I had written how the elephant described by Valmiki in Ramayana has been useful in arriving at the date of Ramayana.
The animal is extinct now.
Places visited by Rama
‘In the Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara-Kanda (or Book 5), Chapter 4, verse 27, [Gita Press, Gorakhpur, India] it explains that when Hanuman first approached Ravana’s palace, he saw the doorways surrounded by horses and chariots, palanquins and aerial cars, beautiful horses and elephants, nay, with four-tusked elephants decked with jewels resembling masses of white clouds.
Elsewhere in the Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara-Kanda (or Book 5), Chapter 27, verses12, an ogress named Trijata has a dream of Lord Rama, which she describes to the other demoniac ogresses upon awakening. In that dream she sees Rama, scion of Raghu, united again with Sita. Sri Rama was mounted on a huge elephant, closely resembling a hill, with four tusks.
(The question is how could there be a mention of the elephants with four tusks unless Valmiki and the people of his era were familiar with such creatures? A quick search on the Encarta Encyclopedia will let us know that these four-tusked elephants were known as Mastodontoidea, which are said to have evolved around 38 million years ago and became extinct about 15 million years ago when the shaggy and two tusked Mastodons increased in population.”)
Valmiki does not lie.
His facts check out in Geographical descriptions and astronomical events.’
This finding dates Ramayana beyond one million years!
Now a recent study by researchers have unearthed evidence that proves the information by cross checking the Flora described by Valmiki in Ramayana in the areas traveled by Lord Rama and described in the Ramayana.
‘182 plants (including flowers, trees, fruits) mentioned in the Ramayan have been found to be true. M Amrithalingam and P Sudhakar, the two botanists working with the CPR Environmental Education Centre, Chennai, said they could confirm the existence of the flora and fauna mentioned by Valmiki in the Ramayan.
“We tracked the route travelled by Lord Ram, Sita and Lakshman from Ayodhya in the north to south as part of their exile to the forest for 14 years. To our surprise, we could identify all the plant species in the Ramayan mentioned by Valmiki along this route,” Amrithalingam told The Pioneer. As a taxonomist, Sudhakar confirmed the plant variety with their Sanskrit and Latin names.
The duo commenced their journey from Ayodhya and reached Chitrakuta’s tropical and deciduous forest. “Valmiki knew his flora, fauna and the geography. What we found was that the same flora and fauna existed in the same places as written in the epic,” pointed out Nanditha Krishna, director, CPREEC, who supervised the project.
According to Krishna, the Ramayan is geographically very correct. “All sites in their route are still identifiable and has continuing traditions . It is not possible for a person to just write something out of his imagination and fit it into local folklore for greater credibility. Valmiki has not erred anywhere while specifying the plant species, flowers and wild animals,” she said.
Sudhakar pointed out that in the Ramayan, Ram, Sita and Lakshman were warned to be cautious while they entered Dandakaranya forests. “This forest had lions and tigers. Now there are no lions in the area. This is because they were killed by poachers over the centuries. But the rocks in the famous Bhimbetka has prehistoric paintings of lion and tigers together which confirm Valmiki’s observation,” he said.
Amrithalingam and Sudhakar journeyed from Dandakaranya to Panchavati and Kishkinda. “We found that Kishkinda has a dry and moist climate which synchronises with what Valmiki has authored,” said Amrithalingam.
‘The article presents a list of plants mentioned in Ramayana one of the two great epics of this country which has been compiled and the probable equivalent botanical names have been fixed. This study will be useful to the botanists, palaeo – botanists, ethonobotanists, foresters, naturalists and environmentalists as well. ‘
Flora described in the Ramayana found in the areas traveled by Rama.
Knowledge , in my opinion, is, jumping from one uncertainty to another.
The consoling factor is that the latest information is less uncertain than the earlier one.
( Hindu Texts say Knowledge is nothing but removal of ignorance, by stages)
Planetary Alignment At The Time of Rama’s Birth.
Lord Rama’s Date has been determined by various tools.
Please read my posts on Dating Tools of Ramayana, Mahabharata.
Image,Work in progress on the four-tusked elephant Stegotetrabelodon syrticus.
Some of them are,
Literary, both Indian and Foreign.
Etymology from Sanskrit and Tamil.
Cultural behaviour.
Archeology.
Astronomy.
Each one of these has its strength and weaknesses.
When we speak of archeology, it has to be borne in mind that when one digs he hits the top available layer of the site.
If the events had taken place over thousands of years, then the layers one finds may not reflect them as we would have it the first layer available, because the deposits of the earth would have covered the earlier ones.
In the case of Astronomy, by far the best tool, which none can tamper-with, has its peculiar problem.
Planetary Alignment at the Time of Rama’s Birth.
When one dates with the help of Astronomy, one must remember that astronomical events repeat themselves at regular intervals.
Which one has to be taken into account ?
The issue is very much relevant in dating the Indian Puranas and Ithihasa.
They cover vast stretches of Time.
Lord Rama Has been dated at 5114 BC.
Please read my Post.
But the event verified by planetary positions indicate, as I observed earlier, that there have been similar Planetary configurations.
So to determine the date, one has to seek the help of the other tools.
In this case, it is Valmiki’s Ramayana.
”
In the Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara-Kanda (or Book 5), Chapter 4, verse 27, [Gita Press, Gorakhpur, India] it explains that when Hanuman first approached Ravana’s palace, he saw the doorways surrounded by horses and chariots, palanquins and aerial cars, beautiful horses and elephants, nay, with four-tusked elephants decked with jewels resembling masses of white clouds.
