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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Adam's Bridge say? "I'm connected to the issue.

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Aerial view of the Adam's Bridge

Adam's Bridge,[a] also known as Rama Setu,[b][c] is a chain of natural limestone shoals between Pamban Island, off the southeastern coast of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and Mannar Island, off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. The 48 km (30 mi) long feature, along with the Pamban and Mannar islands, separate the Palk Strait and the Palk Bay in the Bay of Bengal from the Gulf of Mannar in the Laccadive Sea.

Geological evidence suggests that the bridge once formed a land connection between India and Sri Lanka. Due to lower sea levels during the Last Glacial Period (115,000–11,700 years ago), the shallow Palk Strait was exposed and became dry land connecting the Indian subcontinent with the island of Sri Lanka. Following the subsequent rise of the sea levels, the strait became submerged, and the shoals of Adam's Bridge emerged following a drop in sea level around 5,000 years ago. Adam's Bridge is a tombolo consisting of small patch reefs, sandbars, and shoals formed on a series of parallel ledges made of hard sandstone and conglomerates towards the center, which become coarse and soft while moving towards the sandy ridges along the sides.

In the vicinity of Adam's Bridge, the water is typically shallow with a depth of 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in), which makes navigation difficult. While small boats and ferries have operated between India and Sri Lanka for centuries, large ships are unable to pass through due to the shallow depths. There have been several proposals to dredge the strait to make it navigable, from the proposal by James Rennell and Arthur Cotton in the early 19th century to the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project in the early 21st century. However, none of them have come to fruition.

The bridge is considered sacred by the Hindus, who believe that it is the Rama Setu (Rama's bridge) mentioned in the Hindu epic Ramayana. The bridge is believed to have been constructed by Rama, with aid from an army of Vanaras, to reach the island of Lanka and rescue his wife Sita from Ravana. As per Christian and Islamic beliefs, the bridge was used by Adam, the first human, to cross from the island of Lanka to the Indian landmass.

Etymology

Ibn Khordadbeh's Book of Roads and Kingdoms (c. 850) refers to the structure as Set Bandhai (lit. Bridge of the Sea). The name Adam's Bridge appeared probably around the time of Al-Biruni (c. 1030).[1] The name appears to have been based on the Islamic belief that Adam's Peak — where Adam, the first human, after his expulsion from the Garden of Eden, fell to the Earth — is located in Sri Lanka, and that Adam crossed over to peninsular India via the bridge.[2]

The ancient Hindu epic Ramayana (8th century BCE–3rd century CE) mentions a bridge constructed by the Rama to reach the island of Lanka to rescue his wife Sita from Ravana. In popular Hindu belief, the bridge is identified as "Rama's Setu" (lit. Rama's bridge).[1][3]

Geography and geology

Map of Palk Strait with Adam's Bridge

The Adam's Bridge is located between Pamban Island, off the southeastern coast of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and Mannar Island, off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. Along with the Pamban and Mannar islands, it separates the Palk Strait and the Palk Bay in the Bay of Bengal from the Gulf of Mannar in the Laccadive Sea.[4]

The Adam's Bridge forms a discontinuous tombolo, made up of shoals of limestone, sand bars, and patch reefs, that stretches for 48 km (30 mi).[5][6][7] There are uncertainties regarding the nature and origin of Adam's Bridge due to the lack of comprehensive field studies. The Marine and Water Resources Group of the Space Applications Centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation states that the formation comprises of 103 small patch reefs. It is formed on a series of parallel ledges of sandstone and conglomerates that are hard at the surface and grow coarse and soft as they descend to sandy banks.[7]

The Palk Strait is relatively shallow, with depths ranging from 1–35 m (3 ft 3 in – 114 ft 10 in).[7] During the Last Glacial Period (115,000–11,700 years ago), the sea levels nearly 120 m (390 ft) lower than the present day levels. As the region was relativelt shallow, this exposed the seabed, which formed a land connection between the mainland Indian subcontinent and the island of Sri Lanka. Subsequently, the sea levels started to rise during the Holocene (11,700 years ago), and around 7,000 years ago, the Palk Strait and the bridge became completely submerged. Around 5,000 years ago, the bridge emerged again as the sea level fell in the region.[8] A study tentatively concludes that there is insufficient evidence to indicate eustatic emergence and that the raised structure probably resulted from a local uplift.[9]

