Rama's Bridge
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| Missing image NASA_satellite_photo_of_Rama's_Bridge.jpg NASA satellite photo of Rama's Bridge—oblique, Sri Lanka to the left |
| Missing image Adams_bridge_map.png Map of Rama's/Adam's Bridge and environs |
Rama's Bridge, Nala's Bridge or Adam's Bridge is a chain of limestone shoals, between the islands of Mannar, near northwestern Sri Lanka, and Rameswaram, off the southeastern coast of India. The bridge is 30 miles (48 km) long and separates the Gulf of Mannar (southwest) from the Palk Strait (northeast). Some of the sandbanks are dry, and nowhere are the shoals deeper than 4 feet (1 m); thus, they seriously hinder navigation. It was reportedly passable on foot as late as the 15th century until storms deepened the channel. A ferry links the island and port of Rameswaram in India with Talaimannar in Sri Lanka; the Pamban Bridge links Rameswaram island with mainland India.
The names Rama's Bridge and Nala's Bridge originate in Hindu mythology. According to the Hindu epic Ramayana (Chapter 66, The Great Causeway [1] (http://www.hindubooks.org/books_by_rajaji/ramayana/the_great_causeway/page5.htm)), the bridge was constructed at Rama's request by his subjects, including the Vanara Sena (army of monkeys), led by Nala, son of the architect-god Visvakarman. The bridge was supported on floating rocks but the gods were said to have later anchored the rocks to the sea bed, thus creating the present chain of rocky shoals. It was said to have helped Rama to reach Sri Lanka to rescue Sita from a monster called Ravana, who was then the ruler of Lanka.
Some Hindu groups claim that the bridge is evidence that events narrated in the Ramayana epic actually took place and cite NASA's imagery of it as proof of their claims. NASA has distanced itself from such claims:
- "The images [...] may be ours, but their interpretation is certainly not ours. [...] Remote sensing images or photographs from orbit cannot provide direct information about the origin or age of a chain of islands, and certainly cannot determine whether humans were involved in producing any of the patterns seen."
The alternate name Adam's Bridge derives from the Christian mythological notion that the biblical Garden of Eden was located on Sri Lanka.
Archeological studies of the bridge are ongoing, and some archeologists claim to have found evidence suggesting that the bridge is man-made. For instance, some researchers from Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, announced that the "bridge" is only 3,500 years old (http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=17736). However, their article linking the bridge to Ramayana has attracted rebuke from the mainstream scientific community (http://www.gisdevelopment.net/magazine/gisdev/2004/feb/fmab.shtml)
Sea levels rose about 10 or 20 metres in the 6th millennium BCE to reach levels similar to today, so in 6000 BCE the bridge would have been an isthmus situated above sea level. As such, it almost certainly would have been a viable route for humans to have reached Sri Lanka by dry land.
Recently the Government of India has approved a multi-million dollar Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project that aims to create a ship channel across the Palk Strait. The plan is to dredge the shallow ocean floor near the Danushkodi end of the Adam's bridge to create enough leeway allowing ships to pass through the channel instead of having to go around the island of Sri Lanka. It is expected to save nearly 30 hours' shipping time by cutting over 400 km off the voyage.
External links
- other pictures (http://www.vahini.org/ramakatha2/ch7-bridge.html)