‘Rama Sethu bridge is man-made only’

NT Bureau Chennai, Apr 29:

Refuting the claim of a scientist that there is no-man made structure called Rama Sethu or Adam’s bridge between Mandapam at Rameswaram and Thalaimannar in Sri Lanka, Swami Dayananda Saraswati (who is a scholar in such matters) has cited the study of a geologist to reaffirm his position that a bridge had indeed been built by humanity at the present site.

Stating there cannot be a natural, geological formation at the Rama Sethu connecting Indian sub-continent with Lanka, the spiritual leader quoting from the observations of the geologist says the climate and soil conditions in the Bay of Bengal between the two land masses did not allow for an undersea volcanic ridge (a long raised strip) as there was no seismic activity in this area. ‘Nor can it be a submarine linear platform or plateau from a linear block of rock mass that rises up between two parallel faults or crustal fractures because such structures are not found in this area,’ he reasoned.

 Refuting the claim of a scientist that there is no-man made structure called Rama Sethu or Adam’s bridge between Mandapam at Rameswaram and Thalaimannar in Sri Lanka, Swami Dayananda Saraswati (who is a scholar in such matters) has cited the study of a geologist to reaffirm his position that a bridge had indeed been built by humanity at the present site.

Stating there cannot be a natural, geological formation at the Rama Sethu connecting Indian sub-continent with Lanka, the spiritual leader quoting from the observations of the geologist says the climate and soil conditions in the Bay of Bengal between the two land masses did not allow for an undersea volcanic ridge (a long raised strip) as there was no seismic activity in this area. ‘Nor can it be a submarine linear platform or plateau from a linear block of rock mass that rises up between two parallel faults or crustal fractures because such structures are not found in this area,’ he reasoned.

Extending the thesis further, the Swamiji said the present formation could not be a coral ridge as coral islands were scattered in the coastal and offshore areas and not in the present site which was running at right angles to the coastline. Also, the undersea land strip could not be a submerged hill or an anticlinal (sloping downward away from a common crest) ridge as the bridge was found in sediments which were not subjected to any folding activity, he explained.

‘Thus with no evidence to the contrary, the under-sea bridge could not be a geological formation and remained a man-made structure only,’ he said citing the geologist’s study.

Referring to the gazette published in 1803 by the British government for the Madras Presidency, Swami Dayananda Saraswati said in the glossary, the first entry was ‘Adam’s Bridge’ which, it noted, was also called Rama’s Bridge or Neela’s Bridge. The gazette also mentioned the bridge’s position in terms of latitude and longitude with its dimension of 30 miles length and 1.25 miles wide. ‘The gazette further reports the bridge was used by people to cross between Tamilnadu and Sri Lanka until the middle of 15th Century when there was a breach due to a storm, causing a part of the bridge to be submerged,’ he recalled. The copy of the map of the bridge along with its submerged portion in that period was available in the Saraswati Mahal Library in Thanjavur.

‘With all these facts, we can safely assume that Rama Sethu is much more than a Hindu sentimental issue. It is an issue of national and human heritage,’ the Swamiji said. If UNESCO came to know of this ancient land-strip, it would safeguard Rama Sethu as a ‘phenomenal accomplishment of human genius,’ he said.

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