(BC 1292-1225) the RamayanaRama, the Greatest Pharaoh of Egypt. BY MALLADI VENKATA RATNAM B.A ; Retured Vice Principal, Government Training College, RAJAHMUNDRY South Indta, “Whenever a dogmatic system has held the ground of thought for two or three generations, there 18 a troubled time when its posttion 1s shown to be assailable Fresh ideas tmpinging on it are resisted with contempt or abuse, and those who furnish the new stand-point will need to find the strength and defensibility of their position This 1s true of the history of dogmatic belief, and equally true of the later system of dogmatic disbelief” From the “‘Anctent Egypt’ for December 1932, edited by Prof Suc Funders Petrie, F RS ina r~~-w of the ‘ZLanauaae of the Pentateuch on ris relation to Egypgen wy 1seeby All rights reserved } [Price Rs. 10“Should a man act like an animal, which, if strong, oppresses the weak and even puts them to death, he1s more an animal than a man, He alone can fitly be called a man, who, being strong, protects the weak He that injures others in order to gain his selfish ends can only be called a big animal” “It does not become wise men to mislead people” “SATYARTH PRAKASH’ BY Swami Day&anand Sarasvati, Founder of the ARYA SAMAJ. “Be sober, be watchful, your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lon, walketh about seeking whom be may devour”. The Bible I Peter. v 8PREFACE My first Essay on Rama was published four years ago, identifying him with Rameses II, the most famous Pharaoh of Egypt Butit failed to convince some readers, while others were pleased with it and felt interested m the problem raised and the solution offered by me. My first suspicion regarding the truth of the story of Rama beleved to be an Indian king was first roused by a remark casually made in the course of a conversation by an eminent and clearsighted Telugu Brahmin Pundit, that the Lanka of the Ramayana 18 not Ceylon, as the readers of the Poem generally take 1t tobe, but that 1t 1s situated some other where After retirement I happened toread Hugh Winckler’s Ekstory of Assyria and Babylona in an English translation, and it-enabled me to identify Dasa-ratha with Dushratta, King of Mitann. m Syma The mention of this Aryan king led me even- tually to read the history of Anczent Egypt The description of the Great Temple at Abu Simbel in Nubia, south of Egypt, supplied the complete solution of the Ramayana Story The four gigantic figures at the entrance and the representation inside the Temple of Rameses ITca slayimg ten enemies of his made the whole story vivid before one’s eyes. Henceforth there could be no doubt that Rama was an EGYPTIAN and not an INDIAN In this second Essay I have attempted to show that every statement made in the Epic about Rima really applies to Rameses IT, and that all the evidence bearing on the subject exists in Egypt to ths day, sculptured in rock and pourtrayed on the walls of the temples there, while there 1s absolutely none of 1t whatever in India J have reproduced all the evidence in the words of my witnesses themselves, placing myself in the role of a lawyer arguing his case before a Bench of learned Judges, who, in this instance, are the whole learned world, compe- tent to pronounce a decision on the question As all the works of the authorities quoted here cannot be expected to be ready at hand for my judges and other readers to refer to, I have thought 1% best to adopt this course Hence the Essay contains much quoted matter The evidence of the authorities quoted is un- impeachable and for the accuracy of the quota- tions'I am responsible The main point for the reader to consider 1s especially to see whether my case has beenli made out to one’s satisfaction. On many other points I have given my views which may or may not be convincing enough to every one If my case put in the form that has been adopted here should still be found to be uncon- vineing, I hope other scholars better qualified than'myself will take up the study, as in my opinion there is a mine here for them to exca- vate, which will reveal much that 1s obscure in Indian History and Literature In this Essay several surprising identifica- tions are made, as, for instance, the one about the Rishi Agastya and his family. Every section of 1t contains some fresh and interest- ing information or other, which 1s sure to rivet the reader’s attention on the subject and a great deal more than one ordinarily expects to learn from the Epic 1s laid bare here relating to the origin and development of Hinduism and kindred matters My thanks are due to the Printers who have spared no pains to turn out good work as far as it lay in their power The proof-reading which is always a very trying task was kindly done for me by Mr. B. Somasundara Rao,M A ,LT , Lecturer 1m History, Government Training College, Rajahmundry.Vi The Index was prepared forme by my daughter Miss B Venkataratnam, MA, Lec- turer in Philosophy, Isabella Thoburn College, Lucknow My thanks are offered to several friends from whom I received some help or other in the course of the preparation of this book All such help 1s also acknowledged in the body of the book. Bareilly, UP, India, } M VENKATA RATNAM. 28, February, 1934Contents of Vol. I page PARTI Introductory (pp 1-28) Section I Whois Rama? a 3 » II Our “Valmiki Ramayana” a compo: } 4 site work » III The Substance of the Narada Rama-} ng yana 7 IV The Substance of the Original or Real} W Valmiki Ramayana es V_ The Pseudo-Valmikis Version of a 15 Ramayana, Our present “Valmiki” PART II Examination of our Valmiki Ramayana (pp 29-72) Section VI Some General Observations on } 31 Pseudo-Valmiki’s Version » VIL Particular Examination of P V2’s } 45 Version of the Ramayana » VWIII Date of the Composition of PV,’s Version of the Ramayana and the Egyptian Origin of Rama’s story PART II The Examination and Explanation of Narada Ramayana (pp 73-171) Section IX Who 1s Narada? 1 » X Narada Ramayana explained 19 Rama: His Name. » ‘XI What City 1s the Real Ayodhya? 88 » IL What does the name cee 96 really mean?2 + XIIZ Whois Guha? 105 » XIV What river is really meant by P Va } 41 under the name of the “Ganges”? a XV What 1s the real Chitra-kuta ? 116 » XVI Where is the Dandaka Aranyam ? 118 » XVII Rama kills Viradha the Rakshasa 122 » XVIIL Rama’s vistt to Sara-bhanga 123 2 1X Rama’s visit to Su-tikshna 127 ea XX The Real Beginning of the Ramayana }rze War » S&L Who is Ravana? 183 » XXIL Who is Maricha? 142 » XXIII Who 1s Sita? 147 x» XXIV Where is the Lanka of the Ramayana? 151 » &XV The Indian Legend of Rama compared with the History of Rameses IT 156 of Egypt » XXVI Where 1s the Real Ravana seen now? 167 PART IV Exammation of the Original or Real Valmiki: Ramayana (pp 173-211) Sec XXVII Whois Valmiki? 175 » XXVIII Whois Agastya? 178 » XXIX Whois Lopamudra, Agastya’s wife 193 » XXX Whois Su-darsana Agastya’s so- } called Brother? 199 » X&XXI Whois Vah? 202 x» XXXII Conclusion 210 PART V Other Particulars given about Rama Examined (pp 212-end), Sec. XXXIII General Remarks : 215 » XXXIV Whois Dasa-ratha? 219 » XXXV Whatis Rama’s Parentage and origin? 