Adam's Bridge

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Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)
Rameswaram - Pamban Island - Talaimannar - Mannar Island - Mannar and adjacent Adam's Bridge

Adam's Bridge (एडम ब्रिज), also known as Rama's Bridge or Rama Setu (रामसेतु), is a chain of natural limestone shoals between Pamban Island, also known as Rameswaram Island, off the southeastern coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and Mannar Island, off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. Geological evidence suggests that the bridge was formerly a land connection between India and Sri Lanka.[1]

Variants

  • Sinhala: ආදම්ගේ පාලම ādamgē pālama;
  • Tamil: ஆதாம் பாலம் ātām pālam
  • Sinhala: රාමගේ පාලම rāmagē pālama;
  • Tamil: ராமர் பாலம் Irāmar pālam;
  • Rama's Bridge or Rama Setu (रामसेतु)
  • Ram Sethu (रामसेतु)
  • Ramasethu (रामसेतु)
  • Sanskrit: rāmasetu (रामसेतु)
  • Set Bandhai (lit. Bridge of the Sea) [2]

Extent

The feature is 48 km long and separates the Gulf of Mannar (southwest) from the Palk Strait (northeast). Some regions of the bridge are dry, and the sea in the area rarely exceeds 3 ft in depth, making it quite difficult for boats to pass over it.[3]

Etymology

Ibn Khordadbeh's Kitāb al-Masālik wa-l-Mamālik (c. 850) refers to the structure as Set Bandhai (lit. Bridge of the Sea). The name Adam's Bridge appeared probably around the time of Al-Biruni (c. 1030).[4] This appears to have been premised on the Islamic belief that Adam's Peak — where the biblical Adam fell to earth — is located in Sri Lanka, and that Adam crossed over to peninsular India via the bridge after his expulsion from the Garden of Eden.[5]

The ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana (8th century BCE–3rd century CE) mentions a bridge constructed by the god Rama to reach the island Lanka and rescue his wife Sita from Ravana. In popular belief, Lanka is equated to present-day Sri Lanka and the bridge is described as "Rama's Setu".[6]

Geological evolution

Due to lowered sea levels during the Last Glacial Period (115,000–11,700 years Before Present) where sea levels reached a maximum of 120 390 ft below present values, the entirety of the relatively shallow Palk Strait (which reaches a maximum depth of only 115 ft was exposed as dry land connecting the mainland Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka. Following the rise to present sea levels during the Holocene, by around 7,000 years ago, the strait became submerged, including the region of Adam's Bridge/Rama Setu. The islands of Adam's Bridge became emergent again following sea level falls in the region from around 5,000 years ago to the present.[7]

The bridge starts as a chain of shoals from the Dhanushkodi tip of India's Pamban Island. It ends at Sri Lanka's Mannar Island. Pamban Island is accessed from the Indian mainland by the 2 km long Pamban Bridge. Mannar Island is connected to mainland Sri Lanka by a causeway.

The lack of comprehensive field studies explains many of the uncertainties regarding the nature and origin of Adam's Bridge. It mostly consists of a series of parallel ledges of sandstone and conglomerates that are hard at the surface and grow coarse and soft as they descend to sandy banks.[8] The Marine and Water Resources Group of the Space Applications Centre (SAC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) concludes that Adam's Bridge comprises 103 small patch reefs.[9]

One study tentatively concludes that there is insufficient evidence to indicate eustatic emergence and that the raised reef in southern India probably results from a local uplift.[10]

Religious significance

Hinduism: The ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana, in the Yuddhakanda, mentions a bridge constructed by the god Rama with aid from an army of Vanaras (monkeys or forest-dwellers) to reach the island Lanka and rescue his wife Sita from Ravana.

