Mil Gaye Ram! – Part III

Tracing evidence of Lord Ram and his times

Report: Rahul Sinha Adapted by: Deepak Nagpal So far, we have travelled through Chitrakoot in India and Norliya in Sri Lanka in our search of Ram. We have also found several things that hint at the existence of Ram. However, we still have to come face-to-face with several things, which will lend weight to our belief that the Ramayana and everything mentioned in this epic is true. The Ashes After visiting Chinmaya Temple, we were told that Hanuman had left behind a legacy in Lanka which is still present in its original form – a legacy of ashes which every child in India knows about. Located close to Ashok Vatika in Norliya are mountains whose soil is of black colour. The researcher on Ramayana, Harinder Sikka told us that mountains located on the left side of the Sita Jharna have black soil while mountains on the right have soil which is of usual brown colour. Sikka said that the colour of the soil is black because Hanuman had put these mountains on fire along with Ravan’s Lanka, as mentioned in the Ramayana. It is difficult to find the end of these mountains which are spread as far as the vision goes. The soil of these mountains looks like ash but what’s striking is the fact these mountains are extremely dense. It’s not just the soil of these mountains which is black but also the rocks. It looks as if these rocks were also burnt. When we asked the locals about any huge fire occurring in the area in recent memory, the answer was in the negative. Monkeys With Black Tail While roaming around these mountains, we were shocked to see monkeys whose tails are also black in colour, unlike the brown body. As if this shock wasn’t surprising enough, what we saw next left us speechless. When we went little closer to these monkeys, who were shy unlike their naughty Indian counterparts, we found that their lips and ears were also of black colour. Locals said the reason behind their black lips, ears and tails is linked to Hanuman. Lanka Naresh Finds Us With our search for proofs of Ramayana still incomplete, we decided to leave these monkeys, ashy mountains and sleeping Hanuman behind. As we travelled further in Norliya, we came across a display board the words written on which read – Ravan Ella. What we were trying to find had suddenly appeared in front of us. When we enquired about this place from locals, they told us that a King named Ravan used to bathe here. They also showed us a rock on which he used to sit while taking bath in the waterfall. The force with which water used to fall from the top was immense some years back but it has now subsided, as we found. However, the force was still such that we were frightened to even think about being in its way. The board with words Ravan Ella had been put up by the Sri Lankan government, which proved that it is the present-day Sri Lanka which was earlier called Lanka and that Ravan belonged to this very same land. One More Setu It’s not just Ram Setu which connects Sri Lanka with India, but also a mountain which is believed to be a part of the great Himalayas. It is said the magical Sanjeevani is found on this mountain only. It is this small mountain which Hanuman brought from India to Sri Lanka. The mountain is called Romosola, or Sumeru Parvat, which is situated on the coast of Sri Lanka. If one travels by an aeroplane or helicopter, he will find that this type of mountain is not found anywhere else on Sri Lanka’s entire coastline. While roaming around the mountain, we met a local resident named Dharamsree. He expressed ignorance about Sanjeevani, but said people in a nearby village come to this mountain whenever anybody falls ill. The villagers use various kinds of tree leaves to cure the ill. As we were trying to find the glowing Sanjeevani, which we unluckily didn’t find, we saw Sikka concentrating on some leaves. Then we came to know that he was the director of a famous Indian pharmaceutical company, Nicholas Piramal. He then cleared all the doubts we had about the usefulness of these tree leaves. According to Sikka, 90 percent of the plants and trees on the Sumeru Parvat had medicinal value. He said that such trees are found only in Himalayas. Many of the plants found on Sumeru Parvat were beneficial in the treatment of heart ailments, allergies, body rashes, problems related to bones etc. Also located at one corner of the mountain is a statue of Hanuman in which he is shown as carrying Sumeru Parvat. It was quite striking to find this kind of statue in a country which has only a handful of people who know about either Ram or Ravan. This highlighted the kind of faith which Sri Lankans had in Ram and Hanuman. The Journey Ends, But Not The Search Our search for Ram and the Ramayana ends here, but not the proofs which are spread across Sri Lanka and India. Many places in North Jaffna, Sri Lanka, are full of such proofs, as we are told. But due to several constraints we have to end our mission here. However, we are only halting our journey in search of Ram and hope to resume it sometime in future. Because as always, the search for truth never ends…!