Ram Setu or Rama’s bridge is a pathway that connects Pamban Island in Tamil Nadu to Mannar Island In Sri Lanka. The length of the Ram Setu is 48 KM (30 miles).
Ram Setu was built by Lord Rama’s Vanar Sena to reach Lanka so that they can free Mata Sita from Ravan’s clutches, the demon King of Lanka. Ram Setu was built under the guidance of Nal and Neel of Vanar Sena.
Reference of Ram Setu in Ramayana
Ramayana the epic of Sanatana Dharma written/composed by Maharishi Valmiki has a reference to Ram Setu. Lord Ram was the eldest son of Maharaja Dasrath, the king of Ayodhya. They were four brothers Ram, Lakshman, Bharat, and Shatrughan.
It was the time when Maharaja Dasrath decided to make Ram the new king of Ayodhya. But, Maharani Kaikeyi wanted her son, Bharat to be the king of Ayodhya.
That’s why she asked Maharaja Dashrath for 2 promises first, Ram has to go into exile for 14 years, and second, Bharat should be crowned as the new king of Ayodhya.
There was a saying in Raghukul that, रघुकुल रीत सदा चल आई, प्राण जाई पर वचन न जाई। Which means in Raghukul they keep their promise even if they die.
Maharaj Dasrath tried really hard to convince Maharani Kaikeyi not to ask for these promises but she didn’t agree. Finally, Maharaj Dasrath had to order Ram to go into exile for 14 years and announce Bharat as the new king of Ayodhya.
When Sri Ram, Mata Sita, and Lakshman went to take permission from Maharaja Dasrath before going into exile Maharaja Dasrath asked Sri Ram to break the promise and not to go into exile. But, Sri Ram replied, रघुकुल रीत सदा चल आई, प्राण जाई पर वचन न जाई। and went into exile.
Demon king Ravan abducted Mata Sita
Sri Ram, Mata Sita, and Lakshman were living in exile. They kept moving from one place to another and they finally reached Panchvati, a place located on the banks of the river Godavari.
Lakshman built a beautiful hut to live in near the river. Time passed and one-day demon Shurpanakha, sister of demon king Ravan was wandering through Panchvati she saw Ram and Lakshman and fell in love.
Shurpanakha approached Sri Ram and requested him to marry but Sri Ram replied, I am already married but you can request my younger brother. But, Lakshman rejected her.
Shurpanakha thought if she would kill Sita, Ram would marry her and she attacked Mata Sita. Lakshman, full of anger, drew out his sword and cut off Shurpanakha’s nose.
Shurpanakha ran away into the forest with pain and reached to her brothers Khar and Dusan and asked them to take revenge for her insult. Khar and Dusan reached Panchvati with their army but Sri Ram and Lakshman killed all of them including Khar and Dusan.
Shurpanakha flew away and reached Lanka. She told demon King Ravan about the whole incident and asked him to take revenge for her insult. Shurpanakha also told Ravan about Mata Sita, and how beautiful and charming she is. Ravan draws out an evil plan to Kidnap Sita.
Mata Sita saw a golden Deer in the forest of Panchvati and asked Sri Ram to get that Deer for her. Sri Ram went behind that Deer, It was not easy to catch the Deer alive so Sri Ram killed the Deer with an arrow.
Maricha, master of disguise, screamed imitating Sri Ram for Sita and Lakshman’s help. Sita requested Lakshman to go for Ram’s help, before going in search of Sri Ram, Lakshman drew a line around the hut and asked Mata Sita not to cross the line until he came back.
Ravan changed his appearance and became a Sage and approached Mata Sita asking for food. Sita brought some food for the disguised Ravan. Before, she could understand anything Ravan abducted her and flew away to Lanka in his chariot.
Sita screamed for help, Jatayu heard Sita’s scream and reached to help. But, Ravan was so powerful that he cut off the feathers of Jatayu mercilessly and Jatayu fell.