2343 » XXXVI Who are Rama’s Brothers—“Those » XXXVII Who 1s Rama’s mother, Kausalya? awful Brethren”? } » SXXVIII Where was the Kingdom of Kosala? » XXXIX Who was Kaikey1? Who was Su-mitra? Rama’s First Experience of War Who is Visvamitra? What does the Vamana Avatar really mean? What does the Kurma Avatar of Vishnu really mean? Were the Gautamas really Indians or Egyptians? Rama’s Marriage, Where 1s Mithila? Who 1s Janaka, whose bow none else could bend? Who is Parasu Rama? Where 1s Nandi-grama? Why 1s the River Jumna so-called? } } } } Why 1s the River Godavari so-called? Whai are really “Jatayu” and “Sampaty” On the Eagle Concluding observations } 244 249 251 254 262 266 272 279 283 287 299 305 310 313 315 318 322 327 330 334VI-b VII Ix List of Ilastrations m Vol. I. page Rameses II, the Greatest Pharaoh of Egypt (BC 1292-1225) (The Rama of the Ramayana) facing the title page Rameses II's Statues at Abu Simbel 8 Goddess Ta-ur-t (Su-mantra, the Minister- coachman of Dasa-ratha ) 19 Map showing Rama’s and Bharata’s journeys according to the Ramayana 46 §ri Ranganadhaswami at Srirangam in S Inda 54 Map of the Delta of Ancient Egypt (from Memphis to Pelusium) 79 Map of Syria (from Pelusium to Kadesh) 79 The fallen Colossus of Rameses II at Mitrahineh in Egypt 92 The Sun Temple at Heliopolis m Egypt 112 The Ten-headed Ravana according to the Ramayana (see also p 167) 133 Queen Nefertari, wife of Rameses II (The Sita of the Ramayana) 147 Akhen-aton, Pharaoh of Egypt (BC 1370-1354) (The Risya Sringa of the Ramayana) 149 Yuaa (Skt 4ja), grandfather of Sit-amon 150XIIT XIV xv XVI XVII XVITI-a XVIII-b xx XXI XXII XXII XXIV 2 Chair presented to him by Sit-amon (found in his tomb) Tuaa (Tamil, Thays, Telugu, Tails) grandmother of Sit-amon Rameses II’s march against Kadesh in Syria, the Lanka of Ravana a Rameses II slaying ten enemies of his (Rama kalling the ten-headed Ravana) [see also p 133] Osiride Figures at Abu Simbel 150 ” 151 167 168 Map of Middle Egypt—Memphis to Baalu 175 » —Athribis to Philae (the two above to illustrate the Nubian War of Rameses II, that 1s, Rama’s march against Vali, both of which are combined in the Ramayana) Augustus Caesar at Philae in Egypt (The Agastya Maha Risht of the Ramayana) The Nile gods at the First Cataract in Egypt (The Vatapt and JIvala of the Ramayana) The Island of Philae at the First Cata- ract and the Temples of Augustus and Tiberius in 1t Livia, wife of Augustus (Lopamudra, wife of Agastya) Tiberius Caesar in Egypt (The Su-darsana of the Ramayana) ” 178 186 187 193 199 The Temple at Bet-el-Wali in Nubia (The Capital of Val, king of the monkeys, according to the Ramayana ) ow 2023 XXV_ Inscriptions on the wall of the Temple of Wali in Nubia, giving an account of the Nubian War carried on by Rameses IT 207 XXXVI Rameses II fighting against the Nubians and receiving tribute from them 207 XXVII The Mummy of Rameses IT [last page of Part V]66 68 81 92 112 116 122 127 131 132 184 188 232 236 259 295 306 Inne 16 & 17 13 8 16 ll 1 6 last line 8 7 10 17 4 4 9 Errata. For Read Tathagatha Tathagata in the last quarta [omit all these (note 2 on the words] last sheet) Miss Edwardes Miss Edwards (wherever this author 1s quoted) Herodotas Herodotus Gaugan. Gan-gan Traja or Troja Troya or Troja. was claimed to was the supre- be me ruler Su-tikshana Su-tikshna themselves [omit this word] Sciende Scinde Souther Egypt the South of Egypt Hape Hapi If, If [omit the first and] co Mus C Mus. gored them gored them with which near Nasik at NasikPART I INTRODUCTORYRama, the Greatest Pharaoh of Egypt OR Is Rama an Indian King ? If not, Who was He ? BEING AN ESSAY CONTAINING A FULL EXAMINATION OF THE STORY OF THE FAMOUS INDIAN EPIC SECTION I. In an Essay on Rama, entitled “ Whois Rama, the Hero of the Ramayana,” publish- ed in 1929, I stated what then struck me from astudy of the problem that he was no other than Rameses IT, the famous Pharaoh of Egypt. The interpretation there given of Rama’s story as contained in our so-called “Valmik1’s” poens, was quite a novel one, and went against the traditional view, hitherto universally accepted. by Sanskrit scholars and by the students of Indian History and Literature in general In this Essay a few more considerations are put forward, which are calculated, 1t 18 believed, to confirm my new interpretation of this story to a still greater extent.SECTION IT Our “Valmiki Ramayana” a composite work. The Ramayana of Valmiki, as we have 1t now, 1s a composite work (1) There is in it the earhest account of Rama’s story umbedded in the itihasa, (ht-‘so they say’, tradition) attributed to NARADA (2) There 1s mit an ORIGINAL or REAL VALMIET'S account of Rama, completing, cor- recting and supplementing no 1, above (3) There is mit the FIRST LOCALISATION of part of the story in NORTH INDIA (4) Thereisimit the SECOND LOCALISA- TION of the story combining nos. 1 & 2, and extending 1t to SourH INDIA (5) There is in 1t the work of other hands, who have interpolated some sections im nos R& 4 above Nos land2 above relate to matters of FACT,—to REAL HISTORY No. 3 1s substantially the same as part of no 1 but first unwarrantably localised in North India,RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT 5 Nos 3& 4 are spurious attempts, which will be designated PV, (Pseudo-Valmiki the First) and PV 2, (Pseudo-Valmiki the Second). No 5 can be detected by the collation of the vallous versions cuirent in India We have nothing to do with 1t in our present dis- cussion.SECTION IIT The Substance of the Narada Ramayana. The earliest source of Rama's story as it first came to India, is foundin what may be called NARADA RAMAYANA, which 1s eclipsed by the so-called “Valmiki's” expansion of 1t, as we have 1t now, and 1s usually passed over with but scant notice In spite of its being usually considered tobe merely the KATHA SANGRAHA or abstract of “Valmiki”, 1t contains the earliest tradition about Rama that reached India before the present “VALMI- KI RAMAYANA” was composed and threw the other quite into the shade. What does it tell us of Rama? In the first. sarga, chapter, of the first book,! kinda, of Valmiki, we read that he * In the followmg pages the books of our present “Valmiki” will be referred to by means of capital Roman figures, and the sargas, sections or chapters by small Roman figures, and the slokas or stanzas, by Arabic figuresRAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT z asked Narada a very highly interesting ques- tion, such a one that, if now asked about +he men of the present day, different people would, to a certainty, give quite different and perplexing replies “Who is there NOW IN THIS WORLD”, asked Valmiki, “that possesses an excellent character, gunavan, that 1s courageous, veryavan, that knows what 1s virtue, dharma-gnyascha, that is grateful, Arita gnyascha, that is truthful, satya-vakyo, and that is aman of resolution, dridha-vratah ? “Who leads a pure hfe, who 1s a friend of all ving beings, who 1s a learned and able man, and whom alone 11 1s a pleasure to look at? “Who 1s a hero, who has a control over his spirit of revenge, who has neither jealousy nor envy, and who 1s feared in battle, even by the gods, when he 1s angry?” (RI 1 2-4) This formidable question naturally perplex- ed Narada, as well it might, and he replied: “The characteristics you have named are many, and are not easily found 1n ordinary mortals. T shall think a moment, and give you a reply.” @117) He then proceeded8 RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT “Such a man as you have asked for 1s no other than Rama! He is well ‘known to all men He is a man of great self-control. RAMA’S STATUE AT ABU SIMBLL + Tt seems to me that all the detazls given of Rama's genealogy, parentage, andso on are really to be refer- red to the Original or True Valmik.,and that Narada contented {himself with merely speaking of that Hero’s greatness and of the Syrian War he had waged against Ravana, directly answering the question put to him It is with this war against Ravana that we are mainly concerned and of which we have to discover the original, the one described in the Ramayana being too plainly a copyRAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT $ “He has a sheeny figure He has high and broad shouldeis, and well-developed long aims, a throat smooth like a conch shell, and high cheeks He has a broad chest and a well-shaped. head, a fine forehead, and beautifully formed feet Hes neither tall nor short His limbs are ploportionately formed Huis body has the same colour throughout and a smooth surface He has big eyes” (R I 1 8-10) “TOnce] Rama left AYODHYA and reached SRINGI-BERA-PUR On the use here and :n another connection, by PV» of the name of ‘Ganges’ for a ‘river in general’ see the separate section below10 RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT MARICHA, for his assistance He was several times dissuaded by M&richa, who said to him, ‘O Ravana, 1t1s not good for you to be at enmity with that powerful Rama’ Disregarding his word, and being goaded by death, Ravana went with Maricha and carried away SITA, Rama’s wife Rama, hearing that she had been carried away, proceeded in search of her He crossed over a bridge to LANKA, killed Ravana in battle, and, returning with Sita to Ayddhya,’ took up the reins of Government there again ”? Having said this, Narada took leave of Valmila, and disappeared thiough the sky * > “ Ayodhyam prasthitah”” (R I 1 86) 2 “ Rayyam punar-avaptavan” (R I 1 89) * “jagama whayasam" (R I ui 2)SECTION IV The Substance of the Original or Real Valmiki Ramayana The REAL VALMIKI to whom Narada is said to have communicated the above account of ONE OF RAMA’S WARS, was not a Hindu He could not have been an Indian either knowing Sanskrit According to the Hindu accounts themselves he was outside the pale of the Hindu caste system, and is claimed by some of the present-day Depressed Classes so called, as their guru and originator or head of their CASTE, the VALMIKI KULAM (caste) He was evidently an out-caste to the Hindus and a foreigner Tt 1s, therefore, somewhat easy to separate has account of Rama from the version we have of our present “Valmiki”, which 1s reality 2 Vashnava Brahmin gentleman’s composition, by excluding all that 1s distinctly Hindu or Indian about 1t The real Valmikx’s version, which corrected, supplemented and expanded Narada’s version, appears, therefore, to have run on some such12 RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT lines as the following, the details beng omitted here “RAMA was born in AYODHYA, the capital of the Kingdom of KOSALA This Ayddhya was a great and ancient city, founded by MANU him- self on the banks of the Sarayu river Over such a city, ruled Dasa-1atha, who enlarged a great empuie,! and protected the world ? Having grown old, he announced to all his subjects,in a council, that, as he had grown weak, he desired to instal Rama, his eldest son, on the throne,(RII 1 8) All the subject princes applauded him forit All his subjects shouted their approval The ptiests also heartily co- operated with the people (R II u 17, 18,1 4) Thus was Rama made king Rama’s Expedition to the South. “Then Rama started from Ayddhya, and reached SRINGI-BERA-PURA on the banks of the Great River,? and spent the night with * “Maha-rashtra vwardhanah” (RI v 9, v1 4) * lohasya part-rakshata” (Ibid) * On the use by P V, of the name ‘Ganges’ that occurs in the text for ‘a river im general,’ see the Separate section on 1tRAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT 13 GUHA there Then he crossed the river and reached CHITRA-KUTA There only skele- tons without skulls were to be seen (R II liv 31) The Rishis from the surrounding places informed Rama of the annoyance caused to them through fear of him (Rama) tvam nmttam, by the Rakshasas, who resided at JANA-STHANA-PURA, and they, theiefore, had left that place for another: ASRAM, asylum, “The Rakshasa, Khara, a brother of Ravana’s is a terror to us here” (R.II cxvi 11-18) Then Rama visited ATRI and his wife ANASUYA (R IT cxvi-5) He then entered the DANDAKA ARANYAM (R IT exix 17, 22), and visited various Rishis He vowed to destroy the Rakshasas, as the Rushes there likewise complained tohim about them (R III vu.1,6) He then visited su- DARSANA Agastya’s brother, and AGASTYA him- self (R III xi 38, 71,72) Here,in the South, the Rakshasas and the Reshis lived at peace with each other? Rama went to live at » “yada prabhrite cha akranta digiyam punya karmana tada prabhrite ner-vatrah prasanta ragant charah” (R III x1 83)14 RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT PANCHA-VATI, “Five Banyan Trees,” about twenty miles away! from Agastya’s asram, on the banks of the GODAVERY® (R III xm 13, 14,19) It was not far from JANA-STHANA- PURA Thence Sita was carried away by RAVANA (R Il xv 1,2, xLvi 2, 32, xLix, 17, 22) Rama went WESTWARD in search of her (R Il ux 35, Lx: 29, ixxiv 1, Lxxv 6, 25-26) On the way, part of the country was as rich as the NORTH-KURU Country*® im natural wealth Rama then proceeded to KISH-KINDHA- PURA,'the capital of VALI, passing on the way a shrine of the MUNIS, monks, called SAPTA- JANA* He killed VALI Rama then proceeded to LANKA, killed RAVANA, and recovering Sita, returned to Ayédhya > “artha tritiyeshu yojane ” 1 For the meaning of the name of Godavery, see the separate section below 3 “Ruravo-he-yuttara-va” (R III Lxxin 6, 7) 4 “atra Sapta-jana nama munayas samsrita vratah saptarva asan adhas strsha myatam jalasayanam” (R IV xm 18)SECTION V The Pseudo-Valmiki’s Version of the Ramayana, Our present “Valmiki” These sketchy but interesting accounts of RAMA’s EXPLOITS furnished by Narada and the Real Valmiki are the bases of the story as 1t was first localised in North India and then extended to South India The tradition was first brought to India by the followers of Siva, (cf Sewa & Osiris). The Buddhists had thear version likewise Then the Vaishnavites adopted thesrs from the Saivites Some keensighted scholars also have noti- ced that this story was first confined to North India alone ? The Real Valmiki’s account of another of Rama's wars, embodying, correcting and sup- plementing the original tradition, which was first circulated and localised in North India alone by some colonists there, was subsequently expanded by a Vaishnavite Brahmin scholar— * See below for what 1s said on the River Jumna16 RAMA THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT P V,—and localised chiefly in SOUTH India. This last has eventually dominated all the other accounts, and become the universally accepted version of our “Valmiki Ramayana” We cannot quite know what PV,’s ver- sion was hke in its entirety, as his brother PV, has completely overshadowed him Some of the places so localised n North India can- not, therefore, be now traced We should remember that PV, 1s a third party, that reports to us the conversation said to have taken place between Narada and the Real Valmiki, and not that Real Valmiki him- self, and that the Real Valmiki’s account like- wise hes quite altered, coloured, obscured and imbedded in this third person’s—P V,.’s— version, which now passes for our ‘Valmiki ’ This P V,, plainly a worshipper of Vishnu, has naturally given a turnto the so-called Narada’s conversation with the Real Valmiki, by introducing some of his own views into 1t Compare, for instance, such slokas as R I 1 18° “In courage he (Rama) 1s the equal of Vishnu”, and the pious wishes expressed in the closing verses of that sarga (slokas 91-100) P V, names the same persons and places as he found in his authorities, and in addition,RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT 17 a few others which have NOW BaCONME DIS- TINCTLY INDIAN All of them, however, help us to trace to its source the true orzgenal