Most people are familiar with the story of Atlantis, the legendary sunken city as described by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato.
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Venus Figurines – Fertility Symbols, Portraits, Dolls, or Upper Paleolithic Porn? Greek creation myths Dinner Invitations for Famous People from the Past The Green Sahara More Greek Mythology Suggested Books PARTNERS Updated 6 August, 2014 - 00:32 dhwty The Lost Continent of Kumari Kandam Read Later Print Most people are familiar with the story of Atlantis, the legendary sunken city as described by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. Till this day, opinion is still divided as to whether this story should be understood literally or taken merely as a morality tale. Further east in the subcontinent of India is a similar tale, though it probably is less well known compared to that of Atlantis. This is the ‘lost continent’ of Lemuria, frequently connected to the legend of Kumari Kandam by speakers of the Tamil language. The term Lemuria has its origins in the latter part of the 19 th century. The English geologist Philip Sclater was puzzled by the presence of lemur fossils in Madagascar and India but not in mainland Africa and the Middle East. Thus, in his 1864 article entitled ‘The Mammals of Madagascar’, Sclater proposed that Madagascar and India were once part of a larger continent, and named this missing landmass ‘Lemuria’. Sclater’s theory was accepted by the scientific community of that period as the explanation of the way lemurs could have migrated from Madagascar to India or vice versa in ancient times. With the emergence of the modern concepts of continental drift and plate tectonics, however, Sclater’s proposition of a submerged continent was no longer tenable. Yet, the idea of a lost continent refused to die, and some still believe that Lemuria was an actual continent that existed in the past. One such group is the Tamil nationalists. The term Kumari Kandam first appeared in the 15 th century Kanda Puranam, the Tamil version of the Skanda Puranam. Yet, stories about an ancient land submerged by the Indian Ocean have been recorded in many earlier Tamil literary works. According to the stories, there was a portion of land that was once ruled by the Pandiyan kings and was swallowed by the sea. When narratives about Lemuria arrived in colonial India, the country was going through a period when folklore was beginning to permeate historic knowledge as facts. As a result, Lemuria was quickly equated with Kumari Kandam. Bhagavata-Purana, 10th Skanda. Image source . The story of Kumari Kandam is not regarded as just a story, but seems to be laden with nationalistic sentiments. It has been claimed that the Pandiyan kings of Kumari Kandam were the rulers of the whole Indian continent, and that Tamil civilisation is the oldest civilisation in the world. When Kumari Kandam was submerged, its people spread across the world and founded various civilisations, hence the claim that the lost continent was also the cradle of human civilisation. So, how much truth is there in the story of Kumari Kandam? According to researchers at India’s National Institute of Oceanography, the sea level was lower by 100 m about 14,500 years ago and by 60 m about 10,000 years ago. Hence, it is entirely possible that there was once a land bridge connecting the island of Sri Lanka to mainland India. As the rate of global warming increased between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago, the rising sea levels resulted in periodic flooding. This would have submerged prehistoric settlements that were located around the low-lying coastal areas of India and Sri Lanka. Stories of these catastrophic events may have been transmitted orally from one generation to another and finally written down as the story of Kumari Kandam. One piece of evidence used to support the existence of Kumari Kandam is Adam’s Bridge (also called Rama’s Bridge), a chain of limestone shoals made up of sand, silt and small pebbles located in the Palk Strait extending 18 miles from mainland India to Sri Lanka. This strip of land was once believed to be a natural formation, however, others argue that images taken by a NASA satellite depict this land formation to be a long broken bridge under the ocean's surface. The location of Adam's Bridge between India and Sri Lanka The existence of a bridge in this location is also supported by another ancient legend. The Ramayana tells the tale of Sita, Rama’s wife, being held captive on the island of Lanka. Rama commissions a massive building project to construct a bridge to transport his army of Vanara (ape men) across the ocean to Lanka. As with most so-called myths, it seems likely that there is at least some truth to the ancient Tamil legends of Kumari Kandam, but just how much, is yet to be determined. By Ḏḥwty References Jayakaran, S. C., 2011`. The Lemuria Myth. [Online] Available at: http://www.frontline.in/navigation/?type=static&page=archiveSearch&aid=20110422280809000&ais=08&avol=28 Mahalingam, N., 2010. Lemuria and Kumari Kandam. [Online] Available at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/lemuria-and-kumari-kandam/article482101.ece Parameswaran, N., 2005. Tamil civilisation - is it the oldest?. [Online] Available at: http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=256 Wikipedia, 2014. Kumari Kandam. [Online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumari_Kandam Wikipedia, 2014. Lemuria (continent). [Online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemuria_(continent) Section: Myths & Legends Tags: Lemurialost continentKumari KandamIndiasri lankaAdam’s BridgeRama’s BridgetamilRamayanaSkanda PuranaancientmythologymythLegend Wu Wu Mingren (‘Dhwty’) has a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient History and Archaeology. Although his primary interest is in the ancient civilizations of the Near East, he is also interested in other geographical regions, as well as other time periods.... Read More Login or Register in order to comment Comments Pete Wagner wrote on 21 May, 2022 - 16:41 As with Atlantis, Lemuria might have also been flattened by nukes or something like them. The Richat Structure fits the description of Atlantis (a pre-Ice Age estuary, when there were no ice caps and seas were much higher), and what fits the description of Lemuria best is Australia. How easy is it to get permits to search certain locations for subteranean chambers where evidence might be found? https://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/applications/historical-archaeology/before-you-apply/ Probably hard! Nobody gets paid to tell the truth. Bruce N. wrote on 7 September, 2021 - 23:35 IF you believe that America was populated along the now sunken land mass of Beringia, then you must believe that the world’s oceans were all that much more shallow due to them all being connected. If that is the case, there is a whole host of sunken land masses that were once above sea level. Atlantis, Doggerland in the north west of Europe and more. Anywhere an island sits, there is a vast mountain underneath. How much of it was exposed. what about the land next to it. Its plausible that the ancients were right and there are a host of civlizations under the oceans of the world. Caesar A. Mendez wrote on 24 December, 2020 - 20:12 So Officially; how many “Lost Continents” are there? And how many that are plausable. Mahesh wrote on 30 July, 2017 - 13:08 Atlantis was not a land.. Atlantis was a word best sea force who rules kumari kandam kingdom.. 7 kingdom.. every kingdom had 7 countries.. total 47 countries 7 kingdom ruled and developed by space knowledge, architect..science...farm..sea routes. etc. etc.. that ancient tamils friends.. research deeply... Shawn Fox Firth wrote on 2 July, 2017 - 06:26 Forgive Me I should have added My Grand Dad was born 1920 He Instilled in me a Fascination for Ancient Archaeology .. .I read all his childhood books from Jules Verne and others , Pages1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 next › last » (36 Comments) Related Articles on Ancient-Origins 21 September, 2022 - 22:20 Carole Nervig Glyphs Upon A Stone Altar: The Petroglyphs Of Mu Awareness of Nan Madol as a world class archaeological site has grown exponentially over the last decade, especially since achieving World Heritage Site status in 1996. Constructed upon an offshore... 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