Transport

In the vicinity of Adam's Bridge, the water is typically only 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in) deep.[8] Though the bridge itself was irregular, and discontinuous,[10] due to the shallow waters, Adam's Bridge presents a hindrance to navigation through the Palk Strait. Though trade across the India–Sri Lanka divide has been active for several centuries, it was limited to small boats and dinghies. Larger ships from the west have had to navigate around Sri Lanka to reach India's eastern coast.[11]

In the early 18th century, British geographer James Rennell, who surveyed the region, suggested that a "navigable passage could be maintained by dredging the strait of Ramisseram".[12] In 1823, Arthur Cotton was assigned to survey the Pamban channel, which separates the Indian mainland from the island of Rameswaram and forms the first link of Adam's Bridge.[13] A more detailed marine survey of Adam's Bridge was undertaken in 1837 by a team of Indian Navy engineers led by Francis T. Powell, along with draughtsman Felix Jones, and operations to dredge the channel were recommenced the next year.[14]

Over the next century, several proposals were made for dredging the sea in the region. These included proposals by Alfred Taylor in 1860, Charles Townshend in 1861, British Parliamentary Committee in 1862, William Denison in 1863, George Robertson in 1872, John Coode in 1884, South Indian Railway in 1903, and Robert Bristow in 1922.[15] However, these and subsequent efforts in the 19th century did not succeed in keeping the passage navigable for any vessels except those with a light draft.[16]

Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project

Various alignments proposed for the shipping lanes in the Palk Strait

After Indian independence, the Government of India had constituted five committees, in 1956, 1967, 1981, 1996, and 1997, to suggest alignments for a Sethusamudram canal project, aimed at creating a shipping route in the Palk Strait. These committees suggested various alignments, but none of them recommended cutting through the Adam's Bridge.[15] The Sethusamudram Project Committee in 1956 strongly recommended against cutting across the Adam's Bridge.[17]

In 1998, the Government of India approved the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project,[18] and the project was sanctioned at a cost of ₹24.27 billion (equivalent to ₹82 billion or US$860 million in 2023), along a new alignment that required dredging through Adam's Bridge in 2005.[19] However, several political parties and religious organisations opposed dredging through the bridge on religious grounds, and suggested to the government to take up an alternate alignment for the channel that avoids damage to Adam's Bridge.[19][20] It was also opposed by environmental activists due to its location in the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve and concerns over its impact on the area's ecology, and local fishermen, who feared loss of livelihood due to adverse effects on fishing stock.[18][21] Other concerns were raised including the potential loss of thorium deposits in the area and increased risk of damage due to tsunamis.[22] Some organisations oppose this project on economic and environmental grounds and claim that proper scientific studies were not conducted before undertaking this project.[23]

But, the then state and central governments opposed any changes to the proposed alignment, while maintaining that the current proposal was based on economic viability and environmental sustainability and that there were no other alternatives.[24][25] The project was halted by the Supreme Court of India in 2009, with the government already having spent ₹8.293 billion (equivalent to ₹16 billion or US$160 million in 2023) on the project.[18] While the government informed the Supreme Court in 2018 that it was considering alternate alignments, no work has happened since then.[18][19]

Road and rail bridge

The Palk Strait Bridge is a proposed road and rail bridge across the Palk Strait, which would run roughly parallel to the Adam's Bridge, connecting Dhanushkodi at the tip of Pamban Island, to Talaimannar on Mannar Island. The bridge was first proposed by the Indian and Sri Lankan governments in 2002, and was later shelved after security-related objections.[26] As of 2024, the idea has been re-mooted, and feasibility studies were being conducted.[27]