of this more than ordinarily interesting story We are not at all concerned, now or ever, with the relzgzous views expressed in the poem, nor with the Folitzcs with which some people unhappily and quite unnecessarily associate 1t in their minds A student of History has noth- ing whatever to do with Religion or Politics. History, 1t 1s true, 1s past Politics,' but the Politics of Rama are so long, long past and so antiquated that there 1s no fear of their being useful for any one to learn or copy now-a-days. P V.’s version, then, 1s briefly this ‘There was a great kingdom, called KOSALA, on the banks of the River SARAYU, which 1s understood. to be what 1s now called the GOGRA River? Its capital, AYODHYA was the famous an- cient city founded by MANU himself It cover- ed an area of twelve yoganas* «in length by three yojanas in bieadth It was built on a level piece * the late Prot Freeman 2 Why the name of this river is now differentfrom what it 1s said to have been 15 not adequately explained 3 @ yoyana=8, 9, or 10 miles. s18 RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF &GYPT of ground 1n the form of an eight-squared dice- board, with the streets andthe royal way well laid out and daily watered It was protected by high walls and ramparts with an inaccessi- ble moat all round, and well defended by excel- Jent gates It was provided with all kinds of machines and weapons, which could nll a hundred people at a time It had public squares and well-arranged markets with houses all round them It had public parks raised as high as hills or mounds for people to enjoy them- selves! It had several palaces and many storied. buildings built of stone which shone like crystal stones’, and was crowded with people from all the countries of the world It was also full of horses, camels and mules or asses* Such was the City of Ayodhya which had no equal im all the world (R I v 5-to the end) In such a city lived DASA-RATHA, who ruled a great empire and enlarged it, and pro- tected the world? (R I v 7, v1 4,27) Having lived many thousands of years, usually restricted to the very modest figure of > .atnas—applied also to crystal rocks (Amara Kosa) * kharath * “maha rashtra vivardhanah locasya part-rakshita”Fig 1(1) Hieroglyphic for (a) (b) (co) (a) (b) (ce) Ra-user-ma=Ra-strong(in)-truth (2) pens Ra-ma-user = Rama-ts(var (see p 81 of this Essay) Fig Il » «» Ben-Ben \ =Gan-ga (B=G) water ' (see p 111 of this Essay) Fig Il Ta-ur-t and Ta-ur-t (at Stlsils (at Philae in Egypt) in Egypt) “Most curious of all, however, is a goddess named Ta-ur-t, (or Apet the great), represented in one of the side subjects of the shrine of Rameses IT This charming person, who has the body of a hippopotamus and the face of a woman [or of a mimster] wears a tie-wig anda robe of state with five capes, and looks like a cross between a Lord Chancellor and a voach- man” Miss Edwards “A Thousand Milks up the Nile’ p 397 This is the Su-mantra, the Minister Coachman, who drove Rama and his party ina carriage from Ayodhya up to the Ganges, according to the legend described in the Ramayana (see p 19 of this Essay ) Fig IV The City of Kadesh in Syria, the Lanka purt of the Ramayana (seep 151 of this Essay) Fig V_ The ring of Rameses II, which Hanuman 1s said to have shown Sita as his credential Fig VI The lingam, the symbol of Siva-ism i For the explanation of the other pictures in this block refer to their appropriate placesRAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT 19 siaty thousand('), he announced to all his sub- jects in a council, that, as he hadgrown old and weak, he desired to instal Rama, his eldest son, onthethrone (RIIu8) All the subject princes praised bim for 1t All his subjects shouted their approval The Brahmins also heartily co-ope- rated with the people (R II u. 17-18, 1, 4) Rama’s so-called Exile — Why PV, describes what 1s in reality a mulitary expedition of Rama’s under the guise of an exiled ascetic’s wanderings passes one’s understanding The only explanation possible is that his vision was obscured, looking at every thing with coloured glasses Possibly also he has related this legend as he had received 1t, at least in part, from some antiquated source His account is as follows -— The first day Rama, accompanied by Sita his wife, and by Lakshmana his brother, leaves AYODHYA ina coach and pair, driven by sU- MANTRA, one of his father’s MINISTERS! (R IT. u. 40, xL 1%) [In what year and of what era, and on what day and at what hour of 11, he started, we are not informed ]20 RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAON OF EGYPT He 10eaches the River Tamasa at sunset on that day (R II xLv 32, xLvi 12) The second day Early the next morning before dawn, he crossed it, and dodges the citizens of Ayddhya, who had followed him so far, by duecting his minister-coachman (') to go north in order to make them believe that Rama was returning to the capital, and then to turn south and to come back by a different way to pick him up (RIT xLvi 18, 28, 30,31, 34) Rama then enters the forest, vanam yuyau, and goes along way before suniise, and reaches the southern boundary of NORTH KOSALA (R II xlax 1,2) He passes the Késala country, and proceeds further south where Agastya was” (R II xlix 10) He crosses the River GUMTI’, and shows Sita the Kisala country from there (RII tax 1,2,10,11,13) Turning his face in the direction of Ayddhya he bids} goodbye to 1t He now pursues his journey along the road that ran thiougl the middle of the Kosala country, and leaves 1t behind him® To his south he sees the GANGES, 'and reaches SRINGI-BERA-PURA, which was on it (RII L 12,26) ;He spends the 1 This is an indication of P,V.’s desire to {carry on the story to SOUTH INDIA 2 “Gomatim atarat sagaram gamam ” + ‘tajyam madhena yayau”RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT 21 night there, in the companv of his bosom friend}, GUHA, the King of the Nusnadas, hunters (R IL L 82, 51) The Third Day He sends his carriage and drive: back to Ayddhya (RIT Lu 1,18), and putting on a sanyaszs disguise, ciosses the GANGES, pronouncing the prayer “ Daivim Nivam,’'*as he enters the boat (RIT Lu 78). 1 “ Ramasya-atma-samas-sahha” * “Dam Nuvaggo svariti am anagasam asravanium aruhema svastaye wmagam su-navum aruhagam saiaritragam satas sphyam achchidram par ayrshnum ” Krishna Yajur Veda Samlutu(Yagnyaalhya Tatth- riyam) 1 ashtam 6 prasna (pannam) 51 panasa This reference is given to me by Pandit Komal Visve 1adham Garu Mungonoda Agraharam, Razole Taluq, Hast Godavery District, South India MEANING — “We enter this Divine and holy boat for safety’s sake It does not leak and it takes us safely across the river- This good boat we enter Tt has a hundred tackle and a hundred weapons Tt has no leaks and 1s able to take us safely across”22 RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT He soon, kshiprameva, reaches the southern bank (R II u 92,101), and enters the Vatsa country Here, the first mght1is spent in the forest under a big tree “Now we have passed our country”, he says The Fourth Day On the morning of the fourth day (RII Liv 1,'2), when the sun rose brightly, he starts for the place where the JUMNAand the Ganges unite’, and sees BHARAD- VAJA about sunset (RII Liv 9-16) To him he relates his story The Rzshe directs him to live at CHITRA-KUTA, a hill, gerzh, ten kos, dasa krosah, about twenty miles, away from where they are (RII Liv 29) There, only, skeletons without skulls are to be seen, the Azshzs, to whom they had belonged, having gone up to Heaven with their heads alone! (RIT Liv 31) The Fifth Day The next morning,ie of the fifth day (RII Ly 4,5), he