In the bang-up Indian epic of Ramayana , penned several one 1000 years agone , writer Valmiki speaks of a twosome over the sea connecting Republic of Republic of India in addition to Sri Lanka. The epic poetry form , that stretches for nearly 24 ,000 verses , narrates the life of the divine prince Rama in addition to his fighting to rescue his abducted married adult woman Sita from the demon Rex Ravana , the ruler of Sri Lanka.
Rama , the crown prince , was forced to relinquish his correct to the throne in addition to operate into exile for 14 years. During his rest inwards the woods , his married adult woman Sita was abducted past times the evil demon Rex Ravana in addition to taken to Sri Lanka. Rama organized an regular army consisting of monkeys in addition to led them to Sri Lanka , where a lengthy nation of war broke out. In the halt , Ravana was defeated , in addition to Rama returned habitation amongst his married adult woman to last crowned king.
In the flush , when Rama’s regular army reaches the sea across which lies the isle of Sri Lanka , the apes fix a floating twosome across the sea past times writing the holler of Rama on the stones in addition to tossing them into the water. According to the legend , the stones didn’t sink because they had Rama's holler written on them. Rama’s regular army in addition to so used the twosome to cross the sea towards Sri Lanka.
If yous await at satellite photos of this share today , yous volition break a faint hint of a connecting strip betwixt the 2 countries. This so called Rama's Bridge or Rama Setu , equally good known equally Adam’s Bridge , is a long , twisting stretch of shoal in addition to sandbank connecting the Indian isle of Rameswaram , off the southeastern coast of Tamil Nadu , to Mannar Island , off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. The twosome is most l km long. Much of it is nether H2O today , merely centuries agone , it formed an intermittent , merely otherwise venture , connecting link betwixt Republic of Republic of India in addition to Sri Lanka. The causeway existed equally belatedly equally the 15th century in addition to was passable on human foot , equally per records kept at the Rameswaram temple , until it was flooded inwards a storm.
The beingness of the twosome has been known inwards Republic of Republic of India equally good equally Sri Lanka since ages , equally evident from the legend perpetuated past times the ancient epic of Ramayana. For equally long equally anybody could think , the sea separating the 2 countries has been called Sethusamudram important "Sea of the Bridge". The ninth century Western Farsi geographer , Ibn Khordadbeh , mentioned the twosome inwards his Book of Roads in addition to Kingdoms , referring to it is Set Bandhai or "Bridge of the Sea". The holler “Adam’s Bridge” is an early-19th-century British excogitation —a reference to an Abrahamic myth that Adam used the twosome to cross from Sri Lanka to India.
Rama’s regular army of monkeys edifice the rock twosome to Sri Lanka.
Many orthodox Hindus reckon the beingness of the twosome to last an unshakable proof of Ramayana itself , in addition to the stories described inwards it. Pseudo-scientists , conspiracy theorist , in addition to theologians believe that the twosome was truly built past times Rama in addition to his regular army of monkeys. When a NASA photograph of the share showing a meandering causeway disappearing into the distance was released inwards 2002 , online conspiracy theorists went off on a wild goose chase trying to examine it was a man-made structure.
Although geologists demand keep repeatedly tried to debunk the myth , at that topographic point is nonetheless a various make of persuasion in addition to confusion most the nature in addition to root of this structure. There are some one-half a dozen dissimilar theories that endeavor to explicate the structure. One attributes it to continuous sand deposition in addition to the natural procedure of sedimentation leading to the formation of a chain of barrier islands , piece some other suggest that the twosome may last an sometime shoreline , implying that the 2 landmasses of Republic of Republic of India in addition to Sri Lanka were ane time connected. Studies demand keep variously described the construction equally a chain of shoals , coral reefs , a ridge formed inwards the share owing to thinning of the Earth's crust , a double tombolo , a sand spit , or barrier islands.
Things got a trivial heated when the Government of Republic of Republic of India proposed dredging through Rama's Bridge inwards social club to exercise a transportation road inwards the shallow straits betwixt Republic of Republic of India in addition to Sri Lanka. Right straight off , ships trying to motion betwixt India's westward in addition to eastward coasts demand keep to acquire unopen to Sri Lanka. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 long deepwater channel connecting the Palk Strait amongst the Gulf of Mannar would cutting over 400 km off the voyage saving both fourth dimension in addition to money. But ultra-right fly Hindu organizations strongly opposed the projection maxim that the twosome is a “religious monument” in addition to should non last destroyed.
The projection is currently on concur , merely for to a greater extent than coherent reasons. Environmentalists nation that dredging a channel would destroy corals , piece equally good harming the line-fishing reserve inwards the expanse , throwing the ecology inwards the share off balance. Besides , the sandbank provides natural protection against seismic sea wave waves traveling from the eastward to the westward coast in addition to vice versa. The regime is straight off considering an alternate road that doesn’t involve destroying Rama's Bridge.
A carved rock relief at Prambanan Temple , on the isle of Java inwards Republic of Indonesia , shows monkeys helping Rama past times bringing stones for edifice the bridge. Photo credit: Margery H. Freeman
Aerial watch of Adam's Bridge , taken piece flight over Sri Lanka looking west. Photo credit: PlaneMad/Wikimedia
Landsat vii Imagery of Adam's Bridge. Photo credit: NASA
Sources: Wikipedia / Srilanka.travel / Ian Chadwick