Religious significance

A 20th-century painting depicting a scene from Ramayana, wherein monkeys are shown building a bridge to Lanka
A 20th-century painting depicting a scene from Ramayana, wherein vanaras are shown building a bridge to Lanka

As per Ramayana, the vanara army of Rama constructed a bridge to reach the island of Lanka to enable Rama to rescue his wife Sita from Ravana, the King of Lanka.[1] In popular Hindu belief, Lanka is equated to present-day Sri Lanka, with the bridge identified with Adam's Bridge.[3]

However, there are disagreements amongst scholars so as to the identity of the Lanka mentioned in the epic. While, the Ramayana does not explicitly state the geographic location of Lanka,[28] few identify Lanka as located in the eastern part of present-day Madhya Pradesh,[8][29] and few later literature in Sanskrit emphasise on the distinction between the Lanka in the epic and the present-day Sri Lanka.[3] Author Robert P. Goldman, who edited the English translation of the Ramayana, opinied that it is a "fairy tale", and any attempts to probe into its historicity were misguided,[28][d] with religious scholar John Brockington voicing a similar opinion.[30]

In extant historical sources, the Kasakudi copper plates of Nandivarman II (c. late-8th century) pertaining to the conquest of Sri Lanka by one of his ancestors, equate Lanka with Sri Lanka, used as a justification of the imperial ambitions of the Cholas to invade the island. The link would then be co-opted by the Aryacakravarti dynasty of Jaffna in presenting themselves as the guardians of the bridge.[3] However, medieval commentaries on the Ramayana such as the Ramanujiya (c. 1500 by Ramanuja) and Tattvadipika (c. 1550 by Mahesvaratirtha) , make a distinction between Lanka and Sri Lanka.[31]

Biblical and Islamic traditions hold that Adam's Bridge was crossed by Adam following his expulsion from the Garden of Eden.[2]

In July 2007, S. Badrinarayanan, former director of the Geological Survey of India, has claimed that the structure is man-made.[32] The Madras High Court directed the Indian Council of Historical Research to look into the evidence to ascertain whether it was man-made.[33] NASA said that its satellite photos depict a natural feature and had been misinterpreted to make non-existent claims.[34] A report from the Archaeological Survey of India found no evidence for the structure being anything but a natural formation,[35] and informed the Supreme Court that there was no historical proof of the bridge being built by Rama.[36][37]

In 2010, the Sri Lankan Tourism Development Authority promoted religious tourism from Hindu pilgrims in India by including the phenomenon as one of the points on its "Ramayana Trail", which drew criticism from some Sri Lankan historians as a distortion of history.[38] The idea of Rama Setu as a sacred symbol to be appropriated for political purposes strengthened in the aftermath of protests against the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project.[39]

In 2017, the Indian Council of Historical Research announced a pilot study into the origins of the structure,[40] but later shelved it.[41] In an episode of the Science Channel series What on Earth?,[42] it is stated that those claiming that Adam's Bridge was constructed based their arguments on vague speculation, false implications, and the point that – as with many geological formations – not every detail of its formation has been incontrovertibly settled.[43] Indian Geologist C. P. Rajendran described the ensuing media controversy as an "abhorrent" example of the "post-truth era, where debates are largely focused on appeals to emotions rather than factual realities".[44][45]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Tamil: ஆதாம் பாலம் ātām pālam; Sinhala: ආදම්ගේ පාලම ādamgē pālama
  2. ↑ Tamil: ராமர் பாலம் Rāmar pālam; Sanskrit: रामसेतु rāmasetu; Sinhala: රාමගේ පාලම rāmagē pālama
  3. ↑ also spelled Ram Sethu or Ramasethu
  4. ↑ Goldman opines that the abrupt change of the narrative from Book Two (Ayodhyakanda) to Book Three (Aranyakanda) and onwards — that deals with Rama's efforts to bring back Sita and subsequent exploits in Lanka — from "pseudo-historical" to the "totally fantasied".

