When Ravana, the king of Lanka had abducted Sita and taken her to his kingdom in Sri Lanka, Lord Rama along with Lakshmana, Hanuman and a large army of King Sugreeva had to cross a gigantic ocean to reach Lanka. To make a safe passage for the huge army, which was numbered more than a hundred million, Lord Rama initiated the construction of a bridge from the southernmost point of India to the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka.
When Lord Rama prayed to the sea-god to allow him and his army to pass over the great ocean, the sea-god ignored Lord Rama’s request. Then Lord Rama threatened him with his celestial bow and arrow, the sea-god appeared in an instance and apologized for his mistake. He further allowed Lord Rama to construct a bridge over the ocean and guaranteed that no stone with the name of “Ram” written on it would sink in the ocean. The bridge known as Rama Setu was made of large stones aligned with one another, each stone had “Ram” written on it.
Miraculously, the stones didn’t submerge in the water and started to float. Hence, through the Rama Setu, Lord Rama and his vast army reached the coast of Lanka. The remains of such a bridge, can be found even today in that area. Even NASA has confirmed the presence of a half submerged path of rocks between Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu, through the Mannar Islands and up to Northwestern coast of Sri Lanka.
Many critics of Hinduism pose questions against the authenticity of Rama Setu and its relation with Ramayana. They doubt that if Lord Rama needed to cross the ocean, why he didn’t use any boats or ships ?
The question is pretty simple and a basic one. And many modern educated people who don’t have much interest in ancient culture and history might consider it as one of the reasons to consider Ramayana as a mythology. We have tried to clear this doubt by putting forward some apt reasons.
The logic and reason behind construction of Rama Setu was as following -
1. Large Size of Vanara Army
According to Valmiki Ramayana, Lord Rama’s army consisted of Vanara (a mix of monkey and man), Beers and other animals gathered in support of Lord Rama from throughout the world. King Sugreeva himself controlled more than a hundred million Vanara warriors. Hence, to arrange boats and ships for such an enormous army would not have been possible. That is why, Rama Setu was constructed to accommodate a huge army and make their safe passage to Lanka.
2. The ocean was inhabited by many Rakshasas
According to Ramayana, the ocean was home to many monsters and large creatures known as “Rakshasas”, These Rakshasas dwell on Earth, unlike Asuras who lived beneath the Earth. Lord Brahma had ordered the Rakshasas of the ocean to protect the waters from any foreign invasion or incursion. Hence, Rakshasas would attack the travelers in boats or ships voyaging in the ocean. So, the vast armies of Lord Rama would have been in a vulnerable position, if they were travelling via Ships. The Rama Setu proved to be a solid passage to Lanka for Lord Rama’s army as no sea-monster could intervene in their journey.
3. Rama Setu was constructed in just five days.
Rishi Valmiki has stated in his Ramayana, that the construction of Rama Setu took only five days to complete. The bridge was architectured by Lord Vishavakarma’s son Nal, who was a great engineer like his father. The bridge was swiftly constructed in such a short time by the efficient Vanara army. If boats or ships were to be constructed, it would have taken a whole lot of a time.
Thus, the above reasons state that building a bridge was a much more safer, faster and purposeful action rather than using boats or ships to cross the ocean. Till date the rocks of Rama Setu are floating on water. Though, scientists claim the porous nature of those stones as the reason for being afloat.
When Lord Rama prayed to the sea-god to allow him and his army to pass over the great ocean, the sea-god ignored Lord Rama’s request. Then Lord Rama threatened him with his celestial bow and arrow, the sea-god appeared in an instance and apologized for his mistake. He further allowed Lord Rama to construct a bridge over the ocean and guaranteed that no stone with the name of “Ram” written on it would sink in the ocean. The bridge known as Rama Setu was made of large stones aligned with one another, each stone had “Ram” written on it.
Miraculously, the stones didn’t submerge in the water and started to float. Hence, through the Rama Setu, Lord Rama and his vast army reached the coast of Lanka. The remains of such a bridge, can be found even today in that area. Even NASA has confirmed the presence of a half submerged path of rocks between Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu, through the Mannar Islands and up to Northwestern coast of Sri Lanka.
Many critics of Hinduism pose questions against the authenticity of Rama Setu and its relation with Ramayana. They doubt that if Lord Rama needed to cross the ocean, why he didn’t use any boats or ships ?
The question is pretty simple and a basic one. And many modern educated people who don’t have much interest in ancient culture and history might consider it as one of the reasons to consider Ramayana as a mythology. We have tried to clear this doubt by putting forward some apt reasons.
The logic and reason behind construction of Rama Setu was as following -
1. Large Size of Vanara Army
According to Valmiki Ramayana, Lord Rama’s army consisted of Vanara (a mix of monkey and man), Beers and other animals gathered in support of Lord Rama from throughout the world. King Sugreeva himself controlled more than a hundred million Vanara warriors. Hence, to arrange boats and ships for such an enormous army would not have been possible. That is why, Rama Setu was constructed to accommodate a huge army and make their safe passage to Lanka.
2. The ocean was inhabited by many Rakshasas
According to Ramayana, the ocean was home to many monsters and large creatures known as “Rakshasas”, These Rakshasas dwell on Earth, unlike Asuras who lived beneath the Earth. Lord Brahma had ordered the Rakshasas of the ocean to protect the waters from any foreign invasion or incursion. Hence, Rakshasas would attack the travelers in boats or ships voyaging in the ocean. So, the vast armies of Lord Rama would have been in a vulnerable position, if they were travelling via Ships. The Rama Setu proved to be a solid passage to Lanka for Lord Rama’s army as no sea-monster could intervene in their journey.
3. Rama Setu was constructed in just five days.
Rishi Valmiki has stated in his Ramayana, that the construction of Rama Setu took only five days to complete. The bridge was architectured by Lord Vishavakarma’s son Nal, who was a great engineer like his father. The bridge was swiftly constructed in such a short time by the efficient Vanara army. If boats or ships were to be constructed, it would have taken a whole lot of a time.
Thus, the above reasons state that building a bridge was a much more safer, faster and purposeful action rather than using boats or ships to cross the ocean. Till date the rocks of Rama Setu are floating on water. Though, scientists claim the porous nature of those stones as the reason for being afloat.
