Author: Saroj Bala
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: October 12, 2003
We Indians are the products of one
of the oldest civilisations. We need to be really proud of our ancient
history and cultural heritage. However, during the British Rule, we developed
an inferiority complex, which adversely affected our quest to unearth facts
relating to our glorious past. But our young and educated men and women,
born and brought up in independent India, are capable of unearthing the
true facts and are confident enough to evaluate these objectively.
Shri Ram being most basic to Indian
"ethos", it is necessary to know who is Shri Ram? Was he really born? If
yes, when and where? As is believed by crores of people did he really put
his feet on the Indian territory from North to South, reducing the sufferings
of mankind and ensuring victory of good over evil? Let us take a look at
historical facts:
The story of Shri Ram's life was
first narrated by Maharishi Valmiki in the Ramayana, which was written
after Shri Ram was crowned as the king of Ayodhya. Maharishi Valmiki was
a great astronomer as he has made sequential astronomical references on
important dates related to the life of Shri Ram indicating the location
of planets vis-a-vis zodiac constellations and the other stars (nakshatras).
Needless to add that similar position of planets and nakshatras is not
repeated in thousands of years. By entering the precise details of the
planetary configuration of the important events in the life of Shri Ram
as given in the Valmiki Ramayan in the software named "Planetarium" corresponding
exact dates of these events according to the English calendar can be known.
Mr Pushkar Bhatnagar of the Indian
Revenue Service had acquired this software from the US. It is used to predict
the solar/lunar eclipses and distance and location of other planets from
earth. He entered the relevant details about the planetary positions narrated
by Maharishi Valmiki and obtained very interesting and convincing results,
which almost determine the important dates starting from the birth of Shri
Ram to the date of his coming back to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile.
Maharishi Valmiki has recorded
in Bal Kaand sarga 19 and shloka eight and nine (1/18/8,9) that Shri Ram
was born on ninth tithi of Chaitra month when the position of different
planets vis-a-vis zodiac constellations and nakshatras (visible stars)
were: i) Sun in Aries; ii) Saturn in Libra; iii) Jupiter in Cancer; iv)
Venus in Pisces; v) Mars in Capricorn; vi) Lunar month of Chaitra; vii)
Ninth day after no moon; viii) Lagna as Cancer (cancer was rising in the
east); ix) Moon on the Punarvasu (Gemini constellation & Pllux star);
x) Day time (around noon).
This data, was fed into the software.
The results indicated that this was exactly the location of planets/stars
in the noon of January 10, 5114 BC. Thus Shri Ram was born on January 10,
5114 BC (7117 years back). As per the Indian calendar it was the ninth
day of Shukla Paksha in Chaitra month and the time was around 12 to 1 noontime.
This is exactly the time and date when Ram Navmi is celebrated all over
India.
Shri Ram was born in Ayodhya. This
fact can be ascertained from several books written by Indian and foreign
authors before and after the birth of Christ - Valmiki Ramayan, Tulsi Ramayan,
Kalidasa's Raghuvansam, Baudh and Jain literature, etc. These books have
narrated in great detail the location, rich architecture and beauty of
Ayodhya which had many palaces and temples built all over the kingdom.
Ayodhya was located on the banks of the Saryu river with Ganga and Panchal
Pradesh on one side and Mithila on the other side. Normally 7,000 years
is a very long period during which earthquakes, storms, floods and foreign
invasions change the course of rivers, destroy the towns/buildings and
alter the territories. Therefore, the task of unearthing the facts is monumental.
The present Ayodhya has shrunk in size and the rivers have changed their
course about 40 km north/south.
Shri Ram went out of Ayodhya in
his childhood (13th year as per Valmiki Ramayan) with Rishi Vishwamitra
who lived in Tapovan (Sidhhashram). From there he went to Mithila, King
Janaka's kingdom. Here he married Sita after breaking Shiv Dhanusha. Researchers
have gone along the route adopted by Shri Ram as narrated in the Valmiki
Ramayan and found 23 places which have memorials that commemorate the events
related to the life of Shri Ram. These include Shringi Ashram, Ramghat,
Tadka Van, Sidhhashram, Gautamashram, Janakpur (now in Nepal), Sita Kund,
etc. Memorials are built for great men and not for fictitious characters.
Date of exile of Shri Ram: It is
mentioned in Valmiki Ramayan's Ayodhya Kand (2/4/18) that Dashratha wanted
to make Shri Ram the king because Sun, Mars and Rahu had surrounded his
nakshatra, and normally under such planetary configuration the king dies
or becomes a victim of conspiracies. Dashratha's zodiac sign was Pisces
and his nakshatra was Rewati. This planetary configuration was prevailing
on the January 5, 5089 BC, and it was on this day that Shri Ram left Ayodhya
for 14 years of exile. Thus, he was 25 years old at that time (5114-5089).
There are several shlokas in Valmiki Ramayan which indicate that Shri Ram
was 25-years-old when he left Ayodhya for exile.
Valmiki Ramayan refers to the solar
eclipse at the time of war with Khardushan in later half of 13th year of
Shri Ram's exile. It is also mentioned it was amavasya day and Mars was
in the middle. When this data was entered, the software indicated that
there was a solar eclipse on October 7, 5077 BC, (amavasya day) which could
be seen from Panchvati. The planetary configuration was also the same -
Mars was in the middle, on one side were Venus and Mercury and on the other
side were Sun and Saturn. On the basis of planetary configurations described
in various other chapters, the date on which Ravana was killed works out
to be December 4, 5076 BC, and Shri Ram completed 14 years of exile on
January 2, 5075 BC, and that day was also Navami of Shukla Paksha in Chaitra
month. Thus Shri Ram had come back to Ayodhya at the age of 39 (5114-5075).
A colleague, Dr Ram Avtar, researched
on places visited by Shri Ram during his exile, and sequentially moved
to the places stated as visited by Shri Ram in the Valmiki Ramayan, starting
from Ayodhya he went right upto Rameshwaram. He found 195 places which
still have the memorials connected to the events narrated in the Ramayana
relating to the life of Shri Ram and Sita. These include Tamsa Tal (Mandah),
Shringverpur (Singraur), Bhardwaj Ashram (situated near Allahabad), Atri
Ashram, Markandaya Ashram (Markundi), Chitrakoot, Pamakuti (on banks of
Godavari), Panchvati, Sita Sarovar, Ram Kund in Triambakeshwar near Nasik,
Shabari Ashram, Kishkindha (village Annagorai), Dhanushkoti and Rameshwar
temple.
(The writer is a Commissioner of
Income Tax posted at Delhi. The article will conclude on the Oped page
on Monday)