Quest of Mata Sita
Ram and Lakshman came back to the hut when they didn’t find Sita. They went into the forest in search of Sita, where they met with Jatayu who told Sri Ram that Ravan, King of Lanka had kidnapped Mata Sita.
Ram and Lakshman reached Kishkindha to seek the help of Sugriva to free Mata Sita from Ravan’s clutches. In Kishkindha Ram, he has to kill Vali, the elder brother of Sugriva, to help Sugriva get his kingdom and wife back.
Sugriva became king of Kishkindha and ordered his monkey army to search for Mata Sita in all directions. While searching for Sita, Hanuman and others met Sampati, brother of Jatayu who told them exactly where Mata Sita is and how to reach there.
Hanuman reached Lanka and met Mata Sita in Ashok Vatika. Hanuman came back to Kishkindha and told Sri Ram, that Mata Sita is in Lanka and she is waiting for Sri Ram to come and free her from Ravan’s clutches.
Construction of Ram Setu
Sri Ram, Lakshman accompanied by Sugriva’s Vanar Sena marched towards Lanka. They reached the Ocean, and there was no way to move forward. Sri Ram requested the ocean (Samudra dev) to give them a way to Lanka, but Samudra dev told Sri Ram that it is beyond his powers and asked him to request Mahadev.
Sri Ram made a Shivaling and prayed to Shiva. Shiva appeared in front of Sri Ram and suggested building a Setu. Nal had the expertise of an architect since he was the son of Vishwakarma (Divine Architect).
He has the power to make stones float on water. Nal made the stones float on water but they were not staying in one place, then Hanuman came up with the idea of writing Sri Ram’s name on the stones. This idea worked and stones stayed in their place.
A bridge was constructed across the ocean to Lanka under the guidance of Nal, which is known as Ram Setu. Sri Ram and his army crossed the ocean and reached Lanka.
Sri Ram fought a war with the demon king of Lanka, Ravan. Ultimately, Sri Ram killed Ravan with the help of Vibhishan, Ravan’s younger brother, and freed Mata Sita from the clutches of Ravan.
Sri Ram made Vibhishan the new king of Lanka. Vibhishan with all due respect handed over Mata Sita to Sri Ram. Sri Ram, Mata Sita, and Lakshaman along with Sugriva and his army came back to Ayodhya. The people of Ayodhya celebrated Diwali to welcome their most loved prince, Sri Ram.
Ram Setu is at least 10,000 years old. In the current scenario, Ram Setu serves as a pathway that connects Pamban Island in Tamil Nadu to Mannar Island In Sri Lanka. The length of the Ram Setu is 48 KM (30 miles).
Ram Setu: A Symbol of Love In a True Sense
To fulfil, Maharaj Dasrath’s Promise, Sri Ram went into exile, accompanied by Mata Sita and his younger brother Lakshman. They were living in Panchvati, a place near the Godavari river. Where, Demon Shurpanakha approached Sri Ram to marry her but Sri Ram told her, that he is already married.
Shurpanakha thought if she would kill Mata Sita then Ram would marry her, and she attacked Sita. To save Mata Sita from Shurpanakha Lakshman drew out his sword and cut off her nose.
To take revenge for Shurpanakha’s insult, Ravan abducted Mata Sita and took her to Lanka in his chariot. Sri Ram loved Mata Sita so much that he searched for Sita in almost every forest, village, etc. While searching for Sita, Sri ram met Jatayu, who told Sri Ram that Mata Sita was abducted by Ravan, the king of Lanka.
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When Sri Ram, Lakshman with Sugriva’s Vanar Sena marched towards Lanka, they reached the Ocean and there was no way to move forward. Then Vanar Sena built the Ram Setu across the ocean to Lanka, under the guidance of Nal (Son of divine architect Vishwakarma).
Ram Setu played a very crucial role in reaching Lanka. It was Ram Setu that helped Sri Ram and his army to reach Lanka and get Mata Sita free from Ravan’s clutches.
