The Journey from Ayodhya to Ram Setu

By Book rivers and K. N. Singh

‗Setu' (bridge) is for ‗Hetu' (purpose) and that is to connect and to overcome hurdles.  They are made over rivers, sea, roads and railway tracks so that people can cross without fear. Bridges, of all kinds, have traditionally represented our desire to know and connect with what's on the other side. They symbolize our hopes to traverse vast and sometimes impossible distances across time and space. Metaphorically, our journey here is like walking on a bridge (setu). Bridges are symbols of our desire to cross to the other side – whether physical, emotional, or spiritual

• Language: English
• Publisher: Book rivers
• Release date: Mar 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9789355159014

Book preview

K. N. Singh

Published By:

BOOK RIVERS   

Website: www.bookrivers.com

Email: [e-mail]

Place: Lucknow  

Year: 2023

MRP: 250/-INR

ISBN: 978-93-5515-901-4

Copyright© :  K. N. Singh

All Rights Reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author.

[PRINTED IN INDIA]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My Great Granddaughter Sia and Great Grandsons Viren, Ved and Vayu are inspiration of my life, encouraging me to write articles and books. They bring joy,  love, hope and creativity in my life.

Thanks are due to Pranita Lele, my daughter for editing the manuscript and giving valuable suggestions that have been incorporated to enhance the quality of the book.

I am thankful to Ishita Singh, my granddaughter who has designed the cover page of the book.

I express my heartfelt thanks to Shri Anand Vardhan Singh, senior journalist and editor at The Public India for writing the Foreword.

I thank my relatives, friends and critics who have helped me to learn and evolve as a writer.

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PREFACE

‘Setu’ (bridge) is for ‘Hetu’ (purpose) and that is to connect and to overcome hurdles.  They are made over rivers, sea, roads and railway tracks so that people can cross without fear. Bridges, of all kinds, have traditionally represented our desire to know and connect with what’s on the other side. They symbolize our hopes to traverse vast and sometimes impossible distances across time and space. Metaphorically, our journey here is like walking on a bridge (setu). Bridges are symbols of our desire to cross to the other side – whether physical, emotional, or spiritual.

Bridges provide passages over obstacles that might otherwise be impassable — like the marsh or a river. They lead to new places. The first bridges were believed to be made by nature — as simple as a log fallen across a stream. The first bridges made by humans were probably spans of wooden logs or planks and eventually stones, using a simple support and crossbeam arrangement. A major breakthrough in bridge technology came with the erection of the Iron Bridge in Shropshire, England in 1779. It used cast iron for the first time as arches to cross the river Severm.

The advancement of science and technology brought visions in constructing bridges of various types’ right from simple to highly advanced. The bridges such as arch beam, suspension, cable or cantilever types have come into existence over a period of time. They can be small to several kilometres long built over roads, railway tracks, rivers and sea. They have been made for safety purposes and to reduce travel distances.

The bridges are manmade and they can be created by natural processes as well. The ‘Pangaea’ disintegrated into continents that moved in different directions, creating lands, oceans, seas and bays during earth’s  long history of evolution. Some big inlands were connected by trails of smaller islands in bays serving as bridges connecting lands.

India and Sri Lanka were similarly joined by a number of small rock outcrops in the Palk Strait. This natural connection has been referred to as floating bridge or ‘Ram Setu’. In the Ramayana it is said to have been built by Lord Rama though it remains a debatable subject among historians, archaeologists and scientists. During the British regime it was called as the ‘Adam’s Bridge’. It remained above the sea level till the year 1480. The bridge was reportedly passable on foot up to the 15th century. Later it was destroyed by natural forces. The relics of this natural causeway in sea were proposed to be dredged by the Government of India Project in 2007. The Sethusamudram Shipping Canal project aims to  build  83-km-long water channel, which will cut short the travel distances by ships entering Arabian sea from Bay of Bengal and vice versa.

The Project was challenged in the Supreme Court by the Harvard fame Indian teacher and politician named Subramaniam Swamy. The project was rejected by the court as it hurts the religious sentiments and  faith of Hindus. Ram Setu attained world fame after the verdict.

Some archaeologists and historians have doubted the location of Ramayana’s Lanka. According to them it existed somewhere else. They had their own thoughts and logic behind this belief. Thus according to them Ram Setu was not in the Palk Strait. Such controversial views were raised by some people in order to be in the limelight. The ancient mythological, social and cultural views need visualisation and analysis through divine natural thoughts.

Human existence has a purpose. There is a reason behind every action. Lord Ram’s march from Ayodhya to Rama-Setu carries a message for the world. It shows his inner strength in handling adversities, abolish fear and establish peace, gentleness, and justice in the world. He brought discipline in setting and reviewing personal, social and spiritual goals and commitment in fulfilling promises to make life richer and purposeful. The goal setting reconnects the senses to limitless possibilities. It connects with the cosmic energy that has created all. Human efforts and actions are thoughts of mind. Thoughts affect life. The walk from Ayodhya to Ram Setu exhibited concern towards sages and seers who were living in solitude in forests and facing vagaries of nature and cruelties of demons. Lord Rama interacted not only with these sages but also with the common people whom he met on his way. He showed us the virtues of patience and endurance, active listening and empathy, and he connected with all with love and compassion.

The body is connected to the mind and spirit by mindfully concentrating on the breath. This breath acts as bridge or setu between body and soul. Universal energy lies between human mind and body. To create that cosmic energy Rama walked on earth for the welfare of the society.  He connected with people irrespective of their culture and faith. He attempted to explore unknown places and make people aware of the geo-scientific perspectives.

We build too many walls and not enough bridges.

