Could Lanka be Located at Dholavira

Some Ramayana references look like reflections of the flora and topography of Sri Lanka, but the depiction of the expedition of Angada and Hanuman to locate Ràvana’s home creates doubts about the identification. According to it Ràvana’s kingdom is 100 yojanas from the ocean's shore (sàgara-rodhasi ) at the foot of the Vindhya Mountain. What is this sàgara? How can Sri Lanka be only 100 yojanas from the Vindhya Mountain? To understand this riddle, we look at how the Ramayana developed to be what it is. It has an ancient kernel and many accretions added by popular reciters. The German scholar Jacobi has shown that the expeditions to discover the home of Sita’s captor were added by later reciters who had their own reasons for doing so. We cannot expect to find geographical or historical accuracy in these descriptions.

Searching Rāma’s route of exile, there are three types of interpretation based on different sources, i.e., Vālmiki’s Rāmāyana, folk literature, and critical examination of literary sources along with archaeological and field studies. There exists controversy among the scholars to finally accept the route. A systematic account of the three proposals are presented and illustrated with three maps here in the geographic context, which clearly refer to close relationships among natural landscape, sense of sacrality and the ancient route of pilgrimages. Key words: Vālmiki’s Rāmāyana, alternative route and reconstruction.

South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 2019

The five articles which make up this special issue of South Asia explore the role of the Ramayana in Sri Lankan art, literature, religious ritual and political discourse in shaping Sinhala Buddhist and Tamil Saiva perceptions of the island's distant past. Contributors work to answer the question as to when and how Sri Lanka came to be equated with the mythic 'Lankapura' of Valmiki's epic, exploring both positive and negative portrayals of Ravana (ruler of Lanka antagonist of the Ramayana) in Sinhala and Tamil literature from the late medieval period to the present day. Authors work to account for the politicisation and historicisation of the Ramayana in twenty-first century Sri Lanka (including similarities to and differences from the contemporary Indian situation), along with the appropriation of Ravana as a Sinhala Buddhist cultural hero, and the incorporation of Vibhishana as a 'guardian deity' in the Sinhala Buddhist pantheon.

where he teaches courses in Sanskrit and Old Javanese language, linguistics and literature. R J is a graduate of Leiden University. He has published extensively on ancient Javanese history and culture. His last book, co-authored by Brian Colless, is e Mahārājas of the Isles; e Śailendras and the problem of Śrīvijaya (), which deals with the position of the foreign Śailendra dynasty in Javanese and Malay-Sumatran history (-c.  ).

Rivista Degli Studi Orientali 1-2, 2019

Srinandanandana dasa, is a prolific American scholar and follower of Krishna. As well as several of the vaisnavas erudites of the past of India, stood out for their brilliant apologetic presentation, this author is a worthy specimen by specialists in the field of social studies on this matter. His works are characterized by refuting and clarifying the attacks on the Hindu Culture and Dharma, presenting with mastery the various historical sciences, which underpin this cultural legacy. Here we will explore one of his writings, which presents the refutation of certain Indian militant atheism-political groups attacks , against one of the most outstanding personalities in the History and Culture of India. We refer to Sri Rama (Ramachandra). The epic hero of Ramayana saga, one of the masterpieces that embodies the ideals of the such culture and that its exploits, still remain alive, not only in India, but in almost all South Asia, with all over the world of Letters and Humanities, around the planet.

Oak claims that the Laṅkā of the Rāmāyaṇa was not Sri Lanka. There was no need for Rāma Setu in 12209 BCE as India and Sri Lanka were connected by land. This fact itself should have made it obvious to Oak that his dating of the Rāmāyaṇa is wrong. However, Oak claims that the Laṅkā of the Rāmāyaṇa was on the equator This is based on the description given in Indian astronomy texts. These texts also state that at 90° east of Laṅkā on the equator is the city called Yamakoṭi, at 90° west of Laṅkā on the equator is the city called Romaka, and directly opposite Laṅkā on the equator at 180° in either the east or west direction is the city called Siddhapurī (or Siddhapura). There never was any city at any of these locations. These were just four mathematically defined points.