs in praise of men, ‘akhyans’ were narratives, ‘itihas’ was the legend or history and puranas were ancient tales in the Brahamanas and their recital formed an essential part of religious ceremonies at the sacrificial and domestic rituals, they supplied real parallelisms with epic poetry thus carrying on further the development of epic literature. In due course of time these developed from short extent and simple subject matter to lengthy ballads and song cycles of intricate plots. The Ramayana is a fine example of this it must have had an intermediate stage too but as a finished product had many subplots and story lines. Another thing to be kept in mind is that the Vedic literature evolved among the priestly section of society and was confined to it whereas the epics though may have originated in the same class was meant for transmission to the general public as they were taken up by the sutas [professional bards] who were instrumental in popularizing them amongst the masses. These sutas or bards could be Brahmins sages or the reciters of Puranas or could be progeny of pratiloma marriage. Later they served as charioteers also and gave vivid first hand descriptions of wars and battles as they were a witness to it.
The earlier literature comprised praises of deities, sacrificial details and high philosophical speculations; the epics described the deeds of kings and heroes, wars socio moral patterns of society and practical philosophy once these epics came into the hands of the sutas they reached a large circle of the populace.
The traveling singers or Kusilavas also played a significant role in this phenomenon.
The Ramayana takes pride in calling itself a ‘kavya’ an ‘aakhyana’ and an ‘itihas’ and also deals with ‘dharm, arth and kaam’.
The Valmiki ‘Ramayana’ literally means ‘ history of Rama ‘ comprises 7 books of 24000 stanzas.
Though the whole story of Ramayana is a unit in itself, various scholars from time to time have declared Ramayana to be an amalgamation of two three or four elements – namely the palace intrigue resulting in Rama’s banishment, abduction of Sita, legends about Hanuman and ape worship, about Ravana and his final downfall and death. It is said only one element had a historical basis and that was Rama’s banishment.
According to Lassen who is said to be a pioneer of Ramayana studies, Ramayana developed in four stages, suggesting that it is an allegorical representation of the Aryan conquest of the south. He says original version of this poem was just till banishment of Rama to the Himalayas and factors that led his wife and brother to accompany him. Then a revision must have followed that changed the place of banishment to Godavari and Rama providing protection to hermits from aboriginal onslaughts the next revision described the attempts to subdue the inhabitants of the Deccan and the final amplification described Rama’s invasion on Lanka which must have been incorporated by Hindus’ learning about island of Ceylon.
Weber is another scholar who has discussed the problems of the Ramayana comprehensively. He concludes that the ‘ Dashratha Jataka ‘ is the source of Valmiki’s Ramayana. The idea has been conflicted by many scholars including Bulcke on grounds that Dashratha jataka is a later work based on oral tradition in Ceylon, witnessed centuries after the Ramayana. However Dashratha jataka is also silent about Sita’s abduction and fight details. Weber promulgated his theory of Valmiki’s indebtedness to Homer which has been assailed by subsequent scholars like Telang, Jacobi, Vaidya, Hopkins and Bulcke.
Jacobi is credited with comprehensive and systematic treatment of several topics in his ‘Das Ramayana’. He believes it’s a mix of history and allegory. Exile and palace conspiracy have historical basis but the second part Sita’s abduction and ‘Ravan Vadh’ has its source in RigVeda -terrestrial events based on mythological elements from Rig-Veda. Sita is the goddess of agriculture in Rig-Veda in Ramayana she’s the daughter of earth and finally disappears into her mother’s arms. Her husband would then represent Indra and his fight with Ravana symbolises the Indra Vratra conflict. Significant use of name ‘indrashatru’ is referred to by Jacobi an epithet of Vratra in RigVeda, in the Ramayana its Ravana’s son Indrajeet. Rama’s chief ally is Hanuman or Hanumat whos called the son of maruti or Marutinandan hinting Indra’s association with the storm Gods. A witch Sarma crosses the river rasa in search of captured cows for Indra and she occurs in the Ramayana as the demoness who consoles Sita. Jacobi thus believes there is a blend of history with Rigvedic myth.
Winternitz calls Julian V Negien’s attempts to discover outline of Rama Sita legend in the Vedas ‘fantastic expositions’.
D.C.Sen on the other hand traces the origin of Valmiki’s Ramayana to three principal sources:
Dashratha Jataka, cycle of legends from south India about a great and noble Brahmin hero called Ravana and a floating group of legends about ape worship once popular in India. Valmiki, Sen maintains welded together material from these three sources into an immortal poem.
The introductory portion of Valmiki Ramayana deserves special mention. It’s said Valmiki questioned Narada about the qualities of a perfect man. Narada narrated to Valmiki the story of Rama from the Ikshvaku dynasty in reply. Valmiki thanked and honored Narada duly and went to a river for daily absolutions. He saw a pair of Kronch birds together and was a witness to the killing of the male bird by a hunter and the female’s cries of mourning. He was seized by deepest pity and uttered in that psychological state a shloka. Sorrow felt by Valmiki found perfect expression in his perfect shloka. Its said then Brahma appeared and asked him to compile the story he was told by Narada assuring him of a clear vision of all events outward and inward visible and invisible open and secret connected with Rama’s life. Valmiki then composed a poem with all relevant details he also taught Rama’s twin sons Lava and Kusha born to Sita after her abandonment in Valmikis hermitage and were bred there.
Both the young bards sang the poem called the ‘Ramayana’ to the accompaniment of a lyre for the first time in the distinguished assembly at Rama’s horse sacrifice.
The traditional account thus invests the text with a historical character.
According to Bulcke in Dashratha Jataka there is no mention of Sita’s abduction or Hanuman or even the Rama-Ravana fight. In fact Bulcke’s critical examination of Das jataka and Ramayana proves that the former is a perverted form of the Ramayana story. Hence idea of Ramayana being split into many elements on basis of Das jataka does not hold water and also Das jataka was just an account of a bereaving son at the death of his father, hence no need of Seeta and Rama episode.
Bulcke’s investigations confirm the view that Ramayana is a complete unit and a historical story with a few inevitable scenes of divine intervention and a little artistic exaggeration necessary for effect. The story of Valmiki Ramayana creates an impression that it is factual and all of it may have happened in those wonderful days of yore as tradition maintains.
Aarttee Kaul
Ramayana of Valmiki
This article originally appeared in the UK Valmiki community’s monthly newsletter named The Service [Editor Mohan Lal alias Gardash Bharti] in the early 1980’s under the title “Bhagwan Valmik Ji – Our Pathfinder.” The original article was subsequently published on http://www.bhagwanvalmiki.com; but unfortunately the publication contained a number of spelling and other errors. It has also been felt that this article needed to be updated in the light of latest discoveries in India history. The late Julia Leslie in her magnum opus Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions – the Case of Valmik1; based entirely on Hindu theological texts, surprisingly come to very similar conclusions as this article, which was written a couple of decades before her work. We are grateful to Mr Mohan Lal for permission to edit and publish this article. [Editor]
The life and times of Guru Valmik Ji are shrouded in history. Ancient Indian history, lacking authentic recorded material and frequently archaeological artefacts, present us with a particular problem when analysing the period of Aryan expansion into India. History, if one can call it history, was 'recorded' by the victorious Aryans who naturally depreciated the indigenous non-Aryans. 'Recorded' is not perhaps the right phrase, as most of the Hindu texts were first orally transmitted and later after hundreds of years, written down with many layers, distortion, mythical symbolism and sometimes with inverted truth. There is much chaff and little wheat in the classical Hindu texts but nevertheless it is still possible to piece together the life and mission of Guru Valmik JI from fragmentary evidence of the ancient texts as well as modern archaeological and historical discipline
Yoga Vasishtha -Scriptures or Science?
Guru Valmik is traditionally famous for two major works; the Yoga Vsistha and the Ramayana. These two works in their present forms bear only a little resemblance to their original form. We knew for a fact that parts of Ramayana were later deleted, distorted and added to by the inventive Brahmin priests and writers. As an example in all Brahminical texts, Brahmins are naturally asked to be honoured even though they should be without merit. This too was the opinion of the medieval Hindu holy man Tulsi Das who did not want the Sudra to be honoured even though the Sudra had merit. Nevertheless Guru Ravidas took the opposite viewpoint to that of Tulsi Das. Guru Ravidas’s utterance was in line with what had been said in the Yoga Vsistha many centuries previously, which was that a child with truth was to be believed and even Brahma was not to be believed if untruthful. According to the Moksopaya Project in Germany who have examined a number of Yoga Vsishta manuscripts, a number of Buddhist ideas had been removed from the subject texts. If this is correct, then a philosophical link between Guru Valmik, Buddha and Guru Ravidas is clearly established, notwithstanding the fact that Guru Ravidas can certainly be linked to the Buddhists via the Natha Sidha tradition.
From the late Lekh Raj Manjdadria’s précis about Yoga Vshistha2:
Firstly there is the introduction of frame stories that emphasises the "orthodox" brahmanical ideology, this particular feature is absent in the MU (Moksopaya) and as such considered not to be the works of the orthodox tradition. Secondly there is the insertion of chapters emphasising Rama- bhakti, whereas the original ethos indicates Rama Bhaktas are nothing but lazy fools (Nirvana, Purvardha, 127-128) as they do not rely on their own power of ‘manly-ness’ (parusa). Thirdly there is an attempt at reversing the meaning of passages that are specifically directed against Sruti, the Vedas and rituals, by changing the original wording. Fourthly, there is the obvious and complete deletion of particularly Buddhist terminology. Fifthly, there is what can be described as the numerous tendentious changes of plural-forms of nouns and verbs to the singular. This indicates the originator of the MU used a public sermon mode. Finally, there is without doubt what is considered as the vedanticizing of the text. The MU teaches monism (advaita) which is characteristically different from that of Sankara’s Advaita Vedanta. On some of these wilful changes I shall expand a little more on later.
The original author endorses his authoritativeness on the contents of his works that claim a human authorship (pauruseyam idam sastram) and dismisses any authoritative scripture that lacked reasoning (vicara) and rational arguments (yukti). Here the text makes clear reference that the reasoned statements of even a child or women where preferred to revelations of Rsis and gods. "Even if it were of human origin (every) Sastra has to be accepted provided it instructs by means of arguments. Any other, even composed by Rsis, should be dismissed.
… The word of even a child must be accepted, if it is based on reasonable arguments. Any other should be dismissed like straw, be it even taught by Brahma (II 18, 2-3)"
Another example of Brahminical distortion is that Valmik himself praised Ravana on several occasions- 'Ravana was a great and good man. He was magnanimous and handsome. But he (Ravana) chastised Brahmins whenever he saw them performing Yagarns and drinking Soma juice.'3
But in Brahminical Ramayana, Ravana is described as a notorious demon king, while Valmik mentioned Ravana as a great learned man a great saint, a master of scriptures. Ralph T.H. Graffith, translator of the important work of Valmiki Ramayana in English writes in the introduction of Ramayana of Valmik, 'There is every reason to believe that the seventh book (Uttar Kanda) is later addition’.4
Hence the original Ramayana of Valmik Ji is some what older and altogether different from Brahminical texts. Ramayana is essentially the story of the Aryan expansion into Central, Eastern and South India. This expansion was facilitated by the use of iron tools and weapons and his use of iron in North and Central India was introduced round about 1000 BC +/-250 years. In the Valmiki community there is a tendency, from self respect viewpoint; to ascribe, after a Hindu fashion, as older a date as possible for Bhagwan Valmik Ji, but this thinking can only discourage the younger generation from learning about their culture and history and hence for the sake of science and history, such myth making has to be avoided.
