IIT students may soon be studying how Monkey Army of Ramayana built the bridge to Lanka

by Guest Sun Aug 07, 2016 10:29 pm

http://www.hindustantimes.com/education/now-sanskrit-to-give-ancient-technological-edge-to-iit-graduates/story-1k7yZSHWYlHEilJXRc65OI.html

Students at the Indian Institutes of Technology may soon be studying ancient engineering techniques — such as the one used by the monkey army to build the Ram Setu bridge to Lanka in the Ramayana — written about in Sanskrit texts.
Several IITs have informed the HRD ministry of plans to introduce the ancient language in curriculum — a ‘request’ earlier made by former education minister Smriti Irani to the schools.

IIT-Kharagpur is in the process of setting up a centre for science and heritage initiative to study science and technology in Sanskrit literature. It has told the ministry it has made “significant strides in selecting a faculty in Sanskrit literature with expertise and international exposure in inter-disciplinary study of Sanskrit”.
IIT-Bhubaneswar plans to introduce a Sanskrit language course as a “breadth subject” — a subject outside the degree course.

Supporting the study of Sanskrit, an IIT director who did not wish to be named said there were engineering marvels from centuries ago whose technological knowhow was available only in Sanskrit texts — the Ram Setu and Ashoka pillars, to name a few. The director also advocated the study of Ayurveda “in its purest form”.

by Seva Lamberdar Mon Aug 08, 2016 8:41 am

"(4) Rama’s Setu (bridge) in the Ramayana appears to be different from majority of modern bridges, usually the suspension type airborne structures. Setu most likely was a floating type bridge.

"From the accounts in the Ramayana about the seabed being visible sometimes, it seems the ocean between India and Lanka during Rama’s time was not very deep and could have many shoals, sandbanks and rocks on the way. Moreover, Setu probably would be the name used for overall link between India and Lanka, either for one continuous bridge or for a series of small bridges between rocks or shoals on the way. In addition, as described in the Ramayana, the building materials, bearing the seal or name of Rama, floated during construction, which indicates that the bridge most likely was a floating type structure, made probably from light weight and wooden materials. Perhaps the bridge was held in position above water by anchoring to the shoals or rocks at opposite ends. Note that this type of floating structure would be easier and quicker to assemble in a hurry and would serve the purpose of moving armies and materials expeditiously during Rama’s assault on Lanka.

"Setu’s accounts in the Ramayana, even though sprinkled with metaphors and symbols, have enough clues to depict the bridge as a real and practical thing, which again shows that the characters and hero in that epic most likely were real."

Ref.: Symbolism in the Ramayana (Appendix) : http://geocities.ws/lamberdar/ramayana_symbolism.html

by Guest Mon Aug 08, 2016 9:22 am

Seva, i know from your earlier posts that you, like me, are an admirer of Sharad Chandra Chattopadhyay's writings. In Sharad Chandra's novel Charitraheen, there is a female character called Kiranmayee who says that all the incidents and occurrences described in the Mahabharata could not possibly be real. She gives a few examples to illustrate her point, one of which is that it is not possible in real life for someone to shoot an arrow in the ground and for a fountain of water to gush out. But this is the scenario described in the Mahabharata when Bhisma is lying on a bed of arrows and asks for water, and Arjuna obliges by shooting an arrow in the ground whereupon a fountain of water gushes out and quenches Bhishma's thirst.

Epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata may have been based on some real life incidents but they have also been augmented and amplified by their composers with the aid of the imagination.

by Kayalvizhi Mon Aug 08, 2016 8:24 pm

I know the story from Kamba Ramayanam. I thought the bridge was built by a monkey army. Is it the case with the SaNSkrit text?

by Guest Mon Aug 08, 2016 8:27 pm

Kayalvizhi wrote:I know the story from Kamba Ramayanam. I thought the bridge was built by a monkey army. Is it the case with the SaNSkrit text?

Yes. Do you agree now that Tamil Nadu is a part of India?

by Kayalvizhi Mon Aug 08, 2016 8:31 pm

<< Yes. Do you agree now that Tamil Nadu is a part of India?>
What the hecll has it to do with ramayanam?

by Guest Mon Aug 08, 2016 8:34 pm

Kayalvizhi wrote:
Rashmun wrote:
Kayalvizhi wrote:I know the story from Kamba Ramayanam. I thought the bridge was built by a monkey army. Is it the case with the SaNSkrit text?

Yes. Do you agree now that Tamil Nadu is a part of India?

What the hecll has it to do with ramayanam?

it illustrates how Tamil Nadu's culture is inextricably linked with the culture of the rest of India. This is just one example, there are millions of other examples. Do not forget also that Valmiki Ramayana predates Kambaramayanam. Kamban's work is based on the story narrated in the Valmiki Ramayana.

by Kayalvizhi Mon Aug 08, 2016 8:46 pm

Kannadasan wrote a great book of poems on Christianity. Goes it mean Tamil Nadu is part of Rome?

India was ruled from north for less than 12 years (under Mugals) before the British rule.

by Guest Mon Aug 08, 2016 9:03 pm

Kayalvizhi wrote:Kannadasan wrote a great book of poems on Christianity. Goes it mean Tamil Nadu is part of Rome?

India was ruled from north for less than 12 years (under Mugals) before the British rule.