bids goodbye to Bharadvaja, who directs him to go to the confluence of the two rivers, then to go along the Jumna which flows there to the west, being obstructed by the force of the current from the Ganges. Crossing at the ford, tertham, he rea- ches its south bank, and passes the night there * On the River Jumna, see the section below * “ Vatha Bhagtrathiem Gangam Yamuna abhapravartate”RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT 23 under a banyan tree, vanas-pati, to which Sita offers her prayers (RII Lv 22-26, 35) The Sixth Day The next morning, that 1s, of the sexthiday, he goes to CHITRA-KUTA, visits Valmiln, and tells him his story? He builds a hut, parna-sala, there and lives in 1t While he is there, Dasa-ratha dies at mid- night in Ayddhya (RII uxiv 79) His body is kept in a vessel of oil? (RIT ixvi 14,27) Mes- sengers are sent to recall Bharata from GIRI- VRAJA, alsoicalled KEKAYA-PURA, which was be- yond BAHLIKA and where he has gone, Bharata comes back to Ayddhya zn seven days without halting anywhere on the way (RIL Luxx: 18). Along with Kaikéyi, Su-mitra and Kausalya(') he starts at dawn to meet Rama, reaches Sringe- bera-pura and meets Guha (RII Lxxxm 1, 6, 20, 23) The next morning-he crosses the Ganges, and, reaching Prayag, visits Bharadvaja, the priest of the gods, deva purohatasya (R II. Lxxxix- 23), who tells him that Chitra-kuta 1s twoand a halt yojanas, artha treteyeshu yojane, about twenty or twenty-five miles from them, and > “ san-nevedya yatha nyayam atmanam Rishaye prabhuh”” (RII Lyi 1,16, 18) * “ tasla dronyam samvesya jagathe-patim, raganam tasmin sayane nyavesayan”24 RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT that Rama is living there in a hut for certain, dhrivam “Go south o: south-west,” daksht- nenarva'margena, savya dakshinamevava (R II. xe u 10-13) « * 7 x * At Chitra-kuta the Rishes from the sur- rounding places inform Rama of the annoyance caused to them through fear of him, tvam numittam, by the Rakshasas who resided at Jana-sthana-pu a, and they, therefore, had left that place for another asylum The Rakshasa, KHARA, a brother of Ravana’s, 1s a terror to us here (RIT cxvi 11-18) Réma then pays avisit to ATRI and his wife ANASUYA (RII cxvii 5) The Seventh Day On the morning of the seventh day, he enters the Dandaka Forest (RIL cxix 17, 22) There he visits various Rishis —SARA-BHANGA, a descendant of Gautama’, and others He vows to destroy the Rakshasas, as the Rishzs there hkewise complain to him about them (RIII vu 1,6) He then visits SU-TIKSHNA > “ bhavan sarvatra kusalas sarva bhuta hte ratah ahhyatas Sara-bhangena Gautamena mahatmana”’ (RIII v 3, v1 25)RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT 25 in whose neighbourhood he svends some time (RITI xi 29). Rama is then shown tae way to Agastya’s hermitage, which was five yojanas, about forty-five miles, gomg south from here” (RIT x: 38,42) He walks thuty-six miles in one day between sunrise and sunset, to the asylum, asram, of Agastya’s brother, SUDAR- SANA, and the remaining nine mules the next morning, that is, on the ezghth day when he meets AGASTYA (RIII x1 38, 71, 72) ‘The Exghth Day Here, in the south, the Rakshasas and the Rashis live at peace with each other’? Agastya points out to Rama that by this time the greater part of the period of his exile—namely, ten out of the fourteen years—is over (RILI xm 15)! At his bidding Rama goes to live at PANCHA-VATI,“Five Banyan Trees,” which 1s at a distance of but two yojyanas, 18 or 20 miles, from Agastya’s asram, hermitage, on the banks of the Godavery (RIII xin 13-14, 19) It.is not far from JANA-STHANA-PURA, Rama builds a hut there again and lives in it (RIT xv 1, 2, 12ff, 23, 31) * yada prabhritt ch akranta digiyam punya karmana tada prabhrite nurvatrah prasanta rajant charah” (R III x1 83)26 RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT There, Sita was carried away by RAVANA, who,1in the disguise of a Brahmin sanyast, pare- vrajaku, monk, flatters her (R III xv 1,2, xiv. 2, 32, xLix 17,22) The kite JATAYU informs Rama of the occurrence Weeping and wailing, he goes WEST to the RISYA-MUKA MOUNTAIN, so called on account of the bears that abound there (R ITI. Lx 35, Lx 29,Lxxiv 1, Lxxv 6, 25-26) Rama meets SU-GRIVA and with him pro- ceeds to KISH-KINDHA-PURA, the capital of VALI, the king of the monkeys He kills Vah and instals Su-griva on the throne of Vali(') Su-griva has a search made for the lost Sita. Hanuman, his minister and a loyal friend of Rama’s, hearing from another kite, SAMPATI, of the whereabouts of Sita, jumps into the sky, and leaps across the sea, from the MAHENDRA. Mountain, on to the City of Lanka, which 1s situated on the Su-vela Mountain on the oppo- site shore. He finds Sita there and even talks to her in her own Maithih language (!) and then carries the good news to Rama “Dmni- shta Sita, “Seen is Sita” by me, he says to him.RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT 27 A bridge 1s then built across the ocean, the stones for 1t having been brought from the Himalaya Mountains(') by the subjects of Su- griva,—the monkeys, that 1s, the South Indians Rama then crosses over 1t with his army, kills Ravana with one Brahma astram, Brahma’s missile, recovers Sita aud returns to AyddhyaPART TL EXAMINATION OF OUR VALMIKI RIMAYANA.SECTION VI Some General Observations on Pseudo-Valmila’s Version. P V,’s version of the Ramayana—our pre- sent Valmiki-is usually considered to have been the first Maha Kavyam, Great Poem or Pra- bandham, Great Imaginative Poem, ever com- posed in Sanskrit The aim of the writers of such works is to take upsome story and expand it into along poem by the exercise of their imagination to display their ingenuity and to draw some lessons from it for the benefit of their readers Where PV, got his model from, cannot be definitely ascertamed But 1t 1s pos- sible that he had at least heard of Homer* and Vergil,ashe sometimes refers to the Greeks and the Romans in his version, which contains much irrelevant matter, marmng the beauty and force of his prime theme, in consequence of which hisherois reduced by way of anti-chmax to an ordinary weak mortal 1 ef “The poem of Pentaur—that poem which M de Rouge has described as “a sort of Egyptian Jad” Miss Edwards’ “A Thousand Miles up the Nile” p 302"32 RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT PV. has apparently written his version with no othe: purpose than to express ‘his own admuation for the hero and other characters of the story, in the same way, for example, that the romances of the Ancient and Mediz- val Ages were written His aim does not appear to have been to teach Religion, much less to supplant the religion of the Vedas, or the teaching of the Upanishads by the introduction of the Image Worship of Rama in their stead, although such has become the mevitable conse- quence of his poem He does not at all appear, therefore, to be responsible for such a conse- quence It 1s mostly his readers and interpreters that have misunderstood him With the religious or political aspect, however, of the poem, we have here, I repeat, nothing whatever todo All that concerns us now is to try to get to the bottom of this story and to understand the History that underlies it There are some strange statements in P.V,’s version, which we may sately ignore, as the author appears not to be awaie of the limita- tions imposed by nature on human and other aaimal hves Some of them are .