Valmik - Historical Setting
Around about 1500 BC the nomadic barbarian Aryans entered N.W. India and overran the remnants of an already ancient, and decayed civilisation later known in the 20th century as the Indus Valley Civilization. This civilization was renowned for many features it gave to the Indian society e.g. international trade, architecture, drainage system, water-locks, trade, system of standard weights and measures, granaries, written script, astronomy (the nakshatrya system) medicine, Lokayata philosophy etc. The first 10 mandalas (chapters) of the Rigveda are filled with descriptions of battle between the Aryans and the non Aryans people. Historians remain divided on many issues surrounding the post Indus society but it is accepted that the Aryans originated from outside of India and that they subjugated north India by military means.
The society that emerged from these battles was a fusion of the two cultures although the pure Aryan way of life and the autochthonous6 Indians way of life survived side by side for a long time. This is testified by the fact that the modern Hinduism retains many aspects of the Harappa culture, Aryan arrogance and a large tribal population on its periphery. Scholars have seriously suggested that some indigenous Indians may have been even bi-lingual. It is mentioned above that the use of iron was responsible for Aryan expansion into the unploughed land. Aryans themselves may have relied on the indigenous metalworkers such as the Bir Asur who have been currently describes onhttp://www.vikasmaitri.org/adivasi.htm as
“A tiny tribe threatened with extinction. Traditional iron smelters and metal workers. Ancient metal relics discovered from Asur sites in modern times. Still carrying out hunting, gathering and shifting cultivation.” It seems likely that at least this particular tribe moved between the settled and the unsettled community. This would point to a stage in history where some of the indigenous people not only had access to Sanskrit language but also to iron technology. This would be similar to native-Americans getting access to firearms, horses as well as Spanish or English language. If this is the case then it would not come as a surprise if the following statement in the original article could be claimed as probably correct.
“Valmik was a fighter against oppression. He was a great scholar, the first Indian to codify music and much more.” The last sentence would be difficult to refute as the roots of Indian music lie in tribal society.
Was there one Valmik or many? To many devotees this would be an odd point to raise but the question is a valid one. Valmik is a patronymic, like Vasudeva in Krishna Vasudeva, Vasudeva title was inherited. Hence the possibility that there were many Valmiks in the fashion of Sikh Gurus with each succeeding Guru signed himself off as Nanak the nth, can not overlooked. This could explain the tradition of why the community initially put up a successful fight against the Aryans, but were eventually overpowered. Just as the line of Sikh Gurus ended with the Tenth Guru, although it is claimed by the British historians that Banda Bahadur was described as the ‘Banda Gooro’, there may have been many Valmiks each with his own specific contribution.
Ramayana - A continued process of Hinduisation of the Indian tribal society
Ramayana portrays the story of the first aggressive Aryan expansion into central, east and south India. Rama is not a pure Aryan but from a mixed parentage. There are other reasons for believing that there was a fusion of two cultures in Rama's own family. Sita, his wife is born out of a furrow when king Janak (he of the people) ploughed the land in order to stop draught! This alone links her to earth Mother Goddess which incidentally swallows Sita at the end of the story. This points to a matrilineal society, a society in which the man has right to a property by the virtue of him marrying the woman to whom the property itself being transmitted through the female line. A large part of India was matrilineal in character at one time7,8. The Nairs were matrilineal in the past. The present Khasi tribe is still matrilineal. The reason for the Kaikayi's insistence that her own son Bharata should inherit the kingdom after Dasratha is perfectly in line with the matrilineal tradition!
Dasratha had made promise to her, on their marriage, that her son would inherit the kingdom. The fact that Bharata was brought up in his maternal grandparent’s home also points to Kaikeyi's matrilineal background. Hence the so called Aryans expansion into Central, Eastern and South India was not a n expansion of Aryan ‘race’ but the spread of a new mode of living. This mode was plough-based, cattle rearing agricultural production based, patriarchal, monarchical, more class and caste ridden and hence much more exploitative. The copper age autochthonous population with their matrilineal tradition, were not so backward or less civilised but the Aryan culture was more aggressive and assisted by iron, it spread, motivated as it was for more land and people to rule. Some section of the indigenous people also started to practice the Aryan way of life. Here archaeology and ethnology agree well with tradition.
Riddles of Ramayana
According to Valmik, Rama is not a re-incarnation of the God Vishnu. This idea was later introduced in the Ramayana. Rama is an ordinary mortal who lies, cheats, has no scruples, double crosses and uses people where convenient for his own ends. Upper caste Indian scholars admit that the killing of king Valin was against all laws of morality. Anyone who thinks that Rama was an ideal man should read The Ramayana (A True Reading. by Periyar E.V. Ramaswami who has laid bare the underlying contradiction running in the whole length of Ramayana. Dr B R Ambedkar in his controversial Riddles in Hinduism9questions the many contradictions surrounding both Rama and Krishna. Valmik in the true fashion of an epic poet was accurately describing the changes that were taking place but he would not be able to save his epic poem from the Brahaminical contamination. The Brahmins deleted portions of Ramayana, added to it and introduced spurious elements in parts of it to suit their own slave/feudal ideology. No wonder Hanuman is considered by the Hindus to be a shining example of loyal and faithful servant. The tribesmen of Western Orissato this day consider him a traitor! And so he was, to Bali, his rightful king.
Where was Ravana's Lanka?
But question may be asked what connection tribesmen of Western Orissa have with Ramayana?
It can be safely concluded that Lanka of Ramayana is not theSri Lanka, Ceylon of the present day . Ceylon used to be known as Singhla. Markande Puran, Kathasaut Sagar, Mahabharta, Badmavada Kavya all refer to Lanka and Singhla separately. The astronomer Varaharmihira refers to Singhala and Lanka as two different places. In early literature Ravana's country was referred to as Tamraparni or Singhla. In Bal Ramayana itself on the occasion of Sita's marriage the king of Lanka and the King of Singhla were present. Ceylon or Sri Lanka has no folk memory
of Ravana or Rama! So where was the Ravana's capital?
One of the candidates for a typical Lanka is at Sonepur in Western Orissa. Recently stone inscription dating back to 1703 A.D. found in Bastar revealed that the Dandakaranya forest mentioned in the Ramayana was near the kingdom of Raja Bhanjdeo and that the territory of Lankeshwara- Ravana, by another name - was close to Dandakaranya. Also Rama's sojourn began in Chtrakut and all through the routes from Chitrakut to Bastar Rama's folk tales are very popular among thr tribals. A copper plate found at Sonepur refers to Somshwar Deva, a prince calling himself the lord of Pashchim lanka (Western Lanka). According to Valmik himself Lanka was close to Mahendra Giri Hill which is in the Ganjan district of Orissa11. The Ramayana mentions sal tree which flourishes in Orissa but one does not find any such tree in Sri Lanka previously Ceylon. One further point. In the Sonepur area of Bihar the tribal tradition has contempt for Hanuman. Every year his effigy is burnt, crushed, and finally thrown into the river as a mark of disrespect. While Sri Lanka previouslyCeylon has no folk memory of Rama or Ravana the Binjhal tribe in Sambhalpur have several such tales about Lanka. Women of Orang tribe sing folk songs about Pradesh claim that they are descendants of Ravana! Entering the words ‘Gond’ (tribe)and ‘Ravana’ into an internet search engine is likely to throw many thousand of entries.
Archaeologists at Sonepur excavated a fort running nearly two kilometers along the bank of the
river Tel Among the relics they discovered were two massive pillars each 27 feet high one containing the skeleton of a horse and another of a baby. A quantity of arms were also unearthed at this place. The provisional date of this place is 600-700 B.C.
The Asurgarh site in Sonepur Orissa found at http://203.129.205.48/OGPV3/e-magazine/ Journal/journalvol3/pdf/49-54.pdfhas the following characteristics which could be relevant to any site which may be considered a candidate for prototype Lanka.
“The site is very ancient, with the continuation of culture from very old times. Asurgahr was also
known as Udit Sagar and had unique water management system. Water was used for multiple
purposes e.g. agriculture and defense. Control of water made it possible for considerable progress in social, economic and political power. Related to this was the religious life based on worship of the female principal. Female fertility figurines had been found at site and the site was probably a center for Sakta cult. Asurgarh also controlled trade routes. A river flowed to the side of the fort and in times of emergency the area external to the fort could be flooded drowning the enemy soldiers."
The name Asurgarh means the fort of demons. Bir Asur people were also associated with iron
technology as we have seen before and hence the defenders would not be overpowered without
a great deal of effort on the part of intruders. It is also possible that there was not a single Lanka but any hydraulically defended stronghold could be described as such especially if it was situated on the high ground. So it appears that Ravana far from being a demon was probably a prototype ruler of the autochthones. Valmik himself extols the virtues of Ravana. According to the Ramayana, Ravana was a brave fighter, chivalrous, sincere and well learned. We know how the Aryan seers labelled the indigenous people as monsters and demons. If we accept Sita at her face name i.e. furrowed and crown land then the fight was not for a human female but for land; not any land but cleared and fertile land which could be put under the plough. Therefore the characters in the Ramayana are not historical but prototypes; an excellent example of history being pa ssed off as itihas (meaning history as opposed tomithhas meaning a myth) under a thick veneer of theological mythology. A short article such as this can not possibly do justice to Ramayana and its analysis but needless to say that while analyzing its contents it is well worth remembering history, archaeology and past and present sociology of the places in question. It is also worth remembering that Valmik was not writing for people of 3000 years in the future but for the near future generations The Brahminical distortions have also contributed a great deal about the confusion. Only scientific and historical disciplines can lighten our path and guide us and we must remember this when discussing even Valmik!
Relevance of Valmik to Dalits
So what is the importance of Valmik to twenty first century Dalits? People who forget their past
are fated to repeat their past mistakes. The ruling intelligentsia in the form of Brahmins tried their level best to destroy our literary and historical past so that we may not take pride in the history of our struggles. The caste system was thrust upon us as divinely originated. Krishna, another alleged incarnation of Vishnu, declare in Bhagvad Gita that he had created the caste system? Valmik challenged the monarchical class/ caste system by stopping Rama's Ashavmedh Yajna . Later Brahmin writers would try to hide the facts that Rama himself may have been defeated by Valmik. Valmik’s protégés Lav and Kush were not defeated by the imperial army. According to Julia Leslie, Valmik was accused of being at least a Brahmin killer. Most prominent scholars agree that last Khand of Ramayana appears to be a forgery which has neither the literary merit nor the style of the bulk of the rest of Ramayana. The Brahmins tried to vilify Valmik by calling him a petty bandit who achieved salvation by inadvertently reciting the name of Rama! This cheek is in line with the Brahminical process of inverting the truth.
