The Ramayana and the Geological Sciences

The ancient Vedic text of the Ramayana may reveal clues to the geography of the prehistoric world. According to science, 300 million years ago the entire landmass of the world consisted of one Super-Continent scientist now call Pangaea. It was surrounded by a vast global ocean called the Panthalassic Ocean."Pangaea was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras, forming about 300 million years ago and beginning to rift around 200 million years ago, before the component continents were separated into their current configurations. The single global ocean which surrounded Pangaea is accordingly named Panthalassa."

The legend of King Sagara provides many vital clues that signify an intimate knowledge of the ancient world's geography. Going by the evidence provided within the ancient Vedic texts compared with the modern geological sciences it appears that we are not dealing with mere myths. Rather we are confronted with several starling factors that can only be reconciled when we recognize that we are dealing with very ancient history. Many elements which sound like fantastic mythology may actually fit perfectly into the realm of science and logic.

The episode detailing the story of King Sagara represents a time going back approximately 200,100,000 years ago. As the Ramayana records at that time, there was only One Landmass Surrounded by One Ocean.

King Sagara said to his sons...

tat gacchata vicinvadhvam putrakaa bhadram astu vah

samudra maaliniim sarvaam prithiviim anugacchata

Oh, sons, you may therefore proceed to search for the horse and its thief on this Entire Earth which is Garlanded by the Ocean. Safety upon you all. [1-39-13]

Then Approximately 100,000 years later King Sagara's descendant, King Bhageeratha brought the Ganges River to the Earth's planet in order to liberate the Souls of the Sons of Sagara who had been burnt to Ashes by the Sonic energy of Sage Kapila. Bhageeratha is described as guiding the Ganga into the Ocean-like DitchCreated by the Sons of Sagara.

sa gatvaa saagaram raajaa gangayaa anugatas tadaa

pravivesha talam bhuumeh yatra te bhasmasaat kritaah

King Bhageeratha followed by Ganga has gone to the Ocean-like Ditch which was dredged up by the sons of Sagara, and entered the subterranean regions of earth where the sons of Sagara were rendered into ashes. Thus Vishvamitra continued his narration about the Descent of Ganga (Ganges River). [1-44-1]

According to the Ramayana, over 100,000 years earlier the 60,000 sons of Sagara, had been born from an Egg-like guard. They were then placed for a long duration into test tubes and nurtured within them, clone-like, until they were youths.

ghrita puurnesu kumbhesu dhaatryah taan samavardhayan

kaalena mahataa sarve yauvanam pratipedire

The caretakers brought up those siblings in vessels filled with ghee, clarified butter, and after a protracted [delayed] time all of the children attained youthfulness. [1-38-18]

The Geological Sciences refer to a time when"The Tethys Sea began dividing Pangaea into two supercontinents, Laurasia and Gondwana." And "The Tethys Sea was an ocean that existed between the continents of Gondwana and Laurasia during much of the Mesozoic era, before the opening of the Indian and Atlantic oceans during the Cretaceous period."

In the Chapter of the Ramayana entitled 'How King Sagara’s Sons Divided the Earth', we get another clue that the ancients understood that a Super-continent existed and was then divided and new oceans created.

According to the Ramayana, this dividing of the Single Earth's landmass and the creation of Ocean-like ditches began when the 60,000 sons of King Sagara embarked on their mission to find their Father King Sagara's Sacred Horse. Indra had taken the guise of a Demon and stolen the sacred horse.

Their father King Sagara thus ordered his sons...

eka ekam yojanam putraa vistaaram abhigacchata

yaavat turaga sa.ndarshah taavat khanata mediniim

tam eva haya hartaaram maargamaanaa mama aajnayaa

'Oh, sons, let each prince advance searching one square yojana of the Earth. By my order, you dig up the earth until you find the horse, in your search of the thief of that horse. [1-39-14b, 15]

Thus after searching the entire Earth, which at the time was a Single Landmass Surrounded by a Single Ocean, the Princes continued seeking the Sacred Horse by digging into the Earth. In this way they Divided the Continent into sections thus signifying the initial separation of the Continents. Based upon this feat of the Princes the Oceans were named after their father King Sagara. And thus the world's Oceans are referred to as Sagar to this very day.

After hearing of this history from Sage Vishvamitra Lord Ramachandra Says:

ati adbhutam idam brahman kathitam paramam tvayaa

gangaa avataranam punyam saagarasya api puuranam

The blessed legend you have narrated about the digging of an ocean at the behest of Sagara, Ganga's Avataranam, and Bhageeratha filling it with the water of Ganga is sacrosanct [most sacred or holy] and even highly amazing. [1-45-2]

Time and again when we compare the discoveries of modern science with the wisdom of the Vedic literature we are confronted with a startling premise. Clearly, ancient humanity recognized the underlying scientific principles at the foundation of life. How they expressed that recognition can at times lead to confusion. Often these so-called mythologies may seem fantastic or as mere inventions of vivid and wild imagination. Yet the same could be said of every technological invention that is now a part of our everyday lives. To an individual with no experience of technology, it would all appear to be a fantasy or at best a form of magic. Yet this same technology evokes no surprise nor wonders for those familiar with it. In the same way the experiences and abilities of ancient humanity as recorded in the ancient Vedic texts reveal a highly knowledgable and technologically proficient society. It behooves the world to take a serious look at the wisdom and message of the Vedic traditions. For built within them are not only the histories of the past but more importantly all the answers to the problems confronting us today.

Consequently, by turning to these ancient sources of experiential knowledge, humanity can undoubtedly develop a path towards a harmonious future.