—.RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT 33 (a) Rama was in his mother’s womb for twelve months before he was boin! (R I xvin 8, 10) (b) Rama was born when Dasa-ratha was 60,000 years old (RI xx 10) (c) Rama will reign 11,000 years (RI 1, 97). (d) Duilipa, an ancestor of Rama’s, reigned 30,000 years (RI xLu 8) (e) The kite Jatayu reigned 60,000 years. (RIII 19) (f) Jambavan, king of the bears, was born out of the mouth of Brahma when he yawned (RI xvu 6) (g) Vaiki dnasas were born from Brahma’s nas, aud Valakhilyas from his haars While studying P.V,.’s version, one cannot fail to be struck with his glaiing seli-coatia- diction regarding the origin of the composition ? Commentators justify this state nent by saying that Rama, being divine, required a longer time to mou- bate mn his niother’s womb in order to be born on the earth! Belief is blind as love 1s 834 RAMA THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT of the Ramayana Weare toldin the begin- ning that Valmiki first derived his knowledge of the story of Rama from Narada, where and when not being stated atall Again, we are told that Rama visited Valmiki in his exile so called, at Chitra-kitta and told him all about himself! Valmiki, therefore, was a contem- porary of Rama’s and did not live so very far away from Ayodhya after all, and he was also endowed with Divine Sight, divya drishtz. “Rama was well-known to all men,” as Narada says There was thus no necessity at all for Valmiki to start the conversation with Narada by asking him the question, “Whois there NOW IN THIS WORLD that possesses an excel- lent character” &c, (R I 1.2-4)' All the rigmarole about Valmiki’s composing the poem first and then having had 1t sung before Rama himself, which led to the recognition of the lads, Kusa and Lava, by bim as his own sons, is quite out of place in the account of the origin and composition of the poem Another instance of PV .’s glaring self- contradictions 1s seen when he describes at * A learned Vakil of Rajahmundry—M R Ry Nets Somayajulu Garu—has remarked to me on reading my first Essay that the full force of these words 1s usually missed by ordinary readersRAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT 35 great length the palace plot to give the reason for Ramas exile so styled,—that 1t was due to the imbecility of his father in his dotage who had too readily yielded to the wishes of his young wife, Kaikéyi, in orde: to i1edeem his so-called promise made to her or to her father, while on one occasion in the course of the story, he makes Rama say that he was sent by lus father to destroy the Rakshasas like Khara, and on another occasion he makes Rama say that he went to the Dandaka Aranyam of ius own accord, to destroy the enemies of the Bashis*® Next, 1t should be observed that PV ,’s ignorance of the Geography of his country and his taking refuge under very general and vague expressions in naming the several places said to have been visited by Rama in his exile, 1s appalling For instance, he makes Rama cross the Gumt. (Gdmati) on us way along the 2 “ ham apadsto Ragnyaya” (R III xxvn 10) 2 “ agatho ham yadruchchaya ’(R TIT, vi 24) = Ihave come of my own accord”36 RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT southern bank of the Ganges while going to the place ot 1ts confluence with the Jumna?’ PV,ev:dently thinks that the Dandaka Asanyam extended from the southein bank of the Jumna not only upto the banks of the River Godavery but even up to the Lake Pampa in the Bellary District of the Madras Presidency, with only some Rzshis living in 1t here and there * PV, makes no mention of any other 1m- portant rivers than the Ganges, the Jumna and the Godavery, or of any other mountains than the Chitra-Kiita and the Vindhyas, as having lain mm R&éma’s way to the south But the Chitra-Kita which, he says, 1s about twenty or twenty-five miles west-ward from the confiu- ence of the Jumna with the Ganges, 1s purely > “ gatvatu sucheram kalam tatas svta galam nadim Gomatim goyutanupam ataat sagaram gamam”’ (R II xtix 11) 4 “Iem-artham tvam vanem ghoram Pampa kunana manutiute aguias sanujo durgam nana vyala mrugayutam” (R IV iv 4) (here vanam 1s explained to mean the Dandaka Azanyam)RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT 37 aninves! on of b sown “We mcry sav”, wirtes Dr L Dudiy Stamp in his “Indian Empire”, Part: North East India p 122, “the dry region stretches over the whole Ganges Plain from the Sub-Himalayan Region (as far as the Gogra River) on the north to the rive: Jumna on the south Over the whole of this country there is no hill at all, it is one gieat plain sloping very gently from Delhi (700 feet) or Sahranpur (about 800 feet above sea-level) to Allahabad (400 feet)’” He writes again —‘The Plain of Hindustan occupies the greats: pait of North India and 1s more than 2000 mules from end to end, and usually from 150 to 200 mules broad Throughout the whole oi the Plain of Hindustan there 1s nota hill to be seen "? As regards the Vindhyas, PV, 1epresents Agastya as having preceded Rama in their journey to the south, thus 1eversing History and putting the cart before the hoise His notion 1s, therefore, that they are still lying flat, on a level with the surrounding ground, doing * Longmans, Green & Co, 1925 * Dr Stamp’s Geography of the World, pp 197 &’8 (Longmans) 1930.38 RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT namaskaram to Agastya, and are awaiting his return to the north to this day! P.V,. makes the unfortunate Rama and poor Sita and Lakshmana pass on foot from end to end of India, and spend as many as ten years in North India alone apparently fooling away all the time, of the remaining four years of the exile, three are said to have been spent at Pancha Vatz, the remaining year being considered to be enough for journey- ing from the banks of the Godavery and for collecting and leading an army such as mon- keys could be turned out to be, to fight against the powerful Ravana and to recover Sita This PV, does without mentioning any cities or towns or villages through which they must have passed in this large sub-continent fof Asia North India at least must always have been more populous than South India PV,.s idea of a Vana-prastha’s hfe has apparently pre- vented him from taking his hero or heroes, near human haunts Yet Dasa-rathais repre- sented ,as having been the ruler of a great empire! Did he rule over waste lands? PV, takes Rama to the confluences of rivers—of the Gégra and ;the Ganges, and of the Jumna and the Ganges He takes him toRAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT 39 the banks of the Godavery and of the Lake Pampa, which is really a woe-begone valley near Hump or modern Hospet in South India. Indeed he takes him to places that are later regarded as more or less sacred by ignorant people owing to the influence of this poem upon their minds and beliefs He generally avoids even the mention of any places of the worship of Siva. He has not a word tosay about Benares, the sacred city of Saivaism, which must have been in existence even prior to Ayddhya, or about any other place of Siva- worship in the whole country, although 1t was the prevalent rehgion throughout India before Vaishnavaism was able to hold up its head in the country All of a sudden, however, when Rama wanted an army, this PV, has, hey presto pass', one ready for him among the South Indians in the shape of monkeys and. bears,—not a compliment, by any means, to them P.V, indulges in very vague expressions while professing to mark the route taken by Rama in his exile Who can possibly identify the asrams, asylums or hermitages IN INDI4, that Rama 1s said to have visited, or the PAN- CHA-VATI, the Five Banyan Trees, on the40 RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT banks of