Is Ceylon the Lanka mentioned in Ramayana?

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> > Just a thought: since the action narrated in the Ramayana took

> > place about one and half million years ago isn't it quite possible

> > that the positions of the land masses could have changed

> > considerably during that period? Why would we expect to find

> > everything exactly as it was then especially when we read that King

> > Mucucunda fell asleep in one yuga and on his awakening in another

> > was surprised to see that everything had gotten much smaller?

> > Wouldn't distances also get smaller?

>

> According to Laghu-bhagavatamrta Rama-lila manifests in 24th

> catur-yuga while Krsna/Caitanya-lila in 28th. Then the time difference

> would be around 19 M years.

>

> LBh 1.3.78 "Splendid as a new blade of durva grass, and accompanied by

> Sumitra's two sons and by Bharata, He appeared in the Treta-yuga of

> the 24th catur-yuga as the son of Kausalya and Dasaratha."

>

> CC 1.3.10 "At the end of the Dvapara-yuga of the twenty-eighth

> divya-yuga, Lord Krsna appears on earth with the full paraphernalia of

> His eternal Vraja-dhma."

 

This is very interesting information. I haven't seen this before. I

have been basing my understanding on the SB which only speaks of Lord Rama

appearing in Treta Yuga but doesn't say which divya-yuga cycle it is. So I

have always assumed, and I think many devotees have, it was the Treta-yuga

just prior to this Kali-yuga.

 

We read in the CC Adi 3.10 that Krsna only appears once in a day of

Brahma, during the 28 divya-yuga of Vaivasvata Manu:

 

"At the end of the Dvapara-yuga of the twenty-eighth divya-yuga, Lord Krsna

appears on earth with the full paraphernalia of His eternal Vraja-dhama.

PURPORT

Now is the term of Vaivasvata Manu, during which Lord Caitanya appears.

First Lord Krsna appears at the close of the Dvapara-yuga of the

twenty-eighth divya-yuga, and then Lord Caitanya appears in the Kali-yuga of

the same divya-yuga. Lord Krsna and Lord Caitanya appear once in each day of

Brahma, or once in fourteen manv-antaras, each of seventy-one divya-yugas in

duration."

 

However, there is no indication that is the case with Lord Rama.

Although there is a statement by Srila Prabhupada that all the

lila-avataras, of which Lord Rama is one, appear in each kalpa or day of

Brahma he doesn't say They only appear once. Is it possible Lord Rama may

have appeared in each divya yuga? Does anyone have any reference for the

frequency of His appearances?

 

Srila Prabhupada comments in SB 5.19.2

 

"A host of Gandharvas is always engaged in chanting the glories of Lord

Ramacandra. That chanting is always extremely auspicious. Hanumanji and

Arstisena, the chief person in Kimpurusa-varsa, constantly hear those

glories with complete attention. Hanuman chants the following mantras.

 

PURPORT

In the Puranas there are two different opinions concerning Lord Ramacandra.

In the Laghu-bhagavatamrta (5.34-36) this is confirmed in the description of

the incarnation of Manu.

The Visnu-dharmottara describes that Lord Ramacandra and His brothers --

Laksmana, Bharata and Satrughna -- are incarnations of Vasudeva, Sankarsana,

Pradyumna and Aniruddha respectively. The Padma Purana, however, says that

Lord Ramacandra is an incarnation of Narayana and that the other three

brothers are incarnations of Sesa, Cakra and Sankha. Therefore Srila

Baladeva Vidyabhusana has concluded, tad idam kalpa-bhedenaiva sambhavyam.

In other words, these opinions are not contradictory. In some millenniums

Lord Ramacandra and His brothers appear as incarnations of Vasudeva,

Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, and in other millenniums They appear as

incarnations of Narayana, Sesa, Cakra and Sankha. The residence of Lord

Ramacandra on this planet is Ayodhya. Ayodhya City is still existing in the

district of Faizabad, which is situated on the northern side of Uttar

Pradesh."

 

The point here is that sometimes descriptions vary due to a mixing

of different appearances.

 

Apart from this, Prabhupada's chapter summary statements from the SB

9th canto 12th chapter seem to indicate (granted not directly) that the Lord

Ramacandra mentioned therein appeared in the last treta-yuga, just prior to

this kali-yuga because His descendant Maru will revive the dynasty of the

Sun God "at the end of this age of Kali":

 

 

12. The Dynasty of Kusa, the Son of Lord Ramacandra

SB 9.12 Summary

This chapter describes the dynasty of Kusa, the son of Lord Ramacandra. The

members of this dynasty are descendants of Sasada, the son of Maharaja

Iksvaku.

Following in the genealogical table of Lord Ramacandra's dynasty, Kusa, the

Lord's son, was followed consecutively by Atithi, Nisadha, Nabha, Pundarika,

Ksemadhanva, Devanika, Aniha, Pariyatra, Balasthala, Vajranabha, Sagana and

Vidhrti. These personalities ruled the world. From Vidhrti came

Hiranyanabha, who later became the disciple of Jaimini and propounded the

system of mystic yoga in which Yajnavalkya was initiated. Following in this

dynasty were Puspa, Dhruvasandhi, Sudarsana, Agnivarna, Sighra and Maru.

Maru attained full perfection in the practice of yoga, and he still lives in

the village of Kalapa. At the end of this age of Kali, he will revive the

dynasty of the sun-god.

 

Sukadeva Goswami mentions a few more kings who had already passed away (8)

and then he gives a list of kings yet to come. Although the list is quite

long, 30 names, it ends with Sumitra who comes in this age of Kali and then

the dynasty is extinguished.

 

So if Sukadeva himself appears at the start of Kali-yuga and he

predicts 30 more kings it seems reasonable to suppose that the complete list

of kings he gives for the line coming from Lord Rama does not extend over 4

divya-yugas but only from Treta-yuga to Kali-yuga within the same

divya-yuga. Otherwise, why wouldn't the dynasty end on the first Kali-yuga,

4 divya-yugas ago. Why does he say it ends in "this" Kali-yuga?

 

At any rate, whether we think it is 1.2 million years or 19 million

years, its still a very long time so my original thought, that land masses

may not be in the same proximity or lying at the same distances as mentioned

in the Ramayana, still seems reasonable.

 

Apart from this, a few years ago some satellite maps showed the

presence of what the scientists say was an underwater bridge stretching from

the tip of India going out to modern Sri Lanka.

 

Just some food for thought.

 

Your humble servant,

Hari-sauri dasa