Asko Parpola, an eminent Indus Valley enthusiast, has used the similarity in the names of places to infer the linguistic pre-history of the Indus valley civilisation. Parpola points out that several place-names in the northwestern region (where most Indus-valley sites are found) like nagara, palli, pattana and kotta have Dravidian etymological roots. Even today, these words indicate the names of places in South India. He presents these names as evidence in support of his theory that the Indus valley people probably spoke a Dravidian language.
People moving from one place to another are known to carry the names of places with them. When Britain established its colony in America, the British immigrants took the names of the cities they dwelt in along with them. Thus York (in UK) became New ‘York’ in America and England became New ‘England’. Could people movement then explain the similarity in the names of north-west Indian settlements and south Indian towns?
Driving down to mythology, could the same thing have happened to Ravana and his Lanka? The Gond tribes of central India trace their ancestry to Ravana, whom they deem the founding father of their tribe. This makes one wonder where Ravana’s Lanka really was?! Was it really the island country we think it was? Or was it somewhere 400 miles (100 yojanas) south of Vindhyas as mentioned in the epic? (Sri Lanka is much more than 400 miles away from the foothills of the Vindhyas.)
For sometime now, certain Indian and foreign archaeologists and scholars have been toying with an alternative viewpoint on the location of Ravana's Lanka. Basing their arguments on certain logical inconsistencies in the epic, they propose that the mythical Lanka and the island country are in reality two different places. For one, they state that Singhala or Tambapanni are the names (and not as Lanka) by which the island country is referred to in our epics. In fact references are made to both Lanka and Singhala simultaneously as if they were two different kingdoms.
(Refer https://www.academia.edu/…/LANKA_OF_THE_RAMAYANA_THE_PROBLE… for a detailed discussion on this topic.)
Some archaeologists have even traced Ravana’s Lanka to modern day Orissa.
This 2013 India Today article (http://m.indiatoday.in/…/not-sri-lanka-but-so…/1/401734.html) talks about an excavation of a city in Orissa, dating to the 3rd to 4th century BCE, that is being mapped to Ravana’s Lanka. One of the key arguments presented by these enthusiasts is based on the beliefs and traditions of the various tribes populating parts of Orissa and Central India.
Although these theories are yet to gain wide-spread acceptance, one does wonder how the geographical epicentre of the story can be as varied as eastern India and Sri Lanka. Here, possibly the rich maritime trade history of Orissa/Bengal provides us with a clue.
The founding history of Sri Lanka - the island country - starts in 543 BCE with the arrival of Prince Vijaya, a semi-legendary prince from the Vanga Kingdom (present-day Bengal and parts of Orissa) who sailed to Sri Lanka, after being banished from his home state. All the subsequent kings who ruled Singhala trace their ancestry to this prince. Their royal history has been recorded in the Sinhalese epic called the Mahavamsa.
More recently, based on cultural, linguistic and genetic studies, historians have come to believe that the Sinhalese are actually the descendants of the migrants from eastern parts of India. (Refer chapter: Kingdoms of the Lion from ‘The Ocean of Churn’ by Sanjeev Sanyal.)
Considering the clear evidence of the link between eastern India and Sri Lanka, would it be presumptuousness to consider the possibility of Ravana’s story travelling from Lanka to Singhala along with the migrants and taking fresh root there? Is it possible that Ravana's Sri Lanka is the ancient precedent to USA's 'New' York?
Only due research and the political climate to accept its repercussions can get us the answers!
Note: The research to locate Ravana's Lanka is real, and so is the research to establish the genetic and cultural origins of the Sinhalese. But the attempt to connect the dots is sheer speculation on my part. The idea is to open up these topics for debate.
People moving from one place to another are known to carry the names of places with them. When Britain established its colony in America, the British immigrants took the names of the cities they dwelt in along with them. Thus York (in UK) became New ‘York’ in America and England became New ‘England’. Could people movement then explain the similarity in the names of north-west Indian settlements and south Indian towns?
Driving down to mythology, could the same thing have happened to Ravana and his Lanka? The Gond tribes of central India trace their ancestry to Ravana, whom they deem the founding father of their tribe. This makes one wonder where Ravana’s Lanka really was?! Was it really the island country we think it was? Or was it somewhere 400 miles (100 yojanas) south of Vindhyas as mentioned in the epic? (Sri Lanka is much more than 400 miles away from the foothills of the Vindhyas.)
For sometime now, certain Indian and foreign archaeologists and scholars have been toying with an alternative viewpoint on the location of Ravana's Lanka. Basing their arguments on certain logical inconsistencies in the epic, they propose that the mythical Lanka and the island country are in reality two different places. For one, they state that Singhala or Tambapanni are the names (and not as Lanka) by which the island country is referred to in our epics. In fact references are made to both Lanka and Singhala simultaneously as if they were two different kingdoms.
(Refer https://www.academia.edu/…/LANKA_OF_THE_RAMAYANA_THE_PROBLE… for a detailed discussion on this topic.)
Some archaeologists have even traced Ravana’s Lanka to modern day Orissa.
This 2013 India Today article (http://m.indiatoday.in/…/not-sri-lanka-but-so…/1/401734.html) talks about an excavation of a city in Orissa, dating to the 3rd to 4th century BCE, that is being mapped to Ravana’s Lanka. One of the key arguments presented by these enthusiasts is based on the beliefs and traditions of the various tribes populating parts of Orissa and Central India.
Although these theories are yet to gain wide-spread acceptance, one does wonder how the geographical epicentre of the story can be as varied as eastern India and Sri Lanka. Here, possibly the rich maritime trade history of Orissa/Bengal provides us with a clue.
The founding history of Sri Lanka - the island country - starts in 543 BCE with the arrival of Prince Vijaya, a semi-legendary prince from the Vanga Kingdom (present-day Bengal and parts of Orissa) who sailed to Sri Lanka, after being banished from his home state. All the subsequent kings who ruled Singhala trace their ancestry to this prince. Their royal history has been recorded in the Sinhalese epic called the Mahavamsa.
More recently, based on cultural, linguistic and genetic studies, historians have come to believe that the Sinhalese are actually the descendants of the migrants from eastern parts of India. (Refer chapter: Kingdoms of the Lion from ‘The Ocean of Churn’ by Sanjeev Sanyal.)
Considering the clear evidence of the link between eastern India and Sri Lanka, would it be presumptuousness to consider the possibility of Ravana’s story travelling from Lanka to Singhala along with the migrants and taking fresh root there? Is it possible that Ravana's Sri Lanka is the ancient precedent to USA's 'New' York?
Only due research and the political climate to accept its repercussions can get us the answers!
Note: The research to locate Ravana's Lanka is real, and so is the research to establish the genetic and cultural origins of the Sinhalese. But the attempt to connect the dots is sheer speculation on my part. The idea is to open up these topics for debate.
Wow. An interesting perspective on the Lanka we have usually visualised in all the serials, books and movies.
ReplyDeleteThanks Vijay. Appreciate your feedback.
DeleteGreat...but how will you explain samudra Setu and rameshwaram.
ReplyDeleteGreat...but how will you explain samudra Setu and rameshwaram.
ReplyDeleteSamudra setu is yet another fictional reality that exists only in people's minds. Actual geographical evidence has been scanty. Stories (and not Rama) travelled large distances and specific places came to be associated with certain episodes in the story. Rameshwaram could be one such temple. Kings built huge temples and sanctity to those temples was established through such stories.
ReplyDelete