People who have no sense of the history cannot create their own future. Adopting an unhistorical outlook can lead one astray as detailed on the following website http://www.badarchaeology.net/political/ram.php in which the natural coral between Sri Lanka was seized upon as the mythological Ram Setu bridge, something that even NASA was forced to deny. But at least one pious Dalit website fell into the high caste trap and ended up linking this ‘bad history’ with the name of Valmik. Valmik is a part of our own history. We need to learn about our past, about Valmik but in a scientific manner, in order to check our future course. Valmik stood at the beginning of a class/ caste society. We stand near its end, but our struggle is the same. Valmik was fighting a defensive battle against the very existence of his community. It was the UK Valmiki community’s effort in opposing the Brahminical propaganda that Guru Valmik was a reformed bandit, that the community rediscovered its long lost identity. This led to Julia Leslie’s monumental work seeing the light of day and putting, UK Valmik community on the map.
References :
1. Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions – Hinduism and the Case of Valmik -Julia Leslie - Ashgate UK 2003
2. http://www.bhagwanvalmiki.com/lekh1.htm
3. Ravan Ki Lanka - Chandras Parsad Yagyasu 4. Valmiki Ramayana - Griffiths R.T.H.
5. http://www.vikasmaitri.org/adivasi.htm
6. http://www.worldproutassembly.org/archives/2006/03/the_adivasis_of.html
7. Mother Right [ Mutterrecht]- J J Bachofen 8. Mother-Right in India - Baron Ehrenfels
9. Riddles in Hinduism – B R Ambedkar.
10. Ramayana – Myth and Reality – S D Sankalia
11. Digging up a new Lanka - India Today April 16-30 1981
12. http://203.129.205.48/OGPV3/e-magazine/Journal/journalvol3/pdf/49-54.pdf
13. http://www.badarchaeology.net/political/ram.php
बहुजन मूलनिवासी A1TV
सिद्ध करो राम थे............. या स्वीकार करो कि रामायण काल्पनिक ग्रंथ है...
(1). एक समय पर दो तरह के इंसान कैसे हो सकते हैं?
एक पूंछ वाला और एक बिना पूंछ वाला...
दोनों मनुष्य की तरह बोलते हैं दोनों के पिता राजा हैं क्या ऐसा संभव है??
(2). मेंढक से मंदोदरी कैसे बन सकती हैं/ पैदा हो सकती है??
(3). लंगोटी का दाग छुड़ाने से अंगद कैसे पैदा हो सकता है??
पक्षी मनुष्य की तरह कैसे काम कर सकता है जैसे गिद्धराज??
(4). किसी मनुष्य के 10 सिर हो ही नहीं सकते इतिहास या पुरातत्व द्वारा आज तक ये सिद्ध नहीं हो पाया कि किसी इंसान के 10 सिर 20 भुजाओं वाला कोई मनुष्य नहीं है.......
(5). जिस लंका की आप बात कर रहे हो,उसका नाम भी 1972 में लंका पड़ा। इसके पहले सिलोन व सीलोन से पहले सिहाली इत्यादि नाम थे तो असली लंका कहा है???
(6). घड़े से लड़की कैसे पैदा हो सकती है?
एक माह में मकरध्वज कैसे पैदा हुए?
मछली से कोई मनुष्य कैसे पैदा हो सकता है??
एक माह में मकरध्वज पातालपुरी में नौकरी करने लगे क्या ये संभव है?? अगर संभव है तो साबित करो...
(7). 5000 साल पुरानी द्रविड़ भाषा को कोई पढ़ नहीं सकता
तो 70000 साल पहले अंगद किस भाषा शैली क्या थी??
(8). सम्राट अशोक के काल में अयोध्या का नाम साकेत था तो
अयोध्या के बाद साकेत और साकेत के बाद अयोध्या नाम कैसे पड़ा??
पुरातत्व विभाग की तरफ से एक भी प्रमाण हो तो बताओ कि राम राज्य था??
(9). सात घोड़ों से सूर्य कैसे चल रहा है?? आपकी पुस्तकें कह रही हैं जबकि विज्ञान कह रहा है कि सूर्य चलता ही नहीं है.....
जब राम का राज्याभिषेक हो रहा था तब सूर्य एक महीने के लिए रुक गया था, आपकी किताबों में लिखा है।
जबकि सूर्य चलता ही नहीं है अगर सूर्य चलता है तो सिद्ध करो /साबित करो....
(10). सूर्य खाने गए हनुमान की स्पीड और कद क्या था??
जो हनुमान सूर्य की आग से नही जल सकता, वह पुंछ में लगी आग से कैसे जल सकता है??
(11). बालमीक रामायण कहती है चैत अमावस्या को रावण का वध होता है
तुलसीकृत रामायण कहती है कुमार दशहरा को रावण का वध होता है तो सच क्या है??
(12). सोने की खोज हुए 4000 साल हुए हैं तो 70000 साल पहले सोने की लंका कहां से आई थी??
सोने का गलनांक 3000℃ से अधिक होता है, तो बताओ पुंछ की आग से इतना तापमान कैसे बढ सकता है??
सोने का महल था या सोने की लंका?
6000 साल पूर्व सभी चमड़े का परिधान पहनते थे
तो 70000 साल पूर्व कपड़े राम कहां से पहनते थे??
(13). जब ब्रह्मा के मुख से ब्राह्मण पैदा हुआ तो भारत में ही क्यों पैदा हुआ?? जबकि ब्रह्मा ने ब्रह्मांड रचाया तो चीन अमेरिका थाईलैंड जापान दक्षिण कोरिया वगैरह वगैरह दुनिया के बाकी देशों में ब्राह्मणों क्यो पैदा नहीं हुआ या होता ??
आज भी बामण किसी के मुख से पैदा होते है या जननांग से।
(14). वह कोनसा सॉफ्टवेयर था जिसे पता चल जाता था कि लक्ष्मण रेखा को सीता पार करे तो कुछ नही हुआ परन्तु रावण पार कर तो जल उठे???
(15). जिस धनुष को रावण उठा नही सका, उसी धनुष को उठाने वाली सीता को रावण कैसे उठा सकता है??
सवाल और भी बहुत है....
ज्योतिबा फुले ने सही कहा था कि " पोंगा पंडितो का ज्ञान उनके(पंडितो) के ज्ञान पर नही, शुद्रो की अज्ञानता पर टिका हुआ है।"
"जिस दिन शुद्र अपने विवेक, सोच और तर्क - शक्ति का उपयोग करना शुरू कर देंगे, उस दिन इन पोंगा पंडितो के द्वारा काल्पनिक गप्प कथाओं के द्वारा निर्मित किये गए किले धरासायी हो जाएंगे।"
HISTORY OF SRILANKA -
Rama, Ravana & Sita: Road to Ramayana
By Sirancee Gunawardene, Prof. of History , Colombo
There are many places in Sri Lanka associated with the Indian epic poem Ramayana. The Ramayana was written in Sanskrit about 2000 years before the commencement of dynastic history of Sri Lanka which is calculated with the coming of Vijaya in 544 BC. It tells us of places far back in history in pre- Vijayan times.
The emotionally charged legend of Rama and Sita, the much loved Indian Princess and her abduction by Ravana, the Rakshasa king of Lanka, is well known. When Ravana abducted Sita it led to a war, which somewhat resembled the Trojan-Greek war, which was fought over Helen of Troy. It is said that in this pre-Vijayan period King Ravana ruled over the indigenous people of Sri Lanka, the Naga and Yakshas.
It is also noteworthy that 200 million years ago, geologically Sri Lanka was linked with India, Madagascar, Australia and Antarctica, in a land mass known as Gondwana.
The earth's surface before seismic earthquakes, ocean currents, winds and drifts changed the land forms into different countries, was one land mass. During the geological changes, sections of the land mass were propelled in different directions and formed continents and countries. South India drifted northward and the Himalayan mountains emerged from the sea with the gigantic up thrust. Sri Lanka separated into a land mass known as Lanka Dvipa (Island of Lanka), and part of the land submerged into the sea. According to the Ramayana epic this took place because of the misdeeds of Ravana, but this seismic happening is confirmed by modern science.
The stretch of coast on the North West, North and South of Mannar could easily be reached from India, as is quite evident today. The Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar and the buried city of Kundiramalai were used from pre-Vijaya times by nomadic bands of people. This is probably the route taken by Hanuman who rescued Sita, after Ravana had crossed over to India and disrupted the idyllic romance of Rama and Sita in a sylvan forest glade in the Himalayas. It is also the tip of Mannar referred to as Adam's Bridge, the causeway which consisted of the coral reefs and shifting sand dunes which Rama used to bring his huge army. He is said to have stopped at the shrine dedicated to Shiva or Iswara before going to battle. When the causeway which Hanuman undertook to finish in a month was being built, it is said thousand of squirrels came to help him. They rolled on the sandy ground and shook off the sand on the bridge and effectively filled the crevices and gaps in the causeway. Rama in appreciation stroked them and conferred the dark stripes on their body.
Down the southern coast coming on to Galle is another interesting place associated with the Rama and Sita legend. It is a mountain called Rhumassala Kanda. From the top of this mountain you get a panoramic view of the Galle harbour and its environs. On a clear day you could even see Adam's Peak, Sri Pada.
Rhumassala Kanda seems strangely out of place when you look at the rest of the landscape. According to legend when Lakshman, the brother of Rama was injured in battle, Rama is said to have sent his faithful emissary Hanuman to the Himalayan Mountain to get a medicinal herb to cure him. Hanuman however forgot the name of the herb and so tore off a huge chunk of the Himalayan Mountain which was well known for medicinal herbs. The chunk of mountain terrain he later dropped and this is reported to be Rhumassala Kanda. Rhumassala Kanda has a wide variety of medicinal plants.
Ravana, the Rakshasa king who reigned in Sri Lanka had his capital in Ravana Kotte, which can be identifed as part of the Southern Bases on the south eastern coast. Here, he is said to have had a strange fortress with battlements where he held the beautiful Sita prisoner. She remained here unbending and upright. Now waves cover this area, but a part of the fortress could be seen form time to time.
Later, Ravana took Sita from Ravana Kotte for greater security to the smallest plateau of Nuwara Eliya and to a locality known as Asoka Aramaya a pleasure garden which had beautiful scenery and dense of forest surrounding it. Asoka trees flowered there. Sita Eliya on the outskirts of Nuwara Eliya is associated with Sita. Hanuman also came here looking for Sita.
When Rama's army was approaching, Ravana again moved Sita to a dense forested area. In Uva, at the base of a mountain crag 4500 feet above sea level is the Ravana Ella cave. Ella is 7 miles from Bandarawela and is a beautiful place to visit. At the base of a precipitous ravine is the Ella gap which you can see if you go to the Ella Rest House. This is the famous cave where Ravana hid Sita. There is thick jungle here and wild and unspoiled mountain wilderness.