Isaac Newton

FOREWORD

We have always heard about ‘Ram Rajya’. Should we not ask ourselves the question ‘What is Ram Rajya’? It is important for us to understand our culture and our history and evaluate where we stand today. This book ‘The Journey from Ayodhya to Ram Setu’ tries to delve into the concept of Ram Rajya where the writer brings alive the images of a society where morality and justice were the core values. It was an egalitarian society where all were considered as equal and had equal rights and opportunities. Ram always stood up for the weak and the meek. He was always in touch with the people at the grass root level. There was a constant ‘Samvad’ with the people. He built connections with people where ever he went. Valmiki used two very powerful phrases to describe Ram - आराधनाय लोकस्य and राज्यम उपासित्वा which means Ram ‘worshipped people’ and ‘worshipped the kingdom’. He did not believe in his perfection and infallibility nor was he overpowered by any superiority complex. Ram Rajya portrays good governance, prosperity, peace and progress.

This book has interpretation of religious experiences which are in conformity with the findings of science. As knowledge grows, our theology develops. It is important to get a logical perspective and pragmatic prism of our past heritage and culture. The book contains various chapters where the writer gives a geological, scientific, spiritual and managerial perspective into his narration. As said Everything begins at home we need to get all the noble values in our own houses first. This book gives an important message to hold to the Dharmic values, karma yoga and respect the sacred nature of all lives.

With Best Wishes

Anand Vardhan Singh

Senior Journalist, Writer, Editor at The Public India

INDEX

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THE LINEAGE

In our bodies we carry the blood of our ancestors and the seeds of the future generations. We are a living conduit to all life. 

  The Story Of Suryavansh

The class of people who were distinguished to rule over kingdoms were divided as the Solar and Lunar dynasties. ‘Suryavansha’ or the solar dynasty is the house of some of the greatest kings and rulers of India.  Surya is Brahma's grandson and Surya's son, Manu or Shraddha Deva Manu, is believed to be the father of humanity. Manu's daughter Ila was married to Buddha (Mercury planet in navagraha or 9 planets), son of Chandra, and Manu's son Ikshvaku was the father of the Solar dynasty. Manu is believed to be the first king because he gave rise to civilization. Great rulers like Harishchandra, Bhagirath, Dasaratha, Ram, etc. were a part of this dynasty. Even Siddharth Gautam, later known as Gautam Buddha is believed to be a part of the Suryavansh.

The Solar dynasty or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku. The dynasty is also known as‘Suryavanshi’  which means that this dynasty prays to the Sun as their God and their originator The Rishis like Vasistha and Vishwamitra though Brahmins are also known as ‘Suryavanshi’. Lord Rama was born in the 81st generation of Ikshvaku Dynasty of ‘Suryavanshi’ or Solar Dynasty. This lineage continued for another 64 generations until 1634 BCE, where the last king Sumitra was killed by Chanakya’s contemporary Mahapadma Nanda. Raghuvanshi is an offshoot dynasty born out of the Suryavanshi clan after the king Raghu (57th generation).

Chandravansha – The Story of Gender Fluidity

Indian mythology is a treasure trove for the fertile minds. By sheer vastness, depth of imagination, richness of themes and subjectivity of interpretation - it’s a story hunter's dream. For the physician interested in picking syndromes from old yarns, Indian epics offer a veritable journey of discovery. A bizarre cocktail of mutated genes and even more hormones (some still undiscovered) running amok stare out of books, wall paintings and temple walls. According to the Shrimad Bhagavata Purana, Ila, the goddess of speech, is the mother and the father of the Chandravanshis or the Lunar Dynasty .So how does one be mother AND father? This was because Ila was able to transition between genders, a trait that she was bestowed with because of her father’s desire for a son. Ila was able to alter her gender every month. While the legend narrates the existence of different genders in one physical body at different times, many trace this as one of the early mentions of androgyny (possession of both masculine  and feminine characteristics) in Indian literature. Plato's dialogues refer to three sexes: the male-male people who descended from the sun, the female-female people who descended from the earth, and the male-female people who came from the moon. This last pairing represented the androgynous couple. 

The Lunar dynasty or ‘Chandra Vansha’ is a principal house of the Kshatriyas Varna, or warrior–ruling caste mentioned in the ancient Indian texts. This legendary dynasty was said to have descended from moon-related deities (Soma or Lunar). The Hindu deity Krishna is believed to have been born in the Yaduvansha branch of the Lunar dynasty. That is why in India, the ‘Chandravansh’ or Lunar dynasty is famously known as ‘Yaduvansh’. Ila is considered the chief progenitor of the Lunar dynasty of Indian kings. Ila is usually described as either a daughter or a son of Manu and is thus the sibling of Ikshvaku, the founder of the Solar Dynasty. As a woman, Ila married Buddha (Mercury planet in navagraha or 9 planets) and the son of the lunar deity Chandra (Soma), Ila consummated her marriage with Budha (Mercury) and was supposed to give birth to the Pururavas (the Lunar dynasty).

Unlike the Lunar dynasty, the Solar dynasty has rather simple origin. On the other hand, the Lunar dynasty has a tricky and complex origin. This can be a basis to explain the difference between the two dynasties. Suryavanshi way of life is about honour, law and compliance. Chandravanshi way of life is driven by free will, passion and creativity.  Stories of the Solar dynasty are all about sticking to the rules and regulations while those of the Lunar dynasty are all about breaking the rules. Kings of the Solar dynasty proved to be brave warriors. Ramayana is the story of the Solar dynasty while Mahabharata is the story of the Lunar dynasty. Chandravanshi way of life is driven by