The story of
Shri Rams' 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.
Upon Entering the
relevant details about the planetary positions narrated by Maharishi Valmiki very
interesting and convincing results were obtained, 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
(7121 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, Kalidasas'
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 Janaks' kingdom. Here, he married Sita
after breaking Shiv Dhanusha.
Date of exile of
Shri Ram: It is mentioned in Valmiki Ramayans' 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.
Dashrathas'-
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 Rams' 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).
In Valmiki Ramayan it is mentioned that Shri
Rams' army constructed a bridge over the sea between Rameshwaram and Lanka.
After crossing
this bridge, Shri Rams' army had defeated Ravana. Recently,NASA put pictures on
the Internet of a man-made bridge, the ruins of which are lying submerged in
Palk Strait between Rameshwaram and Sri Lanka.
Recently the Sri Lankan Government had
expressed the desire to develop Sita Vatika as a tourist spot. Sri Lankans
believe this was Ashok Vatika where Ravana had kept Sita as a prisoner (in 5076
BC).
Most of the
festivals celebrated in these areas revolve around the events in the life of
Shri Ram and Shri Krishna. The events
and places related to the life of Shri Ram and Sita are true cultural and
social heritage of every Indian irrespective of caste and creed. Therefore, it
is common heritage.
After all, Shri
Ram belonged to the period when Prophet Mohammed or Jesus Christ were not born
and Muslim or Christian faiths were unknown to the world.
The words Hindu
(resident of Hindustan) and Indian (resident of India) were synonymous. India
was also known as Bharat (land of knowledge) and Aryavarta (where Aryans live)
and Hindustan (land of "Hindus" - derived from word Indus). During
Ram Rajya, the evils of caste system based on birth were non-existent. In fact,
Maharishi Valmiki is stated to be of Shudra class (scheduled caste), still
Sita
lived with him as his adopted daughter after she was banished from Ayodhya.
Luv and Kush grew in his ashram as his
disciples. We need to be proud of the fact that Valmiki was perhaps the first
great astronomer and that his study of planetary configurations has stood the
test of times. Even the latest computer softwares have corroborated his astronomical
calculations, which proves that he did not commit any error.
Shabri is stated to be belonging to the Bheel
tribe. Shri Rams' army, which succeeded in defeating Ravana, was formed by
various tribals from Central and South India.
The facts, events
and all other details relating to the life of Shri Ram are the common heritage
of all the Indians including scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, Muslims,
Christians, etc.
Prophet Mohammad
was born 1,400 years ago.
Jesus Christ was
born 2,000 years back.
Gautam Buddha
was born 2,600 years back,
whereas Ram was
born 7,000 years back.
Hence,
discovering the details relating to Shri Rams' life would be lot more difficult
as destruction caused by floods, earthquakes and invasions etc., would be far
greater. But, should that stop our quest for learning more about our cultural
heritage?
Let us all take pride in the fact
that the Indian civilisation is the most ancient civilisation today. It is
certainly more than 10,000 years old.
Thanks for Reading
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