The picturesque Ravana Ella falls is a little distance away. It is one of the wildest looking water falls. The water falls in torrents down the Ella gorge and cascades down a forest glade. Sita is said to have roamed around in captivity in this area and bathed in a pool within a rock by the swirling waters of the Ravana Falls.
Ravana's place is said to have been at Maligawa Tenna, near Welimada. It is now a paddy field but ancient stone work, brick and granite slabs have been found here.
The epic battle would have taken place in upper Uva on the mountain side. This area throbs with the majesty of the wilderness and some point to dents on the boulders where Rama's firearms struck.
The place where Rama stopped before leaving Sri Lanka with Sita is a temple on a dune known as Ganakamadhana Hill, where there was a gold lingam said to have been donated by him.
These are interesting places to visit when conditions are more peaceful.
(Sunday Times)
The first signs of human inhabitants in Sri Lanka date back to the Stone Age, about 1.750.000 million years ago. These people are said to have come from the South of India and reached the Island through a land bridge connecting the Indian subcontinent to Sri Lanka named Adam's Bridge. This is related so in the epic Hindu book of Ramayana.
Rama's Bridge, chain of shoals, c.18 mi (30 km) long, in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka. At high tide it is covered by c. 4 ft (1.2 m) of water. A steamer ferry links Rameswaram, India, with Mannar, Sri Lanka. According to Hindu legend, the bridge was built to transport Rama, hero of the Ramayana, to the island to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana.
(COURTESY- BRITISH MUSEUM London)
Quoting from Brahamgupta's Brahamsiddhanta, Alberuni wrote:
"Several circumstances, however, compel us to attribute globular shape to both the earth and the heaven, viz. the fact that the stars rise and set in different places at different times, so that, e.g. a man in Yamakoti observes one identical start rising above the western horizon, whilst a man in Rum at the same time observes it rising above the eastern horizon. Another argument to the same effect is this, that a man on Meru observes one identical star above the horizon in the zenith of Lanka, the country of demons, whilst a man in Lanka at the same time observes it above his head. Besides all astronomical observations are not correct unless we assume the globular shape of heaven and earth. Therefore we must declare that heaven is a globe, and the observation of these characteristics of the world would not be correct unless in reality it were a globe. Now it is evident that all other theories about the world are futile."
The Problem of Mapping and Dating Ramayana-
On seeing the names like this Yavana, Shaka etc. some hold the view that Ramayana was written more later to Greek's invasion on India. Max Muller in his 'What Can India Teach Us?' says: 'If I call the invasion which is generally called the invasion of the Shakas, or the Scythians, or the Indo-Scythians, or Turushkas, the Turanian invasion... who took possession of India, from about first century BC to the third century BC...' and again classifying Sanskrit literature he says 'we divide the whole of the Sanskrit literature into there two periods, one anterior to the great Turanian invasion, the other posterior to it, we may call the former period as ancient and natural, that of the later modern and artificial...' thus Ramayana belonged to the modern and artificial literary period and Veda-s to ancient, according to him. According to Indians the Turushkas are not the Scythians but Turkish and the Yavanas, the clearly the Greek. Michelson in his 'Linguistic Archaisms of the Ramayana...'adds another phase called Epical period. Thus, there are three, Vedic, Epical, and the rest of it is modern and artificial, At the same time Max Muller says: 'That at the time of Solomon, there was a channel of communication open between India and Syria and Palestine is established beyond doubt, I believe, by certain Sanskrit words which occur in the Bible such as ivory, apes, peacock, and sandalwood, which, taken together, could not have been exported from any country but India...' So Solomon, Bible, Turanian invasion, Ramayana... all occasioned at one time, i.e., around 0 BC. So many professors so many researchers have not said a date agreeable to Indians as well as to the world.
At one place, it is said that there was a rapport among these places India-Syria-Palestine and even up to Egypt, but at other place, the Indian thought, that the Indian had Greeks and Greeks had Indians, is dismissed. What prevents to agree that both hold up mirror to almost the same culture, though diverse in its practise, right from the belief of Greeks, viz., 'the sense of many gods are there near at hand' to various gods, to their names, to the epical literature, and also to myths and legends and dramas etc, is unknown. But when it comes to dating and mapping 'the earliest date known for certain in Indian history is the invasion of Alexander in 326 BC...' and 'The chronology has been built up form the identification of Sandracrottus of Greek writers with Chandragupta Maurya... yet it is said 'In the seventh century BC India was divided into sixteen Mahajanapada-s...' as per "An Historical Atlas of Indian Peninsula", Oxford. Peculiarly those sixteen Janapada-s did not contain the names of Yavana, Shaka provinces in atlases.
Posted by News Editor
एक नाम के अनेक लोग होते हैं इसी तरह एक नाम के कई शहर, गॉंव भी होते हैं, अयोध्या भारत के उत्तर प्रदेश में है ये बात भारत का हार आदमी जनता है मगर कम लोग ही जानते हैं कि एक अयोध्या थाईलैंड में भी है, आज हम थाईलैंड में राम की अयोध्या के बारे में बताने जा रहे हैं, हो सकता है भगवान् राम का जन्म थाईलैंड की अयोध्या में हुआ हो यह खोज और शोध का विषय है, खोज और शोध के लिए सरकार से कहना मुनासिब नहीं होगा क्यूंकि वह पिछले चार सालों से हरियाणा में सरस्वती नदी को तलाश कर रही है, सरकार बनने के बाद जब काम शुरू हुआ था तब टीवी चैनलों पर बताया गया था कि ‘माता सरस्वती नदी’ को खोज लिया गया है, एक बाल्टी में पानी भी दिखाया गया था तब से अभी तक सरस्वती का कोई अता पता नहीं है
भारत में अयोध्या को सभी जानते हैं लेकिन दक्षिण पूर्व एशिया स्थित देश थाईलैंड भी प्रभु श्रीराम के जीवन से प्रेरित है। थाईलैंड के प्रमुख पर्यटन स्थलों में आता है प्राचीन शहर अयोध्या। अयोध्या का उल्लेख इतिहास में स्याम राज्य की राजधानी के तौर पर किया गया है। अयोध्या नगरी की स्थापना एवं इसके इतिहास में यहां के आस-पड़ोस की जगहों का काफी महत्व और योगदान है। छोप्रया, पालाक एवं लोबपुरी नदियों के संगम पर बसा द्वीपनुमा शहर अयोध्या व्यापार, संस्कृति के साथ-साथ आध्यात्मिक अवधारणाओं का भी गढ़ रहा है।
इसका नामकरण भारत के अयोध्या के नाम पर हुआ। अयोध्या का मतलब है अपराजय। अयोध्या से इस शहर का नाम जोडऩे की वजह यह हो सकती है कि ईसा पूर्व द्वितीय सदी में इस क्षेत्र में हिंदुओं का वर्चस्व काफी ज्यादा था। पुरुषोत्तम राम के जीवन चरित पर भारत में भगवान वाल्मीकि द्वारा लिखी गई रामायण थाईलैंड में महाकाव्य के रूप में प्रचलित है। लिखित साक्ष्यों के आधार पर माना गया है कि इसे दक्षिण एशिया में पहुंचाने वाले भारतीय तमिल व्यापारी और विद्वान थे। पहली सदी के अंत तक रामायण थाईलैंड के लोगों तक पहुंच चुकी थी। वर्ष 1360 में राजा रमाथीबोधी ने तर्वदा बौद्ध धर्म को अयोध्या शहर का शासकीय धर्म बना दिया था, जिसे मानना नागरिकों के लिए अनिवार्य था लेकिन फिर इसी राजा को हिन्दू धर्म का प्राचीन दस्तावेज ही लगा, जिससे प्रभावित होकर इसने हिन्दू धर्म को ही यहां का आधिकारिक धर्म बना दिया, जो अब से एक शताब्दी पहले तक वैध था। Dayakrishan Chahal
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~ यह वह बिल्डिंग है थाईलैंड मे जहां थाईलैंड वाले यह दावा करते हैं कि इसमे भगवान राम का जन्म हुआ था
हम समझते हैं कि राम ने “अयोध्या” में जन्म लिया ,,
जबकि रामायण लिखने के वक्त भारत में कोई अयोध्या थी ही नंही
अयोध्या का नाम आज से लहभग 2000 वर्ष पहले #साकेत था
अयोध्या कोई थी ही नंही
श्री-लंका का नाम पहले “सीलोन” Ceylonथा
1972 में इसका नाम “लंका” रक्खा गया ,,,
फिर 1974 में इसके आगे श्री लगाकर श्री-लंका किया गया ,,,
सीलोन से पहले इसका नाम सिंहल द्वीप था आज से लहभग 1200 वर्ष पहले भारत और श्री-लंका का सड़क मार्ग था,,,जिससे कभी राजा महेंद्रू श्री-लंका गये थे ,,,आज भी उस जगह को #महेंद्रू घाट के नाम से जाना जाता है
सड़क मार्ग के होते हुऐ भी रामसेतू बनाना पड़ा
कुरूक्षेत्रपहले इसका नाम “थानेशर” था इसको बदल कर कुरूक्षेत्र किया गया ,,
जब इन नामों के शहर या देश का भारत से कोई लिंक ही नंही मिलता ,,,तो रामायण़ में इनका ज़िक्र कैसे आ गया ?
सोचने वाली बात है
क्यूंकि असल में ये सब नाम थाईलैंड और यूरेशिया के आस-पास से सबंध रखते हैं ,,
थाईलैंड के राजा को “राम” कहा जाता है
आज भी थाईलैंड में उनके वंसज मौजूद हैं
थाईलैंड में आज भी राम राज्य है ।
अब सोचने वाली बात ये है कि थाईलैंड, भारत से रामायण़ का केस भी जीत चुका है,,
‘रामयण’ थाईलैंड का राष्ट्रीय ग्रन्थ है
भारतिय रामायण़ को सूप्रीम कोर्ट ने भी फर्जी करार दिया है ।
अब भारतिये पंडो की मानो,,तो राम की अयोध्या भारत है,,लेकिन इनके पास सबूत ही नंही हैं
थाईलैंड के पास सबूत सामने पडे हैं ,,,
याद रहे ,,भारत में अभी भी शहरो और स्थानों के नाम बदल कर रामायण़ और गीता के अनुसार रक्खे जा रहे हैं
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Pawan Sayam Gond
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अच्छा किसी जैनी से पूछना कि राम और कृष्ण कौन थे जैनियों के प्रथम जेन तीर्थकरो का जन्म थाईलैंड कि अयोध्या में हुआ था अयोध्या का प्राचीन नाम द्वारावती था रामायण और महाभारत थाईलैंड और इंडोनेशिया उसके पूर्वी आसियान देशों की कथा है थाईलैंड का प्राचीन नाम सियाम था और मनुस्मृति और संस्कृत भाषा थाईलैंड में लागू थी राम का जन्म थाईलैंड की अयोध्या में हुआ था सभी पूर्वी आसियान देश कभी थाईलैंड के उपमहाद्वीप थे और यही संपूर्ण आर्याव्रत कहलाता था
थाईलैंड में है भगवान राम की अयोध्या, हो सकता है राम का जन्म थाईलैंड की अयोध्या में हुआ हो!