Ram Setu became a way for Sri Ram to reach his love, Mata Sita. That’s why there will be nothing wrong if we call Ram Setu: a symbol of Love.
Comparison of Ram Setu and Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal situated in Agra, Uttar Pradesh is also known as the Symbol of Love. Taj Mahal was built by Mughal ruler, Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died while giving birth to their 14th child.
Taj Mahal is a beautiful Monument, No doubt about it but do you know that Shah Jahan chopped off the hands of the people who constructed the Taj Mahal, Just to make sure that another Taj Mahal couldn’t be built again in the future?
This is the dark side of the Taj Mahal’s history. The people who built this beautiful Monument were rewarded in such an awful way.
While in the case of Ram Setu, Sri Ram, Mata Sita, and Lakshman along with Sugriva and his Vanar Sena came back to Ayodhya, where they celebrated Diwali with the people of Ayodhya.
Sri Ram gave all due respect and credit to the Vanar Sena for helping him in search of Mata Sita and fighting a war against the demon King, Ravan. Sri Ram neither killed anyone nor chopped off the hands which built the Ram Setu.
Ram Setu helped Sri Ram to reach Lanka and meet his love, Mata Sita and played a very crucial role in getting Mata Sita free from Ravan’s clutches. That’s why we can say that Ram Setu is a symbol of Love in a true sense.
Why did the government want to blow up the Ram Setu?
In the past, the Indian government had planned to blow up Ram Setu many times, almost 24 times under the project Sethusamudram, a project to create an alternative shorter route for ships to cross the Gulf of Mannar.
In 2007, UPA and DMK alliance was in power and they decided to blow up the Ram Setu with RDX, under the project of Sethusamudram. They knew that this step will hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus but still the government wanted to blow up the Ram Setu.
How ironic it is, that this was the same government that changed the metro route to save the Qutub Minar and stopped a corridor to save the Taj Mahal’s surroundings, was ready to destroy the unique symbol of national identity, which was well preserved for ages.
M. Karunanidhi of DMK had said in a rally while addressing Muslims that “Hindus ruptured the Babri Masjid, now I will rupture the Ram Setu” to appease the Muslim vote bank. They even took the steps to do so in 2007 in the UPA-led Government.
Dr. Subramanian Swamy saved Ram Setu from being ruptured
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), and various Shankaracharya’s filed a petition in the supreme court to save Ram Setu but the petition was rejected by the Supreme Court of India.
Then, RSS chief Sudharshan Ji requested Dr. Subramanian Swamy to take up this case and Swamy Ji fought the case of Ram Setu in the Supreme Court of India.
Dr. Subramanian Swamy filed a petition in Supreme Court but, this time the subject was shifted from ‘religious ground’ to ‘Huge expenditure of taxpayer’s money on the project Sethusamudram.
The Honourable Supreme Court of India heard the case and ultimately gave the stay and Ram Setu was saved by the efforts of Swamy Ji, RSS, Shankaracharya, and many more.
Note: To get more clarity on how Subramanian Swamy saved Ram Setu, you can watch his interview given to Ishkaran Bhandari on Youtube.
Later, Dr. Subramanian Swamy filed another petition to give the Ram Setu National Heritage status so that no future Government can rupture the Ram Setu. This petition is still pending in court. But, what actually matters is that we have saved the Ram Setu from being ruptured.
Conclusion
Ram Setu played a very crucial role in reaching Lanka. It was Ram Setu that helped Sri Ram and his army to reach Lanka, and get Mata Sita free from Ravan’s clutches. Ram Setu became a way for Sri Ram to reach his love, Mata Sita.
Sri Ram gave all due respect and credit to the Vanar Sena for helping him in search of Mata Sita and fighting a war against the demon King, Ravan.
Sri Ram neither killed anyone nor chopped off the hands which built the Ram Setu, like in the case of the Taj Mahal. That’s why there will be nothing wrong if we call Ram Setu: A symbol of Love.