In popular belief, Lanka is equated to present-day Sri Lanka.[11] However, such a correspondence is not explicit in the Ramayana and a few verses can even be held to be against such an identification;[12] some Sanskrit sources of the first millennium emphasise on the distinction.[13] Robert P. Goldman — who edited the Princeton translation of the epic into English — characterises most of the Ramayana, including the Lanka Kanda, as "kind of [an] elaborate fairy tale" by design; attempts to probe into its historicity were misguided..... Goldman and other scholars emphasise on the abrupt change of the narrative from Book Two (Ayodhyakanda) to Book Three (Aranyakanda) and onwards — that deals with Rama's efforts to bring back Sita and subsequent exploits in Lanka — from "pseudo-historical" to the "totally fantasied". Goldman cautions against attempts to recover any historical stratum from these books; he reiterates Jacobi's opinion that for the intended audience of the text, South of the Gangetic Plains was terra incognita where the hero can be made to cross over into the supernatural realm. He concludes: "As to the kingdoms of the demons and the monkeys, it is our conviction that they never existed anywhere except in the mind of the poets and more importantly, in the hearts of the countless millions who have been charmed and deeply moved by this strange work."[14] John Brockington, noted for his scholarship on Hindu epics, concurs.[24]

In extant historical sources, the equation between the two islands appears for the first time only in the Kasakudi Copper Plates of Nandivarman II (r. late-8th century) pertaining to the conquest of Sri Lanka by one of his ancestors; as Ramayana took a life of its own under the succeeding Cholas, the identification profferred, justifying their imperial ambitions to invade the island.[15] The link would then be co-opted by the Aryacakravarti dynasty of Jaffna in presenting themselves as the guardians of the bridge.[16] Nonetheless, two reputed medieval commentaries on the Ramayana — Ramanujiya (drafted c. 1500 by Ramanuja) and Tattvadipika (drafted c. 1550 by Mahesvaratirtha) — continued to make a distinction between Lanka and Sri Lanka.[17]

Islam: Muslim tradition holds that Adam's Bridge was crossed by Adam following his expulsion from the Garden of Eden.[18][19]

Controversy over origin claims

Religious beliefs that the geological structure was constructed by Rama have caused some controversy as believers reject the natural provenance of Adam's Bridge. S. Badrinarayanan, a former director of the Geological Survey of India,[20] a spokesman for the Indian government in a 2008 court case,[21] the Madras High Court,[22] and an episode from the Science Channel series What on Earth? have claimed that the structure is man-made.[23]

In the What on Earth? episode, those claiming that Adam's Bridge was constructed based their arguments on vague speculation, false implications, and the point that – as with many geological formations – not every detail of its formation has been incontrovertibly settled.[24] Indian Geologist C. P. Rajendran described the ensuing media controversy as an "abhorrent" example of the "post-truth era, where debates are largely focused on appeals to emotions rather than factual realities".[25][26]

NASA said that its satellite photos had been egregiously misinterpreted to make this point during the protests against Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project. NASA noted: "The images reproduced on the websites may well be ours, but their interpretation is certainly not ours. Remote sensing images or photographs from orbit cannot provide direct information about the origin or age of a chain of islands, and certainly, cannot determine whether humans were involved in producing any of the patterns seen."[27]

A report from the Archaeological Survey of India found no evidence for the structure being anything but a natural formation.[28] The Archaeological Survey of India and the government of India informed the Supreme Court of India in a 2007 affidavit that there was no historical proof of the bridge being built by Rama.[29] In 2017 the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) announced a pilot study into the origins of the structure,[30] but went on to shelve it.[31]

In 2007, the Sri Lankan Tourism Development Authority sought to promote religious tourism from Hindu pilgrims in India by including the phenomenon as one of the points on its "Ramayana Trail", celebrating the legend of Prince Rama. Some Sri Lankan historians have condemned the undertaking as "a gross distortion of Sri Lankan history".[32]The idea of Rama Setu as a sacred symbol to be appropriated for political purposes strengthened in the aftermath of protests against the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project.[33]