Posted by News Editor
एक नाम के अनेक लोग होते हैं इसी तरह एक नाम के कई शहर, गॉंव भी होते हैं, अयोध्या भारत के उत्तर प्रदेश में है ये बात भारत का हार आदमी जनता है मगर कम लोग ही जानते हैं कि एक अयोध्या थाईलैंड में भी है, आज हम थाईलैंड में राम की अयोध्या के बारे में बताने जा रहे हैं, हो सकता है भगवान् राम का जन्म थाईलैंड की अयोध्या में हुआ हो यह खोज और शोध का विषय है, खोज और शोध के लिए सरकार से कहना मुनासिब नहीं होगा क्यूंकि वह पिछले चार सालों से हरियाणा में सरस्वती नदी को तलाश कर रही है, सरकार बनने के बाद जब काम शुरू हुआ था तब टीवी चैनलों पर बताया गया था कि ‘माता सरस्वती नदी’ को खोज लिया गया है, एक बाल्टी में पानी भी दिखाया गया था तब से अभी तक सरस्वती का कोई अता पता नहीं है|
भारत में अयोध्या को सभी जानते हैं लेकिन दक्षिण पूर्व एशिया स्थित देश थाईलैंड भी प्रभु श्रीराम के जीवन से प्रेरित है। थाईलैंड के प्रमुख पर्यटन स्थलों में आता है प्राचीन शहर अयोध्या। अयोध्या का उल्लेख इतिहास में स्याम राज्य की राजधानी के तौर पर किया गया है। अयोध्या नगरी की स्थापना एवं इसके इतिहास में यहां के आस-पड़ोस की जगहों का काफी महत्व और योगदान है। छोप्रया, पालाक एवं लोबपुरी नदियों के संगम पर बसा द्वीपनुमा शहर अयोध्या व्यापार, संस्कृति के साथ-साथ आध्यात्मिक अवधारणाओं का भी गढ़ रहा है।
इसका नामकरण भारत के अयोध्या के नाम पर हुआ। अयोध्या का मतलब है अपराजय। अयोध्या से इस शहर का नाम जोडऩे की वजह यह हो सकती है कि ईसा पूर्व द्वितीय सदी में इस क्षेत्र में हिंदुओं का वर्चस्व काफी ज्यादा था। पुरुषोत्तम राम के जीवन चरित पर भारत में भगवान वाल्मीकि द्वारा लिखी गई रामायण थाईलैंड में महाकाव्य के रूप में प्रचलित है। लिखित साक्ष्यों के आधार पर माना गया है कि इसे दक्षिण एशिया में पहुंचाने वाले भारतीय तमिल व्यापारी और विद्वान थे। पहली सदी के अंत तक रामायण थाईलैंड के लोगों तक पहुंच चुकी थी। वर्ष 1360 में राजा रमाथीबोधी ने तर्वदा बौद्ध धर्म को अयोध्या शहर का शासकीय धर्म बना दिया था, जिसे मानना नागरिकों के लिए अनिवार्य था लेकिन फिर इसी राजा को हिन्दू धर्म का प्राचीन दस्तावेज ही लगा, जिससे प्रभावित होकर इसने हिन्दू धर्म को ही यहां का आधिकारिक धर्म बना दिया, जो अब से एक शताब्दी पहले तक वैध था।
अयोध्या के राजा केवल बौद्ध धर्म मानने वाले नहीं बल्कि देवराजा भी हुआ करते थे इसलिए इनकी शक्तियां केवल सांसारिक ही नहीं बल्कि आध्यात्मिक भी होती थीं, जो हिन्दुओं के इष्टदेव, इंद्र एवं विष्णु से जुड़ी होती थीं। 17वीं शताब्दी के लेखक वैन लिएट ने लिखा है कि स्याम का राजा अपने राज्य के लोगों द्वारा अपने उसूलों की वजह से देवताओं से भी ज्यादा पूजा जाता था। सम्राट के खिलाफ बोलने पर पंद्रह वर्षों की सजा का प्रावधान था। थाई संस्कृति एवं साहित्य का रामायण और पुरुषोत्तम राम से इस कदर जुड़ाव है कि यहां के राजा अपने नाम के साथ राम लगाया करते थे। चक्री वंश के राजा के नाम के साथ भी राम शब्द जुड़ा है। अयोध्या पर पांच राजवंशों के 33 राजाओं ने शासन किया।
पुरातत्व शोधकर्ताओं के अनुसार पत्थरों के ढेर में तबदील हुए अयोध्या का एक स्वर्णिम इतिहास रहा है। यहां स्थित अवशेष इसके वैभव का बखान करते हैं। इन्हीं अवशेषों के आसपास आधुनिक शहर बस जाने से अयोध्या थाईलैंड के प्रमुख पर्यटन स्थलों में शुमार हो गया है, जिसे देखने प्रति वर्ष तकरीबन दस लाख लोग आते हैं। अपने शिल्प-वैभव की वजह से अयोध्या राजनीतिक और आध्यात्मिक तौर पर अति प्रभावशाली राज्य माना जाता रहा। मठों, आश्रमों, नहरों एवं जलमार्गों की वजह से उस वक्त इस शहर की तुलना धार्मिक, व्यापारिक एवं सांस्कृतिक दृष्टि से वेनिस और ल्हासा से की जाती थी।
1767 में म्यांमार के नागरिकों ने अयोध्या पर चढ़ाई करके इसे लूट लिया और तहस-नहस कर डाला। स्याम की राजधानी कहलाने वाला अयोध्या एक लुटे-पिटे शहर में तबदील हो गया। अब यह स्याम की राजधानी नहीं रहा था। यहां केवल जंगल रह गए। 1976 में थाइलैंड की सरकार ने इस शहर के पुनर्निर्माण पर ध्यान दिया। यहां के जंगलों को साफ करके अवशेषों की मुरम्मत की गई और विश्व पटल पर इसे खड़ा किया गया।
अयोध्या का मुख्य आकर्षण है शहर के मध्य स्थित प्राचीन पार्क। इसके बिना शिखर वाले खंभों, दीवारों, सीढिय़ों एवं बुद्ध की सिरकटी प्रतिमा की ओर लोगों का ध्यान बरबस ही चला जाता है। स्कल्पचर के बेहतरीन लालित्य एवं कला ने यहां की संस्कृति को जीवित रखा है, वरना यहां की सिरकटी मूर्तियां हास्यास्पद बन गई होतीं। थाईलैंड सरकार ने सोचा कि शहर में स्थित बौद्ध प्रतिमाओं को बचाने का सिर्फ एक उपाय है कि इनके आकार को बिगाड़ दिया जाए इसलिए इन प्रतिमाओं के सिर हटाकर उन्हें संग्रहालयों में रखा गया। हालांकि, ऐसा करने से कोई फायदा नहीं हुआ। इसी जगह पर बची सिर वाली कुछ बौद्ध मूर्तियां अब भी इन कलाकारों की कारीगरी का प्रमाण हैं।
सबसे ज्यादा खास वह प्रतिमा है जिसमें बुद्ध का सिर सैंड स्टोन से बनाया गया है और एक पीपल के वृक्ष की जड़ों में जकड़ा हुआ है। यह वृक्ष अयोध्या में वट महाथाट यानी 14वीं शताब्दी के प्राचीन साम्राज्य की स्मृति चिन्हों वाले मंदिरों के अवशेषों में मौजूद है। शहर में शेष बची बुद्ध प्रतिमाओं में से कुछ को बेच दिया गया या फिर सफाई के बाद तराश कर उन्हें दोबारा आकार देने की कोशिश की गई, जिससे उनका मूल स्वरूप नष्ट हो गया।PunjabKesari
कथा प्रचलित है कि एक सुबह राजा इसी जगह पर बैठकर ध्यानमग्न था कि तभी उसे भूगर्भ से निकलती हुई अद्भुत दैवीय रोशनी नजर आई। राजा को यह जमीन के नीचे गड़ी बुद्ध प्रतिमा से निकलने वाला प्रकाश लगा, इसीलिए इस जगह पर मंदिर का निर्माण कराया गया। इसके मध्य में बड़ा-सा प्रांगण, 38 मीटर ऊंची भव्य मीनार और उस पर बनी लपेट छह मीटर ऊंची थी लेकिन मंदिर की यह खूबसूरती ज्यादा दिनों तक टिक नहीं पाई और 15वीं शताब्दी में यह ढह गया। अब मीनारों की केवल नींव बची है।
1424 में राजा रक्षतीरथ द्वितीय द्वारा रक्षबुराना के प्रांगण में अपने पिता की समाधि के ऊपर एक वट बनवाया गया था। यहीं पर दो स्तूप हैं, जिन्हें राजा ने अपने दोनों भाइयों राजकुमार अई और राजकुमार ई की याद में बनवाया था। अब इन स्तूपों के अवशेष के रूप में केवल नींव ही बची है।
1957 में लुटेरों ने किसी पुराने खजाने को पाने की उम्मीद में प्रांगण के नीचे सुरंग बना दी थी। लुटेरे तो धरे गए लेकिन सुरंग ने थाईलैंड के ललित कला विभाग को इस जगह और भी ज्यादा अन्वेषण का मौका दे दिया।
अयोध्या का सबसे महत्वपूर्ण भवन है तीन छेदी, जिसमें तीन राजाओं की खाक मिली है। यह जगह खास लोगों को समर्पित की गई है। यहां पूजा-अर्चना की जाती थी और समारोह आयोजित होते थे। विहार फ्रा मोंग खोन बोफिट एक बड़ा प्रार्थना स्थल है। यहां बुद्ध की एक बड़ी प्रतिमा है। यह पहले 1538 में बनाई गई थी लेकिन बर्मा द्वारा अयोध्या पर चढ़ाई के दौरान नष्ट हो गई थी। यह प्रतिमा पहले सभागार के बाहर हुआ करती थी, बाद में इसे विहार के अंदर स्थापित किया गया। जब विहार की छत टूट गई, तब एक बार फिर प्रतिमा को काफी नुक्सान पहुंचा और राजा राम षष्ठम ने लगभग 200 वर्षों बाद इसे वहां से हटवा कर संग्रहालय में रखवा दिया। 1957 में फाइन आट्रस विभाग ने पुराने विहार को फिर से बनवाया और सुनहरे पत्तों से ढंक कर बुद्ध की प्रतिमा को फिर से पुरानी जगह पर रखवाया। फ्रा भेदी सी सूर्योथाई स्मारक रानी सूर्योथाई के सम्मान में बनवाया गया था।
11th November 2018
Posted by News Editor
रामायण के अनुसार राम त्रेतायुग के मानव थे और त्रेतायुग आज से लगभग 21 लाख साल पहले हुआ करता था इतिहास में अयोध्या का ज़िक्र लगभग बुद्ध के साथ शुरू होता है. 600 ईसा पूर्व में राजा प्रसेनजीत के समय ये श्रावस्ती की राजधानी साकेत थी. चीनी यात्री फाह्यान के लिखे विवरणों में भी इसका नाम ‘सा-शी’ लिखा मिलता है. गुप्त सम्राट स्कंदगुप्त अपनी राजधानी पाटलीपुत्र से यहां लेकर आए और इसका नाम अयोध्या रखा. गुप्त काल में अयोध्या बड़ा व्यापारिक केंद्र बना. ईसा पूर्व के बड़े शहरों में अयोध्या का ज़िक्र मिलता है. प्राचीन भारत की सप्तपुरियों में मथुरा, माया, काशी, कांची, अवंतिका और द्वारिका के साथ अयोध्या का ज़िक्र आता है.