References

  1. 1 2 3 Suckling, Horatio John (1876). Ceylon: A General Description of the Island, Historical, Physical, Statistical. Containing the Most Recent Information. Chapman & Hall. pp. 58-60.
  2. 1 2 Ricci, Ronit (2011). Islam Translated: Literature, Conversion, and the Arabic Cosmopolis of South and Southeast Asia. University of Chicago Press. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-226-71088-4.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Henry, Justin W. (2019). "Explorations in the Transmission of the Ramayana in Sri Lanka". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 42 (4): 732–746. doi:10.1080/00856401.2019.1631739. ISSN 0085-6401. S2CID 201385559. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  4. ↑ "Palk Strait". Britannica. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  5. ↑ "Adams' bridge". NASA. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  6. ↑ Jayarajan, K.; Sreepadi, Sreelu; Vineesh, V. (February 2026). "The Geomythology of Ram Setu (Adam's Bridge): Bridging Mythological Narratives and Geoscientific Perspectives". Geoheritage. 18 (1). doi:10.1007/s12371-026-01271-0.
  7. 1 2 3 Bahuguna, Anjali; Nayak, Shailesh; Deshmukh, Benidhar (1 December 2003). "IRS views the Adams bridge (bridging India and Sri Lanka)". Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing. 31 (4): 237–239. doi:10.1007/BF03007343. ISSN 0255-660X. S2CID 129785771.
  8. 1 2 3 Dubey, K.M.; Chaubey, A.K.; Gaur, A.S.; Joglekar, M.V. (January 2023). "Evolution of Ramasetu region as a link between India and Sri Lanka during the late Pleistocene and Holocene". Quaternary Research. 111: 166–176. doi:10.1017/qua.2022.41. ISSN 0033-5894.
  9. ↑ Stoddart, D. R.; Gopinadha Pillai, C. S. (1972). "Raised Reefs of Ramanathapuram, South India". Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. 56 (56): 111–125. doi:10.2307/621544. ISSN 0020-2754. JSTOR 621544.
  10. ↑ Hunter, William Wilson (1886). The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Trübner & co. p. 2.
  11. ↑ Francis Jr., Peter (2002). Asia's Maritime Bead Trade: 300 B.C. to the Present. University of Hawaii Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-82482-332-0.
  12. ↑ Rodd, Rennell (April 1930). "Major James Rennell. Born 3 December 1742. Died 20 March 1830". The Geographical Journal. 75 (4). The Royal Geographical Society: 289–299.
  13. ↑ Digby, William (1900). General Sir Arthur Cotton, R. E., K. C. S. I.: His Life and Work. Hodder & Stoughton. pp. 15–16.
  14. ↑ Dawson, Llewellyn Styles (1885). Memoirs of hydrography. Keay. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-665-68425-8. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  15. 1 2 "Sethusamudram Corporation Limited–History". Government of India. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2007.
  16. ↑ "Adam's bridge". Britannica. 2007. Archived from the original on 13 January 2008. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
  17. ↑ "Use land based channel and do not cut through Adam bridge:Sethu samudram project committee report to Union Government". 30 September 2007. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2007. In these circumstances we have no doubt, whatever that the junction between the two sea should be effected by a Canal; and the idea of cutting a passage in the sea through Adam's Bridge should be abandoned
  18. 1 2 3 4 "What ails the Sethusamudram canal project". The Federal. 14 January 2023. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  19. 1 2 3 "Sethusamudram: High cost-low returns, or Adam's wrath?". Mint. 26 January 2023. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  20. ↑ "Ram Setu vs. Sethusamudram project: When Tamil Nadu BJP headquarters was attacked by DMK cadres". The Hindu. 20 July 2026. Archived from the original on 16 January 2026. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  21. ↑ "Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project". Institute Of Peace & Conflict Studies. 14 April 2026. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  22. ↑ "Thorium reserves to be disturbed if Ramar Sethu is destroyed". The Hindu. 5 August 2007. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2007.
  23. ↑ "The Sethusamudram canal project". Rediff.com. 19 July 2005. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2007.