the Godavery, which may have exist- ed anywhere between its sources and its mouths, whence Sita was abducted by Ravana? Similar questions may be asked about many other localities mentioned in the poem PV, commits himself to statements which transcend all human experience Rama was boin 1n a mysterious way from the payasam or sweet—milk-and-rice-food given to his mother by a mysterious agency! He was, as already noticed, in his mother’s womb for twelve months before he was born He tamely sub- mits to Dasa-ratha’s command to quit the kingdom and the throne which were rightly his, and to go into exile for no less than four- teen years! PV, makes Rama kill the enemies of the Arshs, not his own, with enchanted weapons such as the Brahma-astra, the Vayu- astra, the Agn-astra and so forth, all of them being rendered irresistible in their effect by means of mantras, mystic prayers PV. makes Narada say that Rama will reign on earth eleven thousand years, and even educated people now-a-days beheve that this plous wish of his was an accomplished fact, and that Rama did so rule over all India!RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT 41 PV, gives exp er. om vw mony cthe. unke- hevable statements throughout the poem and must have had avery poo idea of the Indian intellect in geneial and of the South Indians im paiticular. He 1s, pethaos, not altogether wrong however As a matter of fact, P.V, 1s typical of the Indian Pandit of now-a-days that ever was, who is equipped with no general knowledge and discriminative powei but has plenty ot Sans- krit lore in him Like all priests in the world, PV, looks up into the skies and weaves a cobweb out of his inner-consciousness without any regard for the realities of practical life and of a matter-of-fact world PV.'s version of the Ram&yana does not appear to have ever been subjected to a search- ing criticism even to this day, although this should have been done long ago Every reader of the poem, Indian and foreign alike, has, apparently taken it for granted that Rama was an Indzan prince and that his story as given in the poem was part and ‘parcel of the Histéry of this country, incredible ages ago, solely on the ground that 1t 1s written in Sans- knit, the most important literary brogue of42 RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT India’s literature The only notable verdict yet passed upon the poem, whichis known to the present writer, is that by the late Prof Dr. Vincent A Smith, who says — “The Ramayana not fhistorrcal. Most Hindus regaid the Epic narratives as state- ments of absolute histo1ical facts, and would not be disturbed by sceptical criticism more than the ordinary unlearned Christian is by the so-called Higher Criticism of the Gospels. Foreign scholars naturally look upon the poet’s tales in a different light Professors Jacobi and Macdonell, for instance, regard the Rama- yana as being neither historical nor allegorical, but a poetic creation based on Mythology That interpretation sees in Sita (the “fwrow”), an earth-goddess, andin Rama an equivalent of Indra Such speculations may or may not be accepted, but I feel fairly certain that the Ramayana does not hand down such genuine historical tradition of real events, either in Ayodhya or in the peninsula? The poem seems to me to be essentially a work of imagination, probably founded on vague traditions, of the Kingdom of Kosala and of its capital Ayodhya. * Quite so The story of Rama is Egyptian im its origin, as the sequel will showRAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT 43. Dasa-ratha, Rama and the rest may or may not be the names of real kings of Késala, as recorded 1n the long genealogy of the solar line givenin the Puraénas But the investigation of the genealogies, on whicha distinguished scholar has lavished infinite pains, 1s mmconclu- sive and the stoiy isso interwoven with mytho- logical fiction that 1t 1s impossible to disen- tangle the authentic history. The attempts to fix an approximately defimte date for the adventures of Rama rest on a series of guesses and are altogethe: unconvincing to my mind”? Thus we see that the story of Rama cannot have formed a part of the ancient Indian History Scholars, nevertheless, have been led away into the belief that the story of Rama does belong to the Aystory of THIS country, simply for the reason stated above, namely, that 1t 1s written in Sanskrit and they are not able to trace 1ts original But the present writer hopes to lay before his readers in these pages the best evidence available to show that the Rama- yana story is an exotic in India, and that 2 DOES represent a fact of History, but not that which rs at all connected urth the Exstory of + College History of India, p 3044 RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT INDIA Until recently the History of Ancient Egypt was a sealed book to the world, and therefore its bearing on the literature of India has necessarily been overlooked by scholars Before proceeding, however, to make good the position here held, we have first to see still more clearly that the story of Rama could not have had an Indian origin and then to point out that 1t can be rightly explained only by a reference to the History of Ancient EgyptSECTION VII Particular Examination of P.V,’s Version of the Ramayana. We shall linger a little while longer over P V,’s version With the assistance of the map given be- low, we shall be able more easily to visualise the various localities, and the distances separa- ting them, which are said to have been covered by Rama, Lakshmana and Sita during their exile so called, as well as the TIMES taken by them in doing so — Not one of the places named by PV,, excepting the Ganges, the Jumna, and the Godavery Rivers, andthe Vindhya Mountains can be proved to unquestionably belong to India. The names of the rivers above excepted are, however, also capable of being explarned mn terms of the Geography of Egypt, surprising as wt may seenr The Kingdom of Kosala, if at all 14 was ever a part of India, does not appear, even from P.V,’s account, to have ever been a large one in extent. Mucli less doesit appear to havePHARAOH OF EGYPT AS RAMA, THE GREATEST , 4 ISS HRT ofRAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT 4% ever been a great and ‘powerful empire in India as PV, says 1. was “The life of the Court at Ayddhya as depictedin the Ramayana 1s much the same as that of any old fashioned Hindu State in recent times Caste was already an ancient institution, and it may be said with confidence that the atmosphere of the Epic world is that of famihar Hinduism, with cer- tain except.ons indicated above, which occur chiefly in the Mahabharata”? There is no trace whatever of the modern village of Ayddhya on the banks of the Gogra in North India, having ever been the great capital of a great empire, either ON its site, or, UNDER TH# SURFACE OF ITS SOIL, to prove what PV, describes at length in very glowing termsinR I v 6-22 “Ayéddhya, the ancient capital of Késala”, says the Imperial Gazetteer of India, “is now no more than an extensive tract of elevated ground” The real question 1s, Was xt ever more than that? There may have been a small colony of wmmigrants for refugees in the region assigned to the site where Ayddhya is now situated, and from them the legend of Rama appears to have spread over the surrounding tracts and eventually all over India also * Vincent A Smuith’s College History of Indsa, pp 32,33-48 RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT Not one of all the other places mentioned by PV, can be definitely pointed out in India, as having been indisputably