बौद्ध धर्म का केंद्र
अयोध्या बौद्ध धर्म का बड़ा केंद्र रहा है. ये शहर श्रावस्ती, कुशीनगर जैसे बौद्ध केंद्रों के पास बसा है. कहा जाता है कि बुद्ध कई बार अयोध्या आए. चीनी यात्री फाह्यान ने भी अपने विवरणों में यहां के बौद्ध मठों का ज़िक्र किया है. इसके अलावा दक्षिण पूर्वी एशिया के जिन देशों में बौद्ध धर्म है, वहां के साहित्य में अयोध्या का काफी ज़िक्र मिलता है. थाईलैंड का शहर ‘अयुथ्या’ और ‘इंडोनेशिया’ के योग्यकारता शहर का नाम भी अयोध्या के नाम पर रखा गया है.
जैन तीर्थंकरों की ज़मीन
जैन धर्म के 24 में से 5 तीर्थंकर अयोध्या में पैदा हुए. इनमें जैन धर्म के पहले तीर्थंकर ऋषभदेव भी हैं. जैन ग्रंथों में भगवान महावीर के भी अयोध्या आने का ज़िक्र है. यहां ऋषभदेव का मंदिर भी है.
अयोध्या का अवध बनना
1226 ईसवी में दिल्ली सल्तनत के बनने के साथ अयोध्या में फिर बदलाव आए. अयोध्या से अवध बनने के इस दौर में शहर का बड़े स्तर पर कोई खास ज़िक्र नहीं मिलता है. मुगल काल में मीर बाक़ी ने बाबर के नाम पर बाबरी मस्जिद बनवाई. मुगल काल के कमज़ोर होते-होते अवध आज़ाद हो गया. वहां के शिया नवाबों के शासन में गंगा-जमुनी तहज़ीब अच्छे से फली-फूली. कला और संस्कृति को खूब बढ़ावा मिला. ‘बाबुल मोरा नैहर छूटो जाए’ जैसी ठुमरियां लिखी गईं. लखनऊ का कत्थक घराना बना. अंग्रेज़ आए तो अयोध्या फैज़ाबाद का हिस्सा बना. जागीरें दी गईं. नए-नए राजा बने. राजा महमूदाबाद, फैज़ाबाद जैसे तमाम राज परिवार इसी काल में स्थापित हुए.
साहित्य और कला में अयोध्या
तुलसी की रामचरितमानस काशी के घाट पर लिखी गई. शैव संप्रदाय के शहर में वैष्णव कथा लिखे जाने के कारण कई लोग मानते हैं कि इस काल में अयोध्या की राम से जुड़ी पहचान वैसी नहीं थी, जैसी आज-कल है. दुनिया के अलग-अलग हिस्सों में लिखी गई रामायणों जैसे रामकियन, कृतिवास रामायण, कंब रामायण आदि में भी राम कथा के बाकी शहरों (पंचवटी, चित्रकूट, किष्किंधा, रामेश्वरम, लंका) की चर्चा अयोध्या से ज़्यादा है. इसके अलावा अयोध्या का ज़िक्र ‘होली खेले रघुवीरा अवध में’ जैसे गीतों में खूब आता है. उमरावजान अदा की मशहूर कहानी भी फैज़ाबाद में बुनी गई है. जिस अवध की तहज़ीब और मुजरों का ज़िक्र गाहे-बगाहे होता रहता है, वो भी अयोध्या या अवध का ही एक हिस्सा है.
हर शहर के कई किरदार होते हैं. अयोध्या के भी हैं. मगर 2000 साल का इतिहास, कला और संस्कृति समेटे अयोध्या की तमाम पहचानों पर 1992 भारी पड़ता है. राम जन्मभूमि मामले में आगे चाहे जो हो, मगर अयोध्या को उसकी बाकी पहचान शायद ही मिल पाए.
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अयोध्या भारत के राज्य उत्तर प्रदेश का एक प्रमुख शहर है। कुछ सालो से यह शहर भारत के सबसे चर्चित शहरो में से भी एक रहा है। जिसका कारण यहा राम मंदिर और बाबरी मस्जिद विवाद है और यह विवाद अयोध्या का इतिहास को कलंकित कर रहा। आपने इस लेख में हम अयोध्या का इतिहास, अयोध्या हिस्ट्री इन हिंदी में जानेगें।
अयोध्या, उत्तर प्रदेश, भारत का इतिहास एक आकर्षक है। प्राचीन इतिहास के अनुसार, अयोध्या सबसे पवित्र शहरों में से एक था जहां हिंदू धर्म, बौद्ध धर्म, इस्लाम और जैन धर्म के धार्मिक धर्म एक साथ पवित्र स्थान का निर्माण करने के लिए एकजुट थे।अयोध्या का इतिहास एक चेकर्ड है। अथर्ववेद में, इस जगह को एक ऐसे शहर के रूप में वर्णित किया गया था जो देवताओं द्वारा बनाया गया था और स्वर्ग के रूप में समृद्ध था। अयोध्या का इतिहास प्राचीन कोसाला के शक्तिशाली साम्राज्य में अयोध्या की राजधानी थी। यह शहर 600 ईसा पूर्व में एक महत्वपूर्ण व्यापार केंद्र भी था। इतिहासकारों ने इस स्थान की पहचान 5 वीं शताब्दी ईसा पूर्व के दौरान एक प्रमुख बौद्ध केंद्र साकेत, (यह व्यापक रूप से धारणा है कि बुद्ध ने कई अवसरों पर अयोध्या का दौरा किया) जो यह 5 वीं शताब्दी ईस्वी तक बना रहा। वास्तव में, चीनी भिक्षु फा-हियान ने यहां देखा कि कई बौद्ध मठों का रिकॉर्ड रखा गया है।
जैन समुदाय के लिए अयोध्या का ऐतिहासिक महत्व भी है। यहा दो महत्वपूर्ण जैन तीर्थंकरों का जन्म स्थान है जो सदियों की शुरुआत में पैदा हुए थे। जैन ग्रंथ भी इस शहर के जैन धर्म के संस्थापक महावीर की यात्रा के लिए गवाही देते हैं।
7 वीं शताब्दी ईस्वी में, चीनी भिक्षु जुआन झांग (ह्यूएन त्संग) ने अयोध्या में कई हिंदू मंदिरों को खोजते हुए रिकॉर्ड किया। महाकाव्य रामायण में, अयोध्या शहर भगवान श्री राम के जन्मस्थान के रूप में उद्धृत किया गया है, एक हिंदू देवता जिसे भगवान विष्णु के सातवें अवतार के रूप में पूजा की गई थी। 1400 के दशक में अयोध्या एक प्रसिद्ध तीर्थ स्थल बन गया जब रामानंद, हिंदू रहस्यवादी ने राम के भक्ति संप्रदाय की स्थापना की।
16 वीं शताब्दी में अयोध्या मुगल साम्राज्य के शासन में आने के साथ सत्ता में बदलाव आया। 1856 में ब्रिटिश शासकों द्वारा अयोध्या को कब्जा कर लिया गया था। 1857 और 185 9 के बीच, यह स्थान उन मुख्य केंद्रों में से एक था जहां भारतीय स्वतंत्रता के पहले युद्ध की चमक शुरू हुई थी। बाद में इन स्पार्कों ने कलकत्ता में शुरू हुई ब्रिटिश ईस्ट इंडिया कंपनी के विरोध में भारतीय सैनिकों के राष्ट्रव्यापी विद्रोह का नेतृत्व किया
अयोध्या का इतिहास का एक और पहलू
धार्मिक दृष्टि से अयोध्या का प्राचीन इतिहास बताता है कि वर्तमान अयोध्या महाराज विक्रमादित्य का बसाया हुआ है। महाराज विक्रमादित्य देशाटन करते हुए संयोगवश यहा सरयू नदी के किनारे पहुंचे थे। यही पर उनकी सेना ने शिविर डाला था। उस समय यहा वन था।कोई प्राचीन तीर्थ चिन्ह यहा नही था। महाराज विक्रमादित्य को इस भूमि में कुछ चमत्कार दिखाई पडा। उन्होने खोज आरंभ की और पास के योगी संतो की कृपा से उन्हे ज्ञात हुआ कि यह श्री अवध भूमि है। उन संतो के निर्देश से महाराज ने यहां भगवन लीलास्थली को जानकर यहां मंदिर, सरोवर, कूप इत्यादि बनवाए।
यह भी कहा जाता है कि श्रीराम जी के साथ अयोध्या के कीट पतंगे तक उनके दिव्य धाम में चले गए। इससे त्रेता युग में ही अयोध्या उजड गई थी। माना जाता है कि श्रीराम के पुत्र कुश ने इसे फिर से बसाया था।
वाल्मीकि रामायण के अनुसार:– यह पवित्र नगरी पवित्र सरयू नदी के तट पर बसी हुई है। और सर्वप्रथम इसे मनु ने बसाया था।
अयोध्या दर्शन धार्मिक दृष्टि से – अयोध्या तीर्थ यात्रा
भारत की प्राचीन सांस्कृतिक सप्तपुरियो में अयोध्या का प्रथम स्थान है। श्रीराम के पूर्ववर्ती राजाओ की यह राजधानी रही है। इश्वाकु सेश्री रघुनाथ जी तक सभी चक्रवर्ती नरूशो ने अयोध्या के सिंहासन को भूषित किया है। श्रीरामज की अवताय भूमि होने के बाद अयोध्या को साकेत कहा जाने लगा।
अयोध्या का महात्मय
वाल्मीकि रामायण के अनुसार यह पवित्र नगरी सरयू नदी के तट पर बसी हुई है। सर्वप्रथम मनु ने इसे बसाया था।
स्कंद पुराण के अनुसार अयोध्या नगरी सुदर्शन चक्र पर बसी है।
“भूतशुद्धितत्व” के अनुुसार अयोध्या नगरी राम चंद्र के धनुषाग्र पर स्थित है।
स्कंद पुराण में अयोध्या का अर्थ का निर्वचन करते हुए कहता है कि “अ” कार ब्रह्मा है। “य” कार विष्णु है। तथा “ध” कार रूद्र का स्वरूप है। इसलिए अयोध्या ब्रह्मा, विष्णु तथा शंकर इन तीनो का समन्वित रूप है। समस्त उप पातको के साथ ब्रह्मात्यादि महापातक भी इससे युद्ध नही कर सकते इसलिए इसे अयोध्या कहते है।
पहले ब्रह्माज ने अयोध्या की यात्रा की थी। और अपने नाम से एक कुंड बनाया था। जो ब्रह्माकुंड के नाम से प्रसिद्ध है। एक कुंड सीताज द्वारा बनाया गया था, जिसका नाम सीता कुंड है। इस कुंड को भगवान राम ने वर देकर समस्त कामपूरक बनाया, इसमे स्नान करने से मनुष्य सब पापो से मुक्त हो जाता है।
