construction machinery - were they used in raamaayana days 2

[Guest guest]

Dear

srivaishNava perunthagaiyeer,

 

Now

we will see the Second

evidence of using construction machineries in sreemadh raamaayaNam.

hastimaatraan mahaakaayaaH paaSaaNaamshca mahaabalaaH ||

6-22-58parvataamshca samutpaaTya yantraiH parivahanti ca |

meaning: The huge bodied monkeys with mighty

strength uprooted elephant-sized rocks and mountains and transported

them by mechanical contrivances.

NOTE:

parvatamscha yantraih

samutpaatya – dug or uprooted the hills using machines – means

really dug out the huge boulders with machines

yantraih parivahanti ca –

transported these boulders with machines

 

 

which means it is not

only the human beings in ayodhyaa had the machines, the vaanara senaa

in the shores of Ocean also had machines and knew how to operate

these machines. - this means all people of those raamaayaNam days

good knowledge of working with construction machineries.

 

 

samudram kshobhayaamaasurnipatantaH samantataH ||

6-22-60suutraaNyanye pragrihNanti hyaayatam shatayojanam |

meaning: The rocks befalling on all sides perturbed

the ocean. Some others drew up strings a hundred Yojanas long (in

order to keep the rocks in a straight line.)

Please note the survey

for right alignment is done by stretching the string – which again

is corroborated as above in ayodhyaa kaandam [seen in post 1] – as

soothra karma vishaaradhaah -

 

 

daNDananye pragR^ihNanti vicinvanti tathaapare ||

6-22-62vaanaraiH shatashastatra raamasyajJNaapuraHsaraiH

|meghaabhaiH parvataabhashca tR^iNaiH kaaSThairbabandhare ||

6-22-63

meaning: Some monkeys were holding poles for

measuring the bridge and some others collected the material. Reeds

and logs resembling clouds and mountains, brought by hundreds of

monkeys, lead by the command of Raama, fastened some parts of the

bridge.

Please note again monkeys

holding poles – to serve as reference lines and level marking poles

– which nowadays also we use in surveying with levelling staff and

prisms.

 

Now a very important

and modern day management point: We

talk a lot about

 

 

undertaking a challenging job,

 

enjoying the work to relieve ourselves of the working stress,

 

self motivation,

 

'cycle time' and

 

'learning curve' theory in modern management.

 

 

 

See

how progressively vaalmeeki gives that without explicitly saying

these terminologies of management --

 

 

kritaani prathamenaahnaa yojanaani caturdasha ||

2-22-66prahriSTaija samkaashaistva ramaaNaiH plavaNgamaiH |

meaning: On the first day, fourteen Yojanas of

bridge were constructed by the monkeys speedily, thrilled with

delight as they were, resembling elephants.

NOTE: vaanaras enjoyed doing the raama kaaryam –

raama's bridge work. They were thrilled and delighted to do such a

new venture – a new 'challenge' - as they call it in management

parlance - to vaanaraas led by sree raama – a bridge in ocean -

hitherto not thought by the vaanaraas – nor by men also.

See in ayodhyaa kaandam while constructing that

royal road – bharathaa's road – vaalmeeki says bridges were

constructed in the rivers for making the road-

babandhur bandhaneeyaan ca kSodyaan samcukSudus tadaa |bibhidur

bhedaniiyaamH ca taams taan deshaan naraaH tadaa || 2-80-10

meaning: Then, some men bridged the steams that

could be bridged, pulverised the rocks that could be pulverised and

smashed (the impediments that blocked the flow of water) those which

could be smashed.

NOTE: may be bailey bridges – or suspension by

tying ropes – what we call these days as cable stayed bridges –

nothing but using ropes made of steel – to put it in simple

language --

acireNa eva kaalena parivaahaan bahu udakaan |cakrur bahu

vidha aakaaraan saagara pratimaan bahuun || 2-80-11

meaning: Many ponds, in various sizes and shapes containing plenty

of water resembling seas were built (by constructing dams on

rivulets).]

 

 

That delight of undertaking and doing a 'challenging' job made

them achieve more output next day – see slokam --

dvitiiyena tathaivaahnaa yojanaani tu vishatiH ||

2-22-67kR^itaani plavagaistuurNam bhiimakaayairmahaabalaiH |

meaning: In the same manner, on the second day

twenty Yojanas of bridge were constructed speedily by the monkeys of

terrific bodies and of mighty strength.

NOTE: here comes modern management point of 'cycle

time' improvement and 'learning curve' theory. Since work on second

day is repetitive in nature, the monkeys having learnt the work on

first day could achieve a faster cycle time, and thereby the output

has increased, in spite of having to cross the first day built 14

yojanaas bridge to dump the stones and trees etc.

Which means the lead for the work increased

considerably -- or in other words difficulties to do - but the output

also increased.

As you learn the work, the duration for each cycle

of operation gets reduced and your efficiency increases in producing

more.

ahnaa tR^itiiyena tathaa yojanaani tu saagare ||

2-22-68tvaramaaNairmahaakayairekavimshatireva ca |

meaning: Thus, on the third day twenty-one Yojanas

of the bridge were constructed in the ocean speedily by the monkeys

with their colossal bodies.

caturthena tathaa caahnaa dvaavimshatirathaapi vaa ||

2-22-69yojanaani mahaavegaiH kR^itaani tvaritaistataH |

meaning: On the forth day, a further of twenty-two

Yojanas were constructed by the dashing monkeys with a great speed.

paJNcamena tathaa caahnaa plavagaiH kshiprakaaribhiH ||

2-22-70yojanaani trayovimshatsuvelamadhikR^itya vai |

meaning: In that manner, on the fifth day, the

monkeys working quickly constructed twenty-three yojanas of the

bridge up to the other seashore.

Note: thus it can be seen that as days went on the skill level in

executing the bridge job increased for vaanaraas, which led to

reduction in cycle time, and out put increased – even though the

lead distance has also increased considerably.

And that is what the modern management also talks about as

'learning curve'. Just for the sake of it – definition of these two

terms from business dictionary.com website

cycle time: Period

required

to complete one cycle

of an operation;

or to complete a function,

job,

or task

from start to finish.

Cycle time is used in differentiating total duration

of a process

from its run

time.

learning curve: Graphical representation

of the common

sense principle

that more one does something the better one gets at it. Learning

curve shows the rate

of improvement

in performing a task

as a function

of time, or the rate of change

in average

cost (in hours or dollars)

as a function of cumulative

output.

 

 

So the conclusion is all points what we

call as 'modern' and 'management' points are all available in

sreemadh raamaayaNam and only we have to just get correct

understanding of the points stated by vaalmeeki maharshi as

'seethaayaas charitham'.

 

 

Dhasan

 

 

vasudevan m.g.