We Indians are the products of one of the oldest civilisations. We need to be really proud of our ancient history and cultural heritage. However, during the British Rule, we developed an inferiority complex, which adversely affected our quest to unearth facts relating to our glorious past. But our young and educated men and women, born and brought up in independent India, are capable of unearthing the true facts and are confident enough to evaluate these objectively.
Shri Ram being most basic to Indian "ethos", it is necessary to know who is Shri Ram? Was he really born? If yes, when and where? As is believed by crores of people did he really put his feet on the Indian territory from North to South, reducing the sufferings of mankind and ensuring victory of good over evil? Let us take a look at historical facts:
The story of Shri Ram's 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.
Mr Pushkar Bhatnagar of the Indian Revenue Service had acquired this software from the US. It is used to predict the solar/lunar eclipses and distance and location of other planets from earth. He entered the relevant details about the planetary positions narrated by Maharishi Valmiki and obtained very interesting and convincing results, 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, Kalidasa's 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 Janaka's kingdom. Here he married Sita after breaking Shiv Dhanusha. Researchers have gone along the route adopted by Shri Ram as narrated in the Valmiki Ramayan and found 23 places which have memorials that commemorate the events related to the life of Shri Ram. These include Shringi Ashram, Ramghat, Tadka Van, Sidhhashram, Gautamashram, Janakpur (now in Nepal), Sita Kund, etc. Memorials are built for great men and not for fictitious characters.
Date of exile of Shri Ram: It is mentioned in Valmiki Ramayan's 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. Dashratha's 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 Ram's 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 B
Shiva? There is no evidence that Shiva incarnated as human. Krishna of course there has to be since Dwaraka and other places surrounding his story are existing. But again Krishna' story is only a 'purana' and not recorded like Rama's by Valmiki so it is tough to analyse it similar. But would be interesting to know if anyone did.
I have also been pondering on this lines. Also, I have no idea about what happened even to Lava and Kusa after they uinite with Rama. Also the offspirngs of Lakshmana, Bharatha and Shatrugna.
Swaroop, the uttara kanda does mention that Lava and Kusa inherit the throne after Sri Rama departs for the heavens. I guess being twins they inherit it together. Also Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrugna do have progeny and their own respective kingdoms. The detail of kingdoms is there (Lakshmana's capital was supposedly Lucknow of now, Shatrugna - Simla somwhere near kashmir, Bharata I don't remember) but names of progeny etc not so.
The Ramayana does not end like the Mahabharat with the end of the yuga, only with Sri rama and sita going back to their abodes. It would be interesting to know what happened after.
SPS, yes and no. There are research based debates on whether Valmiki was male or female (a'la tiruvalluvar although based on the story telling one can conclude logically he is male), whether the Ramayana itself is one contiguous story told by this person (even without Uttara Kanda) since there is so much ambiguity in characters now and then.
There is no conclusive evidence anywhere on anything. As far as what I have read Paula Richman's research is very objective and does not offend sentiments. She does mention that uttara kanda is regarded 'edai cherugal' because Rama devotees have a difficult time understanding his treatment of Sita as explained here.
>>>>>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
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.
- that is because of the precession of the equinox at the rate of 1 degree every 72 years (50.24 seconds per year). That means, from the location in the backdrop of the zodiac where Sun was sighted at the time of Rama's birth, it had regressed backwards (anticlockwise in the zodiac)to January 10th for the same astro details. when Ramavathara happened.
Assuming that Prof Bhatnagar's calculation is correct, the degrees that are past can be roughly calculated like this.
Birth date on January 10th means Sun at 26 degrees in the constellation of Sagittarius (Dhanus / Maargazhi) The remaining degrees for January (maargazhi)= 4 For Thai = 30 degrees For maasi = 30 degrees For Panguni = 30 degrees For Chitthirai = 10 degrees (for, Valimiki's narration indicates sun at 10 degrees in Aries) Added together it comes to 104 degrees. This multiplied by 72 gives 7,488 years. That is, Ramavathar happened approximately (approximately because I have not taken into account the exact position in terms of degrees, minutes and seconds)7488 years ago or around 5400 BC.
This is how the corresponding time in January in the present day time is understood.
Here again there are bound to be minor variations in degrees, for, precession has not been a constant at all times.
Science has no clues about it and has no ways and means to know how it differed in the past.
But olden texts do give us indications of how the precession varied at different times and the time periods where we have to apply corrections.
It is not known if Prof Bhatnagar has taken into account all that.
Another calculation given by Prof Vartak puts the date of Rama at Dec 4th, 7323 BC.
What is known from these is that Ramavathra happened in the measurable time scale of Human living which is based on the 28,800 year cycle of one complete revolution of the precession of the sun around the zodiac. The basic unit of this time scale is 60 years (what we commemorate as shashti aptha poorthy)in the Luni-solar calender of 5 rounds of the luni-solar years (5x12).