Ramayana: Fact or Fiction
Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:15 am
http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/apr/14guest.htm
Excerpts from above link follow:
'Ram was 39 years old when he killed Ravana'
According to ancient Indian chronology and Puranic tradition Ram was born in the 24th Treta Yuga (Great Age). Apart from the Valmiki Ramayana and other versions of Ram's biography, there are four important references to Ram, Ravan, etc in ancient scriptures.
1. Treta yuge chaturvinshe ravane tapseh shakshyat |
Ram dashrtathi prapiye sagane shakyamiyeewan || (Vayu Puran 70.88)
2. Sandho tu samanupraptre tretayaam dwaparisya cha |
Ramo daasrathirbhutva bhavishami jagatpati || (Mahabharata 348.19)
3. Chaturvinshe yuge chapi vishwamitra pure sare |
Loke ram iti khyate tejsah bhaskaropam || (Harivansh 22.104)
4. Chaturvinshe yuge vats tretayaam raghuvanshaje |
Ramo naam bhavishyami chaturvhayu sanatane || (Bhramand Puran 2.2.36.30)
On the basis of the given literary references and evidences it can be inferred that Ram, Ravan, Vishwamitra etc lived in the 24th Treta Yuga. According to the Mahabharata, Ram lived in the transition phase between Treta and Dwapar ages. It however does not mention the order of the Treta.
It will help to know that Satyug, Treta, Dwapar and Kalyug have a continuous cycle, like the cycle of the months in a year or the days in a week. As Monday is followed by Tuesday and January is followed by February, Satyug is followed by Treta and this cycle continues endlessly. Or these, Kalyug has the shortest span of 4,32,000 years, Dwapar is double the years of Kalyug at 8,64,000 years, Treta is triple the years of Kalyug at 12,96,000 years and Satyug is four-times the years of Kalyug at 17,28,000 years. Thus one unit of four yugas is called Chaturyugi, having a total of 43,20,000 years.
We are presently in the Kalyug of the 28th Chaturyugi and so far 5,108 years of Kalyug have lapsed. If we accept that Ram indeed lived during the last phase of the 24th Treta Yuga then it can be calculated that he lived 1,81,49,108 years ago. But if we accept that he lived in the Treta of the present 28th cycle of Chaturyugi then he lived 8,69,108 years ago.
After so many years it's impossible for any buildings, dwellings, statues, seals, coins, cloths, bones or weapons to exist. There also cannot be physical records or evidences of every person who walked this earth so long ago. Even if someone has passed away five generations ago without leaving his progeny behind, we have no natural or physical evidence to prove his life. Even if he had a house, without documentary evidence or word-of-mouth we cannot prove that it belonged to him. Even in modern times, the existence of the ruling presidents and prime ministers of today cannot be proved 1,000 years hence without any literary proof. Their story can be passed verbally from one generation to the next but no physical evidence of their existence will be available.
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According to Valmiki Ramayana, it is true that Ram and his engineers constructed this bridge for transporting his army into Lanka. If we accept that it was indeed Ram who got this bridge constructed then he lived in the middle years of the 28th Treta, and not in the 24th, and neither in the transition between Treta and Dwapar of the 28th era (Chaturyugi). Even if we accept this, it doesn't alter the calculations based on planetary positions of the constellations. Then the constellations would have completed 66 cycles before coming back to its original position.
Darwin's unnatural and unscientific theory is now also being rejected by many scientists and scholars world-wide. Because of their religious faith some Western scholars who earlier believed that the age of the earth was approximately 6,000 years, now agree that the earth is aged between 3.96 and 4.3 billion years. If earth is so old then how can man inhabited it after such a gigantic time gap?
==========================================
Desi: Of course, it is real. How could they believe that hogwash from this guy Darwin? What kind of a name is that? Who buys this stuff about ramayana being an epic? Its historicity cannot be challenged. We have scientific evidence in form of the Planetarium Gold software that cannot be challenged. It is irrefutable.
Of course, ignore the above, most of you know where I stand. Bur my stand not withstanding, this can still be a thread to discuss by all alike regardless of what they believe.
Just marvel at these - they tell a history.