रामसेतु

रामसेतु, तमिलनाडु, भारत के दक्षिण पूर्वी तट के किनारे रामेश्वरम द्वीप तथा श्रीलंका के उत्तर पश्चिमी तट पर मन्नार द्वीप के मध्य प्रभु श्रीराम व उनकी वानर सेना द्वारा सीता माता को रावण से मुक्त कराने के लिए बनाई गई एक श्रृंखला (मार्ग) है। भौगोलिक प्रमाणों से यह पता चलता है कि किसी समय यह सेतु भारत तथा श्रीलंका को भू मार्ग से आपस में जोड़ता था। हिन्दू पुराणों की मान्यताओं के अनुसार इस सेतु का निर्माण अयोध्या के राजा श्रीराम की सेना के दो सैनिक जो की वानर थे, जिनका वर्णन प्रमुखतः नल-नील नाम से रामायण में मिलता है, द्वारा किये गया था.

यह पुल ४८ किलोमीटर लम्बा है तथा मन्नार की खाड़ी (दक्षिण पश्चिम) को पाक जलडमरूमध्य (उत्तर पूर्व) से अलग करता है। कुछ रेतीले तट शुष्क हैं तथा इस क्षेत्र में समुद्र बहुत उथला है, कुछ स्थानों पर केवल ३ फुट से ३० फुट जो नौगमन को मुश्किल बनाता है। यह कथित रूप से १५ शताब्दी तक पैदल पार करने योग्य था जब तक कि तूफानों ने इस वाहिक को गहरा नहीं कर दिया। मन्दिर के अभिलेखों के अनुसार रामसेतु पूरी तरह से सागर के जल से ऊपर स्थित था, जब तक कि इसे १४८० ई० में एक चक्रवात ने तोड़ नहीं दिया। इस सेतु का उल्लेख सबसे पहले वाल्मीकि द्वारा रचित प्राचीन भारतीय संस्कृत महाकाव्य रामायण में किया गया था, जिसमें राम ने अपनी वानर (वानर) सेना के लिए लंका तक पहुंचने और रक्ष राजा, रावण से अपनी पत्नी सीता को छुड़ाने के लिए इसका निर्माण कराया था।

इस्लामिक स्रोत कुरआन और हदीस में आदम का धरती पर उत्तारे जाने के स्थान का विवरण नहीं मिलता बाद की इतिहास की पुस्तकों में अलग अलग नाम मिलते हैं जिनमे अधिकतर का अनुमान श्रीलंका है। पश्चिमी जगत ने पहली बार 9वीं शताब्दी में इब्न खोरादेबे द्वारा अपनी पुस्तक " रोड्स एंड स्टेट्स (850 ई) में ऐतिहासिक कार्यों में इसका सामना किया, इसका उल्लेख सेट बन्धई या" ब्रिज ऑफ़ द सी "है। कुछ प्रारंभिक स्रोत, एडम के पीक के रूप में श्रीलंका के एक पहाड़ का उल्लेख करते हैं, (जहाँ एडम माना जाता है कि पृथ्वी पर गिर गया) और पुल के माध्यम से एडम को श्रीलंका से भारत के पार जाने के रूप में वर्णित किया; एडम ब्रिज के नाम से जाना जाता है। अल्बेरुनी ( सी। १०३० ) शायद इस तरह से इसका वर्णन करने वाला पहला व्यक्ति था। इस क्षेत्र को आदम के पुल के नाम से पुकारने वाला सबसे पहला नक्शा १ ] ०४ में एक ब्रिटिश मानचित्रकार द्वारा तैयार किया गया था।


रामसेतु की आयु विवाद का विषय रहा है। भारतीय भूवैज्ञानिक सर्वेक्षण के "प्रोजेक्ट रामेश्वरम" के अनुसार इस इलाके के मूँगा (कोरल) के आयु के आंकड़े बताते हैं कि रामेश्वरम द्वीप २२,२५,००० साल पहले विकसित हुआ है। बदलते समुद्र स्तर के कारण ये भी बताया गया है कि रामेश्वरम और तलैमन्नार, श्रीलंका के बीच के जमीन ७,००० से १८,००० वर्ष पहले शायद खुली थी। धनुषकोडी और रामसेतु के बीच के रेत की टीलों की आयु ५००-६०० साल पुरानी बताई जाती है। तिरुचिरापल्ली स्थित भारतिदासन विश्वविद्यालय के २००३ के सर्वेक्षण के अनुसार रामसेतु १७,५०,००० साल पुराना है।