ब्रह्माकुंड से पूर्वोत्तर में ऋणमोचन तीर्थ (सरयू) है। यहा लोमेशजी ने विधिपूर्वक स्नान किया था। सरयू में ही रूक्मणि तीर्थ है। जहा भगवान श्रीकृष्ण की पटरानी, रूक्मणि जी ने स्नान किया था।कहा जाता है कि जो अयोध्या में स्नान, जप, तप, हवन, दान, दर्शन, ध्यान आदि करता है वह सब अक्षय होता है।
अयोध्या के घाट
अयोध्या में सरयू नदी किनारे कई सुंदर व पक्के घाट बने है। यदि पश्चिम से पूर्व की ओर चले तो यह घाट इस क्रम से मिलेगें
1. ऋणमोचन घाट
2. सहस्त्रधारा घाट
3. लक्ष्मण घाट
4. स्वर्गद्वार
5. गंगामहल
6- शिवाला घाट
7. जटाई घाट
8- अहिल्याबाई घाट
9. धौरहरा घाट
10. रूपकला घाट
11. नया घाट
12. जानकी घाट
13. राम घाट
अयोध्या के मंदिर – अयोध्या के प्रमुख दर्शनीय स्थल
लक्ष्मण घाट
इस घाट पर लक्ष्मण का एक मंदिर है। इसमे पांच फुट ऊंची एक लक्ष्मण जी की मूर्ति है। यह मूर्ति सामने वाले कुंड में पायी गई थी। कहते है कि यही से लक्ष्मण जी परम धाम पधारे थे।
स्वर्गद्वार घाट
इस घाट के निकट श्री नागेश्वरनाथ महादेव जी का मंदिर है। कहा जाता है कि बाबर ने जब जन्म स्थान के मंदिर को तोडा था। तब पुजारियो ने वहा से यह मूर्ति उठाकर यहा स्थापित कर दी। इसी घाट पर यात्री पिंडदान करते है।
अहिल्याबाई घाट
इस घाट के थोडी दूर त्रेतानाथजी का मंदिर है। कहते है कि श्रीराम ने यहा यज्ञ किया था। इसमे राम सीता की मूर्ति है।
हनुमानगढी
यह स्थान सरयू तट से लगभग एक मील दूर नगर में स्थित है। यह एक ऊंचे टिले पर चार कोट का छोटा सा दुर्ग है। 60 सीढियां चढकर हनुमानजी के मंदिर में जाया जाता है। मंदिर के चारो ओरर मकान है जिसमे साधु संत रहते है। हनुमानगढी के दक्षिण में सुग्रीव टिला और अंगद टिला है।
कनक भवन
अयोध्या का मुख्य मंदिर यही है। यह मंदिर ओरछा नरेश का बनवाया हुआ है। यह सबसे विशाल एवं भव्य है। इसे श्रीराम का अत:पुर या सीताजी का महल कहते है। इसमे मुख्य मूर्तिया राम सीता की है। सिंहासन पर जो बडी मूर्तिया है। उनके आगे सीता- राम की छोटी मूर्तिया है। जिन्हे प्राचीन बताया जाता है। यह मंदिर अयोध्या का इतिहास का मुख्य मंदिर है।
दर्शनेश्वर
हनुमानगढी से थोडी दूरी पर अयोध्या नरेश का महल है। इस महल की वाटिका में दर्शनेवर महादेव का सुंदर मंदिर है।
जन्म स्थान
कनक भवन से आगे श्रीराम जन्मभूमि है। अयोध्या का यही वो विवादित स्थान है। जिसके बारे में कहा जाता है कि यहां के प्राचीन मंदिर को तुडवाकर बाबर ने बाबरी मस्जिद का निर्माण करवाया था। परंतु अब यहा फिर से श्रीराम की मूर्ति आसीन है। उस प्राचीन मंदिर के घेरे में जन्मभूमि का एक छोटा मंदिर और भी है। जन्म स्थान के पास कई मंदिर है। गीता रसोई, चौबीस अवतार, कोप भवन, रत्नसिहासन, आनंदभवन, रंगमहल इत्यादि।
तुलसी चौरा
राजमहल के दक्षिण में खुले मैदान मे तुलसी चौरा है। यह वह स्थान है जहा गोस्वामी तुलसीदास जी ने श्री रामचरित्र मानस की रचना की थी।
मणि पर्वत
तुलसी चौरा से लगभग एक मील दूर अयोध्या रेलवे स्टेशन के पास वन में एक टीला है। टीले के ऊपर मंदिर है। यही पर अशोक के 200 फुट ऊंचे एक स्तूप का अवशेष है।
दातुन कुंड
यह स्थान मणिपर्वत के निकट है। कहा जाता है कि यहा भगवान श्रीराम दातुन किया करते थे। कुछ लोग यह भी कहते है कि जब गौतम बुद्ध अयोध्या में रहते थे, तब एक दिन यहां उन्होने अपनी दातुन गाड दी थी। बाद में वह सात फुट ऊंचा वृक्ष हो गई। वह वृक्ष अब नही है। परंतु उसका स्मारक अब भी है। अयोध्या में बहुत अधिक मंदिर है। हम यहा केवल प्राचीन स्थानो का उल्लेख किया है। नए मंदिर तथा संतो के स्थान तो यहा बहुत अधिक है।
दशरथ तीर्थ
यह सरयू तट पर स्थित है। रामघाट से इसकी दूरी लगभग 8 मील है। यहा महाराजा दशरथ का अंतिम संस्कार हुआ था।
छपैया
यह एक गांव है। जो सरयू नदी के पार है। अयोध्या से इसकी दूरी लगभग 6 मील है। यह स्वामी सहजानंदजी की जन्मभूमि है।
नंदिग्राम
यह स्थान फैजाबाद से लगभग 10 मील तथा अयोध्या से 16 मील दूर है। यहा राम वनवास के समय भरतजी ने 14 वर्ष तपस्या की थी। यहा पर भरतकुंड सरोवर और भरत जी का मंदिर है।
सोनखर
यहा महाराजा रघु का कोषागार था। कुबेर ने यही सोने की वर्षा की थी।
सूर्य कुंड
रामघाट से इस स्थान की दूरी लगभग पांच मील है। यहा के लिए पक्का सडक मार्ग है। यहा एक बडा सरोवर है। जिसके चारो ओर घाट बने हुए है। पश्चिम किनारे पर सूर्य नारायण का मंदिर है।
गुप्तारघाट
यह स्थान अयोध्या से पश्चिम की ओर सरयू किनारे लगभग 9 मील की दूरी पर है। यहा सरयू स्नान का बहुत बडा महत्व माना जाता है। घाट के पास गुप्तहरि का मंदिर है।
जनौरा
महाराजा जनक जब अयोध्या पधारते थे तो उनका शिविर यही पर रहता था। अयोध्या से सात मील दूर फैजाबाद सुल्तानपुर सडक पर यह स्थान है। यहा गिरिजाकुंड नामक एक सरोवर तथा एक शिव मंदिर है।
अयोध्या के मेले
अयोध्या का इतिहास और अयोध्या दर्शन में यहा लगने वाले मेलो का बहुत बडा योगदान है। अयोध्या मे श्रीराम नवमी पर सबसे बडा मेला होता है। दूसरा मेला 8-9 तक श्रावण शुकलपक्ष में झूले का होता है। कार्तिक पूर्णिमा पर भी सरयू स्नान करने यात्री यहा आते है।
अयोध्या की परिक्रमा
अयोध्या की दो परिक्रमाए है। जिनका अयोध्या का इतिहास, अयोध्या तीर्थ यात्रा में बडा महत्व है। बडी परिक्रमा स्वर्गद्वार से आरंम्भ होती है। वहा से सरयू किनारे सात मील जाकर और फिर मुडकर शाहनवाजपुर, मुकारस नगर होते हुएदर्शन नगर में सूर्यकुंड पर पहला विश्राम किया जाता है। वहा से पश्चिम कोसाह, मिर्जापुर, बिकानेर ग्रामो में से होते हुए। जनौरा पहुंचने पर दूसरा विश्राम किया जाता है। जनौरा से खोजमपुर, निर्मलीकुंड, गुप्तारघाट होते हुए स्वर्गद्वार पहुचने पर परिक्रमा पूरी हो जाती है।
छोटी परिक्रमा केवल 6 मील की है। यह रामघाट से प्रारंम्भ होती है। इसके बाद बाबा रघुनाथदास की गद्दी, सीता कुंड, अग्निकुंड, विद्या कुंड, मणिपर्वत, कुबेर पर्वत, सुग्रीव पर्वत, लक्ष्मण घाट, स्वर्गद्वार होते हुए रामघाट आकर पूर्ण होती है।
अयोध्या का इतिहास, अयोध्या हिस्ट्री इन हिंदी आदि शीर्षको पर आधारित हमारा यह लेख आपको कैसा लगा हमे कमेंट करके जरूर बताए। यह जानकारी आप अपने दोस्तो के साथ सैशल मीडिया पर भी शेयर कर सकते है।
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साकेत वाल्मीकि रामायण से ज्ञात होता है कि श्रीराम के स्वर्गारोहण के पश्चात् अयोध्या उजाड़ हो गई थी। जान पड़ता है कि कालांतर में, इस नगरी के, गुप्तकाल में फिर से बसने के पूर्व ही साकेत नामक उपनगर स्थापित हो गया था। वाल्मीकि रामायण तथा महाभारत के प्राचीन भाग में साकेत का नाम नहीं है। बौद्ध साहित्य में अधिकतर, अयोध्या के उल्लेख के बजाय सर्वत्र साकेत का ही उल्लेख मिलता है, यद्यपि दोनों नगरियों का साथ-साथ वर्णन भी है। गुप्तकाल में साकेत तथा अयोध्या दोनों ही का नाम मिलता है। इस समय तक अयोध्या पुन: बस गई थी और चंद्रगुप्त द्वितीय ने यहाँ अपनी राजधानी भी बनाई थी। कुछ लोगों के मत में बौद्ध काल में साकेत तथा अयोध्या दोनों पर्यायवाची नाम थे किंतु यह सत्य नहीं जान पड़ता। अयोध्या की प्राचीन बस्ती इस समय भी रही होगी किंतु उजाड़ होने के कारण उसका पूर्व गौरव विलुप्त हो गया था।
वेबर के अनुसार साकेत नाम के कई नगर थे।
कनिंघम ने साकेत का अभिज्ञान फ़ाह्यान के शाचे और युवानच्वांग की विशाखा नगरी से किया है किंतु अब यह अभिज्ञान अशुद्ध प्रमाणित हो चुका है। सब बातों का निष्कर्ष यह जान पड़ता है कि अयोध्या की रामायण-कालीन बस्ती के उजड़ जाने के पश्चात् बौद्ध काल के प्रारंभ में (6ठी-5वीं शती ई.पू.) साकेत नामक अयोध्या का एक उपनगर बस गया था जो गुप्तकाल तक प्रसिद्ध रहा और हिन्दू धर्म के उत्कर्ष काल में अयोध्या की बस्ती फिर से बस जाने के पश्चात् धीरे-धीरे उसी का अंग बन कर अपना पृथक् अस्तित्व खो बैठा।