29-Dec-2003 Srijith.K
Sri Ram on Hanuman
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Excerpts from above link follow:
'Ram was 39 years old when he killed Ravana'
According to ancient Indian chronology and Puranic tradition Ram was born in the 24th Treta Yuga (Great Age). Apart from the Valmiki Ramayana and other versions of Ram's biography, there are four important references to Ram, Ravan, etc in ancient scriptures.
1. Treta yuge chaturvinshe ravane tapseh shakshyat |
Ram dashrtathi prapiye sagane shakyamiyeewan || (Vayu Puran 70.88)
2. Sandho tu samanupraptre tretayaam dwaparisya cha |
Ramo daasrathirbhutva bhavishami jagatpati || (Mahabharata 348.19)
3. Chaturvinshe yuge chapi vishwamitra pure sare |
Loke ram iti khyate tejsah bhaskaropam || (Harivansh 22.104)
4. Chaturvinshe yuge vats tretayaam raghuvanshaje |
Ramo naam bhavishyami chaturvhayu sanatane || (Bhramand Puran 2.2.36.30)
On the basis of the given literary references and evidences it can be inferred that Ram, Ravan, Vishwamitra etc lived in the 24th Treta Yuga. According to the Mahabharata, Ram lived in the transition phase between Treta and Dwapar ages. It however does not mention the order of the Treta.
It will help to know that Satyug, Treta, Dwapar and Kalyug have a continuous cycle, like the cycle of the months in a year or the days in a week. As Monday is followed by Tuesday and January is followed by February, Satyug is followed by Treta and this cycle continues endlessly. Or these, Kalyug has the shortest span of 4,32,000 years, Dwapar is double the years of Kalyug at 8,64,000 years, Treta is triple the years of Kalyug at 12,96,000 years and Satyug is four-times the years of Kalyug at 17,28,000 years. Thus one unit of four yugas is called Chaturyugi, having a total of 43,20,000 years.
We are presently in the Kalyug of the 28th Chaturyugi and so far 5,108 years of Kalyug have lapsed. If we accept that Ram indeed lived during the last phase of the 24th Treta Yuga then it can be calculated that he lived 1,81,49,108 years ago. But if we accept that he lived in the Treta of the present 28th cycle of Chaturyugi then he lived 8,69,108 years ago.
After so many years it's impossible for any buildings, dwellings, statues, seals, coins, cloths, bones or weapons to exist. There also cannot be physical records or evidences of every person who walked this earth so long ago. Even if someone has passed away five generations ago without leaving his progeny behind, we have no natural or physical evidence to prove his life. Even if he had a house, without documentary evidence or word-of-mouth we cannot prove that it belonged to him. Even in modern times, the existence of the ruling presidents and prime ministers of today cannot be proved 1,000 years hence without any literary proof. Their story can be passed verbally from one generation to the next but no physical evidence of their existence will be available.
------------------
According to Valmiki Ramayana, it is true that Ram and his engineers constructed this bridge for transporting his army into Lanka. If we accept that it was indeed Ram who got this bridge constructed then he lived in the middle years of the 28th Treta, and not in the 24th, and neither in the transition between Treta and Dwapar of the 28th era (Chaturyugi). Even if we accept this, it doesn't alter the calculations based on planetary positions of the constellations. Then the constellations would have completed 66 cycles before coming back to its original position.
Darwin's unnatural and unscientific theory is now also being rejected by many scientists and scholars world-wide. Because of their religious faith some Western scholars who earlier believed that the age of the earth was approximately 6,000 years, now agree that the earth is aged between 3.96 and 4.3 billion years. If earth is so old then how can man inhabited it after such a gigantic time gap?
==========================================
Desi: Of course, it is real. How could they believe that hogwash from this guy Darwin? What kind of a name is that? Who buys this stuff about ramayana being an epic? Its historicity cannot be challenged. We have scientific evidence in form of the Planetarium Gold software that cannot be challenged. It is irrefutable.
Of course, ignore the above, most of you know where I stand. Bur my stand not withstanding, this can still be a thread to discuss by all alike regardless of what they believe.
Just marvel at these - they tell a history.
29-Dec-2003 Srijith.K Sri Ram on Hanuman
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