Elsewhere in the Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara-Kanda (or Book 5), Chapter 27, verses12, an ogress named Trijata has a dream of Lord Rama, which she describes to the other demoniac ogresses upon awakening. In that dream she sees Rama, scion of Raghu, united again with Sita. Sri Rama was mounted on a huge elephant, closely resembling a hill, with four tusks.
(The question is how could there be a mention of the elephants with four tusks unless Valmiki and the people of his era were familiar with such creatures? A quick search on the Encarta Encyclopedia will let us know that these four-tusked elephants were known as Mastodontoidea, which are said to have evolved around 38 million years ago and became extinct about 15 million years ago when the shaggy and two tusked Mastodons increased in population.”)
Valmiki does not lie.
His facts check out in Geographical descriptions and astronomical events.
Wherever he has used Hyperbole, it is easily distinguishable.
Those who know Sanskrit know how to identify them.
26,27,28.. mahaakapiH= The great Hanuma; aavivesha= entered; guptam= secretly; raakshasaadhipateeH= Ravana’s inner city; trivishhTapaHnibham= (which was like a) paradise; divyam= best one; vaajighoshhitasangushhTam= resonating with neighing of horses; tadhaa= and; naaditam= made noisy; bhuushhanaiH= with ornaments; radhaiH= by chariots; yaanaiH= by vehicles; vimaanaishca= and by aerial-cars; tadhaa= and; bhuushhitam= decorated by;; subhaiHhayagajaiH= by auspicious horses and elephants; swetaabranicayopamaiH= equalling a group of white clouds; vaaraNaishca= by great elephants; caturdantaiH= with four tusks; mR^igapakshibhiH= by animals and birds; mattaiH= in heat; ruciradvaaram= with a beautiful entrance; rakshitam= protected; yaatudhaanaiH= by raksasas; sumahaaviiraiH= with great strength; shahasrasheH= in thousands.
The great Hanuma entered secretly Ravana’s inner city which was equal to paradise, rendered noisy by neighing of horses and tinkling of ornaments, by chariots, vehicles and aerial-cars and decorated by auspicious elephants and horses and great elephants with four tusks and by birds and animals in heat. It had beautiful entrances and was protected by thousands of rakshasas with great strength..
12. siitaa = Seetha; saMgataa = came together; raameNa = with Rama; prabhaa yathaa = like the light; bhaaskareNa = with the Sun; raamashcha = Rama also; mayaa dR^ishhTaH = was seen by me; aaruuDhaH = (to be) mounted; mahaagajam = on a great elephant; chaturdraShhTram = with four tusks; shailasaMkaasham = equalling a mountain; chachaara = (and) wandered; saha lakshmanaH = together with Lakshmana.
Seetha came together with Rama like the light with the Sun. Rama also was seen by me to be mounted on a great elephant with four tusks and equalling a mountain and Rama wandered together with Lakshmana.”
The great Hanuma entered secretly Ravana’s inner city which was equal to paradise, rendered noisy by neighing of horses and tinkling of ornaments, by chariots, vehicles and aerial-cars and decorated by auspicious elephants and horses and great elephants with four tusks and by birds and animals in heat. It had beautiful entrances and was protected by thousands of rakshasas with great strength.
Thereafter, Hanuma the glorious one neared and observed the best residence of Rakshasas and the house of Ravana, containing elephants with four tusks and also those with three tusks, those with two tusks and still not crowded. It was protected by soldiers bearing raised weapons.
(Sundara Kanda 9th Sarga 4 – 5 Slokas)
Here, Sage Valmiki describes elephants with four tusks and also those with three tusks and those with two tusks.
*Image of Gomophotheres set as featured Image at the top of this article.
Description and places where it lived,according to Modern Zoology.
Welded beast”
Height:
3 m (10 ft)
Weight:
4 tons
Time:
13,650,000-
3,600,000 B.C.
Location:
Bavaria, Germany; Nyanza and Rift Valley, Kenya; Södermanland, Sweden; Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, and Tennessee, United States
You find India missing!
Now History of Biology proves that,
“The Gomphotheriidae were a diverse taxonomic family of extinct elephant-like animals (proboscideans). Referred to as gomphotheres, they were widespread in North America during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs, 12–1.6 million years ago. Some lived in parts of Eurasia,Beringia and, following the Great American Interchange, South America. Beginning about 5 million years ago, they were gradually replaced by modern elephants, but the last two South American species, in the genus Cuvieronius, did not finally become extinct until possibly as recently as 9,100 BP, and Stegomastodon remains have been dated as recently as 6,060 BP in the Valle del Magdalena, Colombia. Gomphotheres also survived in Mexico and Central America until the end of the Pleistocene
Ramayana took place in the Treta Yuga, according to Valmiki and other Puranas.
Treta Yuga was about ,
“The duration of the Tretā-yuga is 3,600 x 360, or 1,296,000 years. The duration of the Dvāpara-yuga is 2,400 x 360, or 864,000 years. And the last, the Kali-yuga, is 1,200 x 360, or 432,000 years in total.” (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.11.19) . These 4 yugas follow a timeline ratio of (4:3:2:1).
That’s about a Million Years ago.
(Please read my Post Million Year Old Tamil Quotes Vedas)
Hence the astronomical calculation being cited to date Rama at 5114 BC can be revised to the same astronomical Event around one Million ago.
So Lord Rama can be dated around One Million years ago, considering this evidence and the dates of Dwaraka(Dated 32 000 years ago), the earliest dwelling Tamil Site in Chennai which is a Million Years old.( and Tamil quotes Ramayana)
Image,Work in progress on the four-tusked elephant Stegotetrabelodon syrticus.
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