Topic started by Kannan (@ 203.197.177.184) on Sun Jul 9 06:58:22 .
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

There is always references in many tamil ilakyangal regarding existance of Kumari Kandam down south of present TamilNadu. I am interested in knowing facts about the same and discoveries, if any made by any person/s. Let us also share our knowledge of literary works that speaks about Kumari Kandam. Thank you Kannan

Responses:

• From: B.Anand (@ ppp-181-94.bng.vsnl.net.in) on: Mon Jul 31 05:50:54 EDT 2000
  
  Kumari Kandam:
  
  This infact is an interesting topic. There are some interesting accounts of this available in old tamil litt. But the information is not complete. The only information we know now is there was a vast land mass that was submerged inside the Indian Ocean. It had a river also called "Pahruli Aaru". This land mass was there to the south of present day's Kanya-kumari. There is also a theory in Geographical sciences that there was a very big continent stretching from africa to east-indies. There are evidences to bolster their claims. Infact they even claim that India and Srilanka were once a united landmass. The submergence of the continent should have been a slow and gradual process. The outcome being scattered island-groups from africa to australia. Madagaskar, Lakshadweep, Andamans, and Indonesian islands may all be fragments of this massive continents.
  
  
  There is another interesting information about the submergence of land inside the sea. The Madurai city mentioned in the literatures of Sangam age was located on the shores of bay-of-bengal. It submerged into the sea and the Pandya king redesigned the city at a place called Kapatapuram. This again was submerged after some time and so the King built third Madurai beyond the reaches of the sea.This should have occured long long back. It is my opinion that after seeing calamities at this scale mankind would have conjured up the concept of Pralayam or Oozi. The recent occurence of such an incident which submerged Danushkoti suggest that the process is still alive.
  
  
  I feel a proper study of this would lead to a more agreeable theory on the origin of Dravidian race. Aryan invasion theory, I feel, is not all that impresive. I will come back with other important points that I have collect on this later.
  
  
• From: Raveen (@ user1532.lv.sprint-hsd.net) on: Mon Jul 31 12:05:55 EDT 2000
  
  IMHO
  
  Kumari Kandam myth is not unique to us but shows our antiquity. The flood of the bible is also born of similar experience people had over eons. Humans have been living with a language and culture to communicate at least for 150,000 years. Any upheaval, which happened before that, is not in our cultural memory. What is in our cultural memory is probably what happened during the last 50,000 years. Submerging of continents happened millions of years ago, but Polar regions did evaporate and create major sea level risings within the last 70,000 years. In fact just 15,000 years ago such a calamity happened so the Kumari Kandam legend needs to be looked in that context. It is a pre historic memory of the people, which has been passed down the generations because it was of such calamity. Details of Madurai and books and Kings are later additions to a shared ethnic legend. Now I do not want people claiming that I must not be a Tamil because I believe so
  :-)
  
  
• From: Raveen (@ user1532.lv.sprint-hsd.net) on: Mon Jul 31 12:34:35 EDT 2000
  
  Add to this the seasonal monsoon activity, which has a habit of lashing out at Tamil Nadu coast regularly. Just imagine if a "super cyclone" of the sorts, which recently hit Orissa leading to over 50,000 deaths had hit ancient Tamil Nadu coast! It would have taken away any semblance of civilization for many generations. I would look to such plausible reasons to explain the Kumari Kandam than non-existent continents and submergence of Islands
  
  
• From: Madhan (@ proxy3.fm.intel.com) on: Mon Jul 31 14:33:39 EDT 2000
  
  there was an ocean research funded by USA, France
  and 2 other countries on South of Kanya Kumari.
  Its was put under abeyance since 1960's
  Their intial claim was that they found mountains under sea. This project has to be taken very seriously and must be started again.
  Many startling details are yet to come.....
  
  
• From: Madhan (@ proxy2.fm.intel.com) on: Mon Jul 31 17:45:19 EDT 2000
  
  Will ppl like JayBee, Mani, Chandra share their views about Kumari Kandam, literary references to kumari kandam etc., If this issue had already been discussed , pls provide a link
  Thanks
  
  
• From: Chitta Mylvaganam (@ 1cust203.tnt2.syd2.da.uu.net) on: Sun Oct 26 10:23:28
  
  I am not sure if this thread has run its course long ago (today's date 10th October 2003), but, Perhaps a clue to the existence of Kuamari Kandam mentioned in Tamil Literature can be found in the Indian Ocean seabed map prepared initially in the 1960's (I believe by the Scrips Institution of Oceanography, USA) as part of a worldwide mapping project of the Oceans. I saw one of these maps as early as in the 70's, and would encourage others too to look up similar maps (in any fairly detailed World Atlas showing seabed contours).
  
  You would then see that Somewhat South West of India, the Indian continental shelf extends all the way from the Lakshdweep Isles at the Northern end to the Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago (with Diego Garcia) at the Southern end. This is a stretch of about a couple of thousand miles length, and roughly a hundred miles wide in many places along that length. The depth of this extension of the Asian continental shelf is only a few hundred feet compared to the surrounding Ocean which is many thousands of feet deep. Hence during the Ice ages, before 8000 B.C. the shallow seas wher the Maldives and Lakshadweep Isles lie today would have been exposed, because sealevels Worldwide were lower during this period.
  
  It is commonly believed that during this same Ice Age, other Islands elsewhere in the World were also connected to their continental neighbours - ie; Britain to Europe; perhaps Cuba to Florida; Papua New Guinea and Tasmania to Australia; Sri Lanka to Tamil Nadu, and the Indonesian Isles of Sumatra, Java and Borneo to the South Eas Asian mainland. Perhaps Under Sea Archeology which is well developed in the Mediterranean, the North Sea and the Baltic sea in Europe should be started in India on a large scale. I understand that some work has been done in relation to Ancient Dwaraga in Western India. But how about a start being made with ancient port cities on the coast of Eastern, Southern and Western India: eg; Kaverippoompattinam (Puhar) which reputedly went under the sea in the first or second century A.D. Korkai, Musiri are some of the other names that come to mind. Perhaps another generation of marine archeologists with better technologies at their disposal could then start to look for clues of Kumari Kandam, further away from the Indian coast.
  
  regards to all,
  Chitta Ranjan Mylvaganam,
  Sydney, Australia.
  
  

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