ऐतिहासिक दृष्टि से साकेत का सर्वप्रथम उल्लेख बौद्ध जातककथाओं में मिलता है। नंदियमिग जातक में साकेत को कोसल-राज की राजधानी बताया गया है।
महावग्ग में साकेत को श्रावस्ती से 6 कोस दूर बताया गया है।
पतंजलि ने द्वितीय शती ई.पू. में साकेत में ग्रीक (यवन) आक्रमणकारियों का उल्लेख करते हुए उनके द्वारा साकेत के आक्रांत होने का वर्णन किया है, अधिकांश विद्वानों के मत में पंतजलि ने यहाँ मेनेंडर (बौद्ध साहित्य का मिलिंद) के भारत-आक्रमण का उल्लेख किया है।
कालिदास ने रघुवंश में रघु की राजधानी को साकेत कहा है-
‘जनस्य साकेतनिवासिनस्तौ द्वावप्यभूतामविनन्द्य सत्वौ, गुरुप्रदेयाधिकनि:स्पृहो र्थी नृपो र्थिकामादधिकप्रदश्च’ में राम की राजधानी के निवासियों को साकेत नाम से अभिहित किया गया है।
‘यां सैकतोत्संगसुखोचितानाम्’ में साकेत के उपवन का उल्लेख है जिसमें लंका से लौटने के पश्चात् श्रीराम को ठहराया गया था-
‘साकेतोपवनमुदारमध्युवास’ में साकेत की पुरनारियों का वर्णन है-
‘प्रासादवातायनदृश्यबंधै: साकेतनार्योन्चजलिभि: प्रणेमु:‘ उपर्युक्त उद्धरणों से जान पड़ता है कि कालिदास ने अयोध्या और साकेत को एक नगरी माना है। यह स्थिति गुप्त काल अथवा कालिदास के समय में वास्तविक रूप में रही होगी क्योंकि इस समय तक अयोध्या की नई बस्ती फिर से बस चुकी थी और बौद्धकाल का साकेत इसी में सम्मिलित हो गया था। कालिदास ने अयोध्या का तो अनेक स्थानों पर उल्लेख किया ही है। आनुषांगिक रूप से, इस तथ्य से कालिदास का समय गुप्त काल ही सिद्ध होता है।
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साकेत के अयोध्या बनने का इतिहास
बाबरी-मस्जिद राममंदिर विवाद में सुप्रीम कोर्ट अब बौद्धों के दावे की भी सुनवाई होगी। दरअसल, अयोध्या के निवासी विनीत कुमार मौर्य ने दावा किया है कि विवादित ज़मीन पर दरअसल मंदिर या मस्जिद नहीं, बौद्ध धर्म से जुड़ा ढांचा था। याचिका में दावा किया गया है कि ए.एस.आई की खुदाई में मिले गोलाकार स्तूप, दीवार और खंभे बौद्ध विहार की विशिष्टता हैं न कि मंदिर या मस्जिद के। इसी के साथ, अयोध्या की ऐतिहासिकता भी चर्चा मे आ गई है। यह तथ्य है कि अयोध्या का पुराना नाम साकेत था। बौद्ध साहित्य में इसका काफ़ी उल्लेख है। इस संदर्भ में पढ़िए, इतिहास के शोधार्थी प्रद्युम्न यादव का विश्लेषण-
क्या हम जिसे अयोध्या समझते हैं वो वाकई राम की अयोध्या है ?
हज़ारो साल पहले वाल्मीकि ने अपनी किताब रामायण में राम को जन्म दिया और राम अस्तित्व में आये. रामायण के अनुसार राम त्रेतायुग के मानव थे और त्रेतायुग आज से लगभग 21 लाख साल पहले हुआ करता था. धरती के वैज्ञानिक इतिहास के हिसाब से देखें तो यह समय ‘प्लीयोसिन शक‘ का था जब महासागरों और महाद्वीपों को स्वरूप प्राप्त हुआ और धरती पर मानव का जन्म हुआ. इस समय के मानव के पास न भाषा थी न ही अपनी कोई संस्कृति और सभ्यता. वह बिल्कुल वैसा ही था जैसा कुत्ते, बिल्ली, घोड़े, गदहे आदि होते हैं. आधुनिक मानव यानी होमोसेपियंस, जिस मानव प्रजाति के हम हैं उसने धरती पर जन्म ही नहीं लिया था. लिहाज़ा ये समझना आसान है कि त्रेतायुग और उस युग में किसी राम के होने की कहानी कपोल कल्पना मात्र है.
हम भारतीयों के साथ दिक्कत ये है कि हम वैज्ञानिक समझ के अभाव और इतिहासबोध की दरिद्रता के कारण कथा-कहानियों और उससे संबंधित काल्पनिक इतिहास और भूगोल पर आंख मूंदकर यकीन कर लेते हैं. उदाहरण के लिए रामायण जैसे महाकाव्य की सामान्य कहानी को कहानी की तरह लेने की बजाय उसे सच मानने लगते हैं और कई बार इसे लेकर हिंसक भी हो जाते हैं. सिर्फ इसलिए क्योंकि यह किताब और इसकी कहानी कथित हिन्दू धर्म का हिस्सा है और हम संयोग से इस कथित धर्म में पैदा हो गए हैं.
आइए आज रामायण के काल्पनिक भूगोल की पड़ताल करते हैं कि इसमें कितनी सच्चाई है और कितना झूठ है.
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काल्पनिक भूगोल वह अवधारणा जिसके तहत हम किसी गल्प अथवा कपोल कल्पित कथा के अनुसार स्थान, समय और व्यक्ति के वास्तव में होने का निर्धारण करते हैं. उदाहरण के लिए बनारस में काफी समय से रामलीला का मंचन होता है तो वहां उससे संबंधित रामनगर भी है और लंका भी. इतना ही नहीं वहां रामश्वेरम से समुद्र लांघने का अभिनय एक छोटे से तालाब को समुद्र मानकर किया जाता है. अब कुछ भी हो हम उस तालाब को समुद्र तो नहीं मान सकते हैं. न ही रामनगर के किसी टीले को संजीवनी बूटी वाला पहाड़ मान सकते हैं.
अयोध्या जिसे पूर्व में साकेत के नाम से जाना जाता था
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साकेत का नाम अयोध्या गुप्तकाल में पड़ा. इससे पहले भारत में कहीं भी कोई भी अयोध्या नहीं थी. क्योंकि गुप्त शासकों ने राम की कथा के बारे में सुन रखा था और वो उससे खासे प्रभावित थे ( खासकर स्कन्दगुप्त जो खुद को राम समान मानता था ) इसलिए उन्होंने राम से जुड़े काल्पनिक भूगोल की रचना की और साकेत को अयोध्या के रूप में चिन्हित किया. ऐसा करने वाले शासक का नाम ‘विक्रमादित्य‘ था. यह एक प्रामाणिक तथ्य है. लेकिन इतिहासकार अभी इस बात पर निश्चित नहीं हैं कि यह ‘विक्रमादित्य‘ वास्तव में कौन सा गुप्त शासक था. जो थोड़े बहुत उपलब्ध साक्ष्य हैं उनके आधार पर विक्रमादित्य की पहचान स्कन्दगुप्त के रूप में की जाती है. लेकिन यह भी पूरी तरह मान्य नहीं है. स्कन्दगुप्त से दो पुस्त पहले गुजर चुके चंद्रगुप्त द्वितीय के समय में रचित कालिदास की रचनाओं में साकेत के लिए अयोध्या का प्रयोग शुरू हो चुका था. मतलब ये कि साकेत को अयोध्या कहने वाला विक्रमादित्य चंद्रगुप्त गुप्त द्वितीय था. स्कन्दगुप्त के समय में यह तय हो चुका था कि साकेत को अयोध्या के रूप में बसाया जाएगा.
रामायण की कथा सुनने के बाद विक्रमादित्य के पास अयोध्या का काल्पनिक भूगोल रचने के लिए सबसे अहम सबूत था – पवित्र नदी सरयू की धारा और उसके किनारे महादेव को समर्पित मंदिर जिसे नागेश्वरनाथ के नाम से जाना जाता था. यहां शिव को समर्पित मंदिर ध्यान देने योग्य बात है. इसमें विष्णु की भक्ति, राम की परंपरा और उनसे संबंधित स्थानों का कोई उल्लेख नहीं है. लेकिन विक्रमादित्य को काल्पनिक भूगोल रचने का चस्का था इसीलिए उसके समेत बाद के विष्णु भक्त गुप्त शासकों ने साकेत को अपनी राजधानी बनाया और वहां राम, लक्ष्मण, सीता समेत अनेक हिन्दू देवी-देवताओं के मंदिर बनवाये
गौरतलब है कि गुप्तों के हस्तक्षेप के पहले साकेत को लंबे समय तक कोई पूछने वाला नहीं था. यहां शिव के मंदिर के अतरिक्त बौद्ध मठ थे जिन्हें गिरवाकर गुप्त शासकों ने राम, सीता, लक्ष्मण आदि के मंदिर बनवाये. 1860 के दशक में कार्नेगी ने बाबरी मस्जिद के आसपास पहले की इमारत के अच्छी तरह सुरक्षित स्तंभों के बारे में लिखा है – ”ये मज़बूत, ठोस प्रकृति के गहरे, स्लेटी या काले रंग के पत्थर हैं जिन्हें स्थानीय लोग कसौटी कहते हैं और जिनके ऊपर विभिन्न चिन्हों की नक्काशी हुई है. यह उन बौद्ध स्तंभों में मिलते हैं जिन्हें मैंने बनारस और दूसरे स्थानों पर देखा है. ”कार्नेगी के अतरिक्त वहां बौद्ध मठो के प्रमाण आर्कियोलॉजिकल सर्वे आफ इंडिया द्वारा 1862-63 में दिया जा चुका है. इसके अलावा 1969-70 में बनारस हिन्दू विश्वविद्यालय के एके नारायण को भी उत्खनन में बुद्धिस्ट प्रमाण मिल चुके हैं.
वास्तव में विक्रमादित्य ने तुक्के से एक काल्पनिक भूगोल की रचना की तथा साकेत को अयोध्या का नाम दिया. यदि विक्रमादित्य का तुक्का आज़मगढ़, बहराइच, दोहरीघाट, बलिया, आरा या छपरा पर लगा होता तो आज इनमें से किसी को अयोध्या माना जाता और वहीं कहीं काल्पनिक राम की जन्मस्थली भी खोज ली जाती.
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