  24. ↑ "Sethu: DMK chief sticks to his stand". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 21 April 2008. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  25. ↑ "Sethu: Baalu rules out change in alignment". The Indian Express. 23 September 2007. Archived from the original on 21 April 2008. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  26. ↑ Raju, Adluri Subramanyam (8 July 2024). "Bridge that could boost India and Sri Lanka ties". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 14 July 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  27. ↑ "Feasibility study on proposal to establish land connectivity with India in final stages, says Sri Lankan President". The Indian Express. 16 June 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  28. 1 2 Goldman, Robert P., ed. (1984). The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: An Epic of Ancient India. Princeton Library of Asian Translations. Vol. I: Bālakāṇḍa. Translated by Goldman, Robert P. Princeton University Press. pp. 23–30.
  29. ↑ Brodbeck, Simon (2011), Rāmāyaṇa, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/obo/9780195399318-0045
  30. ↑ Rāma the Steadfast: An Early Form of the Rāmāyaṇa. Translated by Brockington, John; Brockington, Mary. London: Penguin Publishers. 2006. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-14196-029-6. Many attempts have been made to identify Lankā and Kiskindhā, the vānaras' city, with real sites on mainland India, and especially to equate Rāvana's kingdom with the island in modern times renamed Śrī Lanka, but there is nothing in the first stage of the text to indicate that they are anything more than the product of the storytellers' imaginations, with little help even from travellers' tales.
  31. ↑ Goldman, Robert P., ed. (1996). The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: An Epic of Ancient India. Princeton Library of Asian Translations. Vol. V: Sundarakāṇḍa. Translated by Goldman, Sally J.; Goldman. Princeton University Press. p. 359. ISBN 0-691-06662-0.
  32. ↑ "Adam's Bridge is a man-made structure". Rediff.com. 31 July 2007. Archived from the original on 15 January 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
  33. ↑ Gohain, Manash Pratim (24 March 2017). "Indian Council of Historical Research to look for material evidence of Rama Setu". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 29 October 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  34. ↑ Kumar, Arun (14 September 2007). "Space photos no proof of Ram Setu: NASA". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 22 January 2008. Retrieved 18 September 2007. "The mysterious bridge was nothing more than a 30 km long, naturally occurring chain of sandbanks called Adam's bridge", [NASA official Mark] Hess had added. "NASA had been taking pictures of these shoals for years. Its images had never resulted in any scientific discovery in the area.
  35. ↑ "Myth vs Science". Frontline. 5 October 2007. Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  36. ↑ "No evidence to prove existence of Ram". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  37. ↑ "Ram himself destroyed Setu, govt tells SC". The Times of India. 23 October 2012. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012.
  38. ↑ Kumarage, Achalie (23 July 2010). "Selling off the history via the 'Ramayana Trail'". Daily Mirror. Colombo. Archived from the original on 25 July 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2010. the Tourism Authority is imposing an artificial [history] targeting a small segment of Indian travellers, specifically Hindu fundamentalists...
  39. ↑ Jaffrelot, Christophe (2008). "Hindu Nationalism and the (Not So Easy) Art of Being Outraged: The Ram Setu Controversy". South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal (2). doi:10.4000/samaj.1372. ISSN 1960-6060.
  40. ↑ "Twenty research scholars to get training to find 'truth' of Ram Sethu". The Indian Express. 25 March 2017. Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  41. ↑ "ICHR not to conduct study whether Ram Setu man made, natural". The Times of India. 8 April 2018. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  42. ↑ Shahane, Girish (20 December 2017). "Raptures over Ram Setu video underline what's wrong with our government and sections of the media". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  43. ↑ "A bridge that Lord Ram built - myth or reality?". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  44. ↑ C.P. Rajendran. "A Post-Truth Take on the Ram Setu". The Wire. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  45. ↑ "'Place faith in science, and not in faith-based culture'". The Hindu. 6 May 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2021. popular hegemonic culture had so successfully been able to impress upon many people that even scientific organisations were not ready to explore the myth around Ram Setu

9°07′16″N 79°31′18″E / 9.1210°N 79.5217°E / 9.1210; 79.5217

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