Rama's bridge

“For the upliftment of the good and the virtuous,
For the destruction of evil,
For the re-establishment of the natural law,
I will come in every age.”

A long time ago, a great battle took place between the forces of light and darkness, between good and evil, between right and wrong.



The Ramayana tells the story of how Lord Rama crossed the ocean with his army on a bridge of floating stones to defeat Ravana.



It says that, during Rama’s encounter with the sea, they gathered that it was in the nature of the seas to be deep and not shallow, to have waves and fierce sea creatures.


Given this, it was essential to find a path where Rama and his army would find it easy to cross the sea. Nala who introduced himself as the biological descendant of Vishwakarma, an architect par excellence, offered his services for the design and construction of a bridge.


On his advice, the Vanara then piled different varieties of trees and then large boulders followed by smaller stones to create a causeway over the sea in 5 days, over which they crossed and reached Lanka.


This bridge is called Rama Setu and is made up of a chain of coral reefs and shoals which float in water. It is about 18 miles in length and extends from Dhanushkoti of Rameshwaram to Thalimannar in Sri Lanka.The gulf between these two places is called ‘Palk strait’.


Many people insist that the bridge is a natural structure and that there is no evidence that any such structure was created by man. People who claim to have a ‘scientific mind’ question the plausibility of man creating the Rama Setu. They are in reality questioning the very existence of Rama and the Ramayana.


How successfully people camouflage their ignorance by using science as a guise!


However, shallow or otherwise, these people are a part of our society. For those who think Rama and Rama Setu are just myths, there is solid proof that the bridge is man-made.


The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) which asserts that they pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research had released satellite pictures of a huge man-made construction that connected India and Sri Lanka.


NASA scientists confirm that the structure did not occur naturally and believe it may have been constructed 1750000 years ago.


As per Hindusthan Times report dated 10.10.2002 (PTI Washington quoting NASA’s findings) ‘the bridge’s unique curvature and composition by age reveals that it is a man-made structure.’


Geological Survey of India's former director, Dr. S. Badrinarayanan claims that such a natural formation would be not possible, He justifies the same by the presence of loose sands layer under corals for entire stretch. Corals normally form above rocks.


Quoting him "Geological & geophysical studies of Ram Setu reveal the presence of loose marine sand below the coral layer, clearly indicating the coral layer in the form of boulders are not natural and formed on their own, but have been transported by somebody and dumped there; thus clearly establishing the fact that Ram Sethu is very much man made in the hoary past."

The texts state that the bridge’s length is a 100 Yojana and the breadth is 10 Yojana making a ratio of 10:1. Today the bridge, from Dhanushkodi to Talaimannar, measures approx 35 km in length and 3.5 km in breadth making it of the same ratio of 10:1 as mentioned in the texts.

Instead of preserving such an engineering feat, the Government is trying to demolish it for constructing a shipping channel because it obstructs ships from reaching the other side of the coast. Or maybe this project is just a ploy started by politicians to amass more wealth. The name of this callous project is the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project.

Quoting Dr. Murthy, Chief editor of the international tsunami journal ’Science of tsunami hazards’, “Rama Setu is a natural barrier for tsunami. During the last tsunami, the bridge acted as a natural barrier, preventing the direct devastation of the entire coastline of South and South-West Nagapattanam. The consequences of SSCP are disastrous.”

Moreover, even if the SSCP is carried out, only small and medium sized vessels will be able to pass. Large vessels will still be unable to pass. It indeed seems foolish to carry out such a purposeless project.

Do we need so much of persuation to stop an action that will only harm us? Are we so blind that we are ready to destroy such a construction of splendour in order to ‘progress economically’? One thing is for certain. No progress will ever be achieved if for it to occur we need to destroy something as sacred as the Rama Setu.

No one has the right to question the existence of Rama or the Ramayana. No one should be taken in by the politicians of today, who promise and pretend that everything they do is in the best interests of the people. But is demolishing the Rama Setu in the best interest of people?

Rama Setu has historic, sentimental and religious value. It has an unmatched cultural and physical significance. It is the oldest man-made structure, older than the pyramids of Egypt and the great wall of China. In fact, it is more than just man-made. It is God-made. We need to have the courage to put our foot down and prevent such inconsiderate projects taking shape.

Rama is not just God, but the beloved king of Indian history. Let us protect his monument which represents Indian ethos, Indian knowledge, Indian talent, Indian faith and Indian culture.

Jai Sri Ram.