पूरे भारत, दक्षिण पूर्व एशिया और पूर्व एशिया के कई देशों में हर साल दशहरे पर और राम के जीवन पर आधारित सभी तरह के नृत्य-नाटकों में सेतु बंधन का वर्णन किया जाता है। राम के बनाए इस पुल का वर्णन रामायण में तो है ही, महाभारत में भी श्री राम के नल सेतु का उल्लेख आया है। कालीदास की रघुवंश में सेतु का वर्णन है। अनेक पुराणों में भी श्रीरामसेतु का विवरण आता है। एन्साइक्लोपीडिया ब्रिटेनिका मे राम सेतु कहा गया है। नासा और भारतीय सेटेलाइट से लिए गए चित्रों में धनुषकोडि से जाफना तक जो एक पतली सी द्वीपों की रेखा दिखती है, उसे ही आज रामसेतु के नाम से जाना जाता है। यह सेतु तब पांच दिनों में ही बन गया था। इसकी लंबाई १०० योजन व चौड़ाई १० योजन थी। इसे बनाने में रामायण काल में श्री राम नाम के साथ, उच्च तकनीक का प्रयोग किया गया था।

References

  1. ↑ https://www.britannica.com/place/Adams-Bridge
  2. ↑ Ibn Khordadbeh's Kitāb al-Masālik wa-l-Mamālik (c. 850)
  3. ↑ https://www.britannica.com/place/Adams-Bridge
  4. ↑ Suckling, Horatio John (1876). Ceylon: A General Description of the Island, Historical, Physical, Statistical. Containing the Most Recent Information. Chapman & Hall. pp. 58-59.
  5. ↑ Ricci, Ronit (2011). Islam Translated: Literature, Conversion, and the Arabic Cosmopolis of South and Southeast Asia. University of Chicago Press. p. 136. ISBN 9780226710884.
  6. ↑ Henry, Justin W. (2019). "Explorations in the Transmission of the Ramayana in Sri Lanka". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 42 (4): 732–746.
  7. ↑ Dubey, K.M.; Chaubey, A.K.; Gaur, A.S.; Joglekar, M.V. (January 2023). "Evolution of Ramasetu region as a link between India and Sri Lanka during the late Pleistocene and Holocene". Quaternary Research. 111: 166–176. doi:10.1017/qua.2022.41. ISSN 0033-5894.
  8. ↑ Bahuguna, Anjali; Nayak, Shailesh; Deshmukh, Benidhar (1 December 2003). "IRS views the Adams bridge (bridging India and Sri Lanka)". Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing. 31 (4): 237–239. doi:10.1007/BF03007343. ISSN 0255-660X. S2CID 129785771.
  9. ↑ Bahuguna, Anjali; Nayak, Shailesh; Deshmukh, Benidhar (1 December 2003). "IRS views the Adams bridge (bridging India and Sri Lanka)". Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing. 31 (4): 237–239. doi:10.1007/BF03007343. ISSN 0255-660X. S2CID 129785771.
  10. ↑ D. R. Stoddart; C. S. Gopinadha Pillai (1972). "Raised Reefs of Ramanathapuram, South India". Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. 56 (56): 111–125. doi:10.2307/621544. ISSN 0020-2754. JSTOR 621544.
  11. ↑ Henry, Justin W. (2019). "Explorations in the Transmission of the Ramayana in Sri Lanka". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 42 (4): 732–746.
  12. ↑ Goldman, Robert P., ed. (1984). The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: An Epic of Ancient India. Princeton Library of Asian Translations. Vol. I: Bālakāṇḍa. Translated by Goldman, Robert P. Princeton University Press. pp. 23–30.
  13. ↑ Henry, Justin W. (2019). "Explorations in the Transmission of the Ramayana in Sri Lanka". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 42 (4): 732–746. doi:10.1080/00856401.2019.1631739. ISSN 0085-6401. S2CID 201385559.
  14. ↑ Goldman, Robert P., ed. (1984). The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: An Epic of Ancient India. Princeton Library of Asian Translations. Vol. I: Bālakāṇḍa. Translated by Goldman, Robert P. Princeton University Press. pp. 23–30.