visited by Rama Certain localities have been aibiticrily fixed upon by his pious worshippersin later times, and have become celebrated places of pilgri- mage and woiship in his honour since PV,’s time Such ale CHITRA-KUTA, RAM-TIK, PANCHA-VATI neai Nasik, Lake Pampa, RAME- SVARAM &c, to mention only a few Chitra-kuta, the wonderful or many-coloured mountain, was, according to PV., but twenty- five miles west or south-west from the conflu- ence of the Jumna with the Ganges Chiatar- k6t whch 1s belweved to be the Chitra-kuta of the Ramayana, 1s about seventy-five miles away from Prayag wa straight line, according to the Survey Mag of India, and there appeais to be nothing wonderful about 1t either, except the temples built on it at a later date ‘“Foot- prints of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana are still shown at atemple called Charan Padika on the Part-krama Round the base of the lull is a terrace upoa which pilgrims petform the ceremony of circumambulation (“nari-kiama”) This terrace was erected by Ramachandra Kunwar, Rajah ol Panna, about a century and ahalfago There are thirty-three places of worship dedicated to various deities, situated.RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT 49 on the low, surrounding hills on the banks of the Paisuni (river) and in the valley aad plains at the foot of the hill, all of which are con nected with the ceremonies pe1formed at Chi- trakot. Of these places Kot-T1 th, Duwangana, Hanuman-Dhara, Phataksila, Answiya, Gupt Godavar1, and Bharat Kup are those most frequented by devout Hindus They are within a circuit of ten miles and are collectively known as “ Panch Kashi Tirtha”, most of them are in small Indian States in the Ba&ghal Khand Agency (Head-quarters Satna)”?* RAMTEK Agastya’s hermitage or asram in South India, 1s localised at Ramték, which 1s said to mean “Rama’s Resting Place” “On the brow of the hill are temples dedicated to him, his wife and his brother, built some cen- turies ago The images enshrined in these temples were desecrated by invaders Those substituted in their place and worshipped to- day are supposed to have been miraculously found submerged in a tank”* “Rama lived”, 1t 1s belveved, “on the sacred. hill [of Ramték], and, indeed, lives here still ('), while in a little cup in the hills, hes a sacred 7G IP Railway Guide (price 4 annas) 2 “ The Changing Scene in Indva” by St Nihal Smgh. p 14 (Published by the Bengal Nagpur Railway Co Price one rupee)50 RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT lake where miracles have been performed”?! “Tnside the gieat gateway 1s the fist pont of pilgiimage—a giant leplesentation of the varah or boar incarnation of Vishnu, under the belly of which pilgrims must glideif they aie to fulfil their obhgations Any one who fails, either by reason of his bulk o1 fiom any other cause +o achieve this ieat, 1s deemed a sinner” * PANCHA-VATI This site 1s pitched upon near Nasik at the sources of the Godavery river On what authouty this isdone isnot known PV.,’s language beig very vague, the site of the “Five Banyan Trees” where Rama is said to have built a hut and lved in at and whence Sita 1s said to have been carried away may have been anywhere between the sources and the mouths of the river Evidently this place 1s selected in order to interest the Mahrattas and the Guzeratis, the Rajput States and the people of the Panjab in the story and to capture them for Vaishnavaism There 1s perhaps not a single spot in India where Rama and Sita are not believed to have trod while on earth. “Travel wn India” Antiquities, Health Resorts, and Places of Interest on the Bengal Nagpur Rail- way, p 76 (Bombay, The Times Press, 1916) 7 Ibid pp 81,82 Thisisthe way m which ignorant people are tortured and mulcted of their hard-earned money by wily priestsRAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT 51 The upper Godavery region is also generally believed to have been svecially honouied by them Thee they aresaid to have lived ata place called PARNA-SALA, a village above Du- mmaguden where General Haig built an anicut across the river about 1360 AD Its about 130 miles above Rajahmuad.y on the noithein bank of the river Itisiiom that place that Sita 1s said to have been ca11ied away by Ra- vana Rama's foot-piints and the marks of Sita’s sare2 as 16 was washed and dried are shown on the rocky bank, the writer himself having witnessed them Tis route belteved to have been followed by Rama from Ramtek ts shown on the map of India printed on p £6 This belief does away with the other site near Nasik mentioned above LAKE PAMPA The name VALI 1s misun- derstood by PV , to mean a monkey, an animal that has a vala, tail Of Vali’s capital and his Kingdom of Kish-kindha, pitched near this so- called lake, I have already 1emarked that they are sad to have existed in a woe-begone valley near Humpy in South India In the Ramayana we are told that Rama proceeded westward from Nasik weeping and wailing in search of his lost Sita If he had really done so, he would soon have been stopped by the Arabian Sea and would never have been able to go to the Lake Pamp& This 1s another52 RAMA, THE GREATEST PHARAOH OF EGYPT instance showing PV,’s ignorance of the Geography of India and that his account 1s misunderstood by the 1eaders and that they have wrongly located Vah's capital and king- dom in the wiong place near Humpy Of Humpy we read! —‘Humpy (Canarese) [means] proud The magnificent city Sans- krit name, Pampa-Kshetra, place of preserva- tion ['], also Verupaksha-pura, town of the mis-shapen eyed Siva An interesting group of the Vuyayanagar ruins is situated in the valley, that separates the ground of Humpy pro- per from Kash-kindha, the sacred city of the Rajah Vali Therocks here aie said to have ‘been brought from the Himalayas to fill up the sea from Ramésvaram to Ceylon”! “HUMPY 18a village and place of pilgr- mage It is situated im latitude 15° 20’ and longitude 76° 30’, from Bellary, W N W 33 mules, from Hospet NE 7 miles On the right or south bank of the Tungabhadra river Very sacred For bathing in Tungabhadra at a cer- tain conjunction of the planets vast members assemble Near are the ruins of the ancient city of Vijayanagar, covering with Kamalapu- ram on the south and Anegondi a space of nearly 9 miles, the most remarkable monument + Manual of the Adminstration of the Madras PressRAMA, THE GREATEST PdARAOH OF EGYPT 53 an§ India During the two and a quaiter cen- turies that the Vijayanagar rajahs held the city of Humpy, they extended 1t and beautified it with palaces and temples Edoardo Bar- bessa describes the capital as “ Of great extent, inghly populous, and the seat of an active com- merce in couatiy diamonds [vajram], rubies [laul] from Pegu, silks of China and Alexandria and cinnabar, camphor, musk, pepper and sandal from Malabar. The palaces of the king and his ministers and the temples, are described as stately buildings of stone” “In the travels of Caesar Frederic, the pa. jaceis thus spoken of “I have seen many kings’ courts, yet have never seen anything to compare with the royal palace of Vijayanagar” “The temple of victory or Hazar Rama is so called from containing 1000 figures of Rama “The temple of Vittala or Vittdba [Vishnu] is a very fine example of the Dravidian style. In some respects 1t 1s as remarkable a specimen as any to be found in South India, though less in extent than those at Chidambaram, Raimés- varam and Srirangam “The temple of Hazér Rama builtin A D. 1513 has a Jaina figure on the outside of the vma- nam wall”? At what time Vali’s capital was localised * From the Manual &c Vol III Glossary.