Kannadasan was a 20th century poet while Kamban wrote in the 12th and 13th centuries. Furthermore, Kambaramayanam is an essential ingredient of Tamil culture. It is widely regarded as perhaps the greatest literary work produced by Tamilians. To compare Kambaramayanam to the poems of Kannadasan is clearly a flawed approach.

I think u meant 'Tamil Nadu was ruled from north for less than 12 years', but first you are forgetting about the Nawabs of Arcot. These Nawabs ruled over large parts of Tamil Nadu; they were originally from Uttar Pradesh. More information about the Nawabs and the duration of their rule may be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nawab_of_the_Carnatic

More importantly, you are forgetting that the hindu kings of Tamil Nadu were patrons of both Tamil and Sanskrit and Sanskrit is clearly a language of north indian origin. Here is some relevant material on the Pallava kings for your consideration:

All the early Pallava royal inscriptions are either in Sanskrit or in Prakrit language, considered the official languages of the dynasty while the official scripts were Pallava script and later Grantha. Similarly, inscriptions found in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka State are in Sanskrit and Prakrit.[16] The phenomenon of using Prakrit as official languages in which rulers left their inscriptions and epigraphies continued till the 6th century. It would have been in the interest of the ruling elite to protect their privileges by perpetuating their hegemony of Prakrit in order to exclude the common people from sharing power (Mahadevan 1995a: 173–188). The Pallavas in their Tamil country used Tamil and Sanskrit in their inscriptions.

Tamil came to be the main language used by the Pallavas in their inscriptions, though a few records continued to be in Sanskrit. This language was first adopted by Mahendravarman I himself in a few records of his; but from the time of Paramesvaravarman I, the practice came into vogue of inscribing a part of the record in Sanskrit and the rest in Tamil. Almost all the copper plate records, viz., Kasakudi, Tandantottam, Pattattalmangalm, Udayendiram and Velurpalaiyam are composed both in Sanskrit and Tamil.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pallava_dynasty

by Kayalvizhi Mon Aug 08, 2016 9:39 pm

<< These Nawabs ruled large parts of Tamil Nadu>

They did not rule from the north

<< All the early Pallava royal inscriptions are either in Sanskrit or in Prakrit language,>>

Indian constitution is written in Emglish

by Guest Mon Aug 08, 2016 10:26 pm

Rashmun: These Nawabs ruled large parts of Tamil Nadu

Kayal Vizhi: They did not rule from the north

Rashmun: This is true, but they were patrons of Urdu (and also of Tamil).

-----

Rashmun: All the early Pallava royal inscriptions are either in Sanskrit or in Prakrit language

Kayal Vizhi: Indian constitution is written in Emglish

Rashmun: True, but the cultural link is evident when you consider that hindu kings across India, including Tamil Nadu, were patronizing Sanskrit.

by Seva Lamberdar Tue Aug 09, 2016 8:29 am

Rashmun wrote:Seva, i know from your earlier posts that you, like me, are an admirer of Sharad Chandra Chattopadhyay's writings. In Sharad Chandra's novel Charitraheen, there is a female character called Kiranmayee who says that all the incidents and occurrences described in the Mahabharata could not possibly be real. She gives a few examples to illustrate her point, one of which is that it is not possible in real life for someone to shoot an arrow in the ground and for a fountain of water to gush out. But this is the scenario described in the Mahabharata when Bhisma is lying on a bed of arrows and asks for water, and Arjuna obliges by shooting an arrow in the ground whereupon a fountain of water gushes out and quenches Bhishma's thirst.

Epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata may have been based on some real life incidents but they have also been augmented and amplified by their composers with the aid of the imagination.

Rashmun, we are talking about the plausibility of the Setu. As I indicated in my earlier comment from one of my blogs based on the narration in the Ramayana, including related to material and technical requirements for bridge and ocean conditions between India and Lanka then, the Setu could be a reality (more as a floating bridge(s) rather than suspension bridge), and not merely as a fictional or metaphoric thing.

As for Arjuna in the Mahabharata shooting an arrow in the direction of ground which possibly could have resulted in the water shooting up (possibly from an underground aquifer) thus leading to dying Bhishma quench his thirst, try firing a shot / gun at a water bearing pipe and see if the water shoots out of it or not?

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IIT students may soon be studying how Monkey Army of Ramayana built the bridge to Lanka

IIT students may soon be studying how Monkey Army of Ramayana built the bridge to Lanka

Re: IIT students may soon be studying how Monkey Army of Ramayana built the bridge to Lanka

Re: IIT students may soon be studying how Monkey Army of Ramayana built the bridge to Lanka

Re: IIT students may soon be studying how Monkey Army of Ramayana built the bridge to Lanka

Re: IIT students may soon be studying how Monkey Army of Ramayana built the bridge to Lanka

Re: IIT students may soon be studying how Monkey Army of Ramayana built the bridge to Lanka

Re: IIT students may soon be studying how Monkey Army of Ramayana built the bridge to Lanka

Re: IIT students may soon be studying how Monkey Army of Ramayana built the bridge to Lanka

Re: IIT students may soon be studying how Monkey Army of Ramayana built the bridge to Lanka

Re: IIT students may soon be studying how Monkey Army of Ramayana built the bridge to Lanka

Re: IIT students may soon be studying how Monkey Army of Ramayana built the bridge to Lanka

Re: IIT students may soon be studying how Monkey Army of Ramayana built the bridge to Lanka

Re: IIT students may soon be studying how Monkey Army of Ramayana built the bridge to Lanka