  15. ↑ Henry, Justin W. (2019). "Explorations in the Transmission of the Ramayana in Sri Lanka". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 42 (4): 732–746. doi:10.1080/00856401.2019.1631739. ISSN 0085-6401. S2CID 201385559.
  16. ↑ Henry, Justin W. (2019). "Explorations in the Transmission of the Ramayana in Sri Lanka". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 42 (4): 732–746. doi:10.1080/00856401.2019.1631739. ISSN 0085-6401. S2CID 201385559.
  17. ↑ Goldman, Robert P., ed. (1996). The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: An Epic of Ancient India. Princeton Library of Asian Translations. Vol. V: Sundarakāṇḍa. Translated by Goldman, Sally J.; Goldman. Princeton University Press. p. 359. ISBN 0-691-06662-0.
  18. ↑ Ricci, R. (2019). Banishment and Belonging: Exile and Diaspora in Sarandib, Lanka and Ceylon. Asian Connections. Cambridge University Press. pp. 178–179. ISBN 978-1-108-57211-8.
  19. ↑ "Adams Bridge". Encyclopedia.com.
  20. ↑ "rediff.com: Adam's Bridge is a man-made structure". specials.rediff.com.
  21. ↑ "Ram himself destroyed Setu, govt tells SC - Times Of India". 23 October 2012
  22. ↑ Gohain, Manash Pratim (24 March 2017). "Indian Council of Historical Research to look for material evidence of Rama Setu - India News". The Times of India.
  23. ↑ Shahane, Girish (20 December 2017). "Raptures over Ram Setu video underline what's wrong with our government and sections of the media". Scroll.in.
  24. ↑ "A bridge that Lord Ram built - myth or reality?". DW. Deutsche Welle.
  25. ↑ C.P. Rajendran. "A Post-Truth Take on the Ram Setu". The Wire.
  26. ↑ "'Place faith in science, and not in faith-based culture'". The Hindu. 6 May 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 7 March 2021. popular hegemonic culture had so successfully been able to impress upon many people that even scientific organisations were not ready to explore the myth around Ram Setu
  27. ↑ Kumar, Arun (14 September 2007). "Space photos no proof of Ram Setu: NASA". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 22 January 2008. Retrieved 18 September 2007. "The mysterious bridge was nothing more than a 30 km long, naturally occurring chain of sandbanks called Adam's bridge", [NASA official Mark] Hess had added. "NASA had been taking pictures of these shoals for years. Its images had never resulted in any scientific discovery in the area.
  28. ↑ "Myth vs Science". Frontline. 5 October 2007
  29. ↑ "No evidence to prove existence of Ram". Rediff.com.
  30. ↑ "Twenty research scholars to get training to find 'truth' of Ram Sethu". The Indian Express. 25 March 2017.
  31. ↑ "ICHR not to conduct study whether Ram Setu man made, natural". The Times of India. 8 April 2018.
  32. ↑ Kumarage, Achalie (23 July 2010). "Selling off the history via the 'Ramayana Trail'". Daily Mirror. Colombo: Wijeya Newspapers Ltd. Archived from the original on 25 July 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2010. the Tourism Authority is imposing an artificial [history] targeting a small segment of Indian travellers, specifically Hindu fundamentalists...
  33. ↑ affrelot, Christophe (2008). "Hindu Nationalism and the (Not So Easy) Art of Being Outraged: The Ram Setu Controversy". South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal (2). doi:10.4000/samaj.1372. ISSN 1960-6060.
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