Abode of Sage Pulastya in Srilanka?

The article posted below gives an interesting information on the historicity of
Sage Pulasthya, the grand father of Ravana.
A statue believed to depict the sage is found in Srilanka.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Statue_of_Parakramabahu_in_Polonnaruwa.jpg

 

The place where the statue is found was known as
Pulastipura in olden times.
This information can be found in the official Ramayana site of Srilanka.
In contrast, there is no official effort by India

to chronicle the historic sites connected with Ramayana in India.

The Srilankan site says that
"The Central Government of India appointed a committee of 14 historians
to identify the authenticity of Ramayana
but was unable to find any historical or archaeological evidence in India.
However, Sri Lanka can prove the validity of Ramayana
with available archaeological and historical evidences."
That puts in perspective the kind of apathy of the Indian Government
in matters related to Hinduism,
inspite of the voluminous literature and traditions
related to the places trailed by Rama.
Both Rama and Krishna had walked
throughout the length and breadth of India
thereby creating an everlasting memory to the people of various parts of India.
That memory continues to live even today.
In this context, it is a welcome development
that experts from various branches of science have come together
to unravel the past prior to 2000 BC. (Read previous post).

In this post I wish to say something I know of sage Pulastya.
Pualstya's name appears in different places.
There are astrological Siddhanthas attributed to Pulaha in some texts and Pulastya in some.
As astrological-  astronomical Sidhantha called Paulisa siddhantha
was authored Pulasthya,
which was compiled as one of 5 siddhanthas of
"Pancha Siddhanthika" of Varahamihira.
The authorship of this is attributed to sage Pulaha by some
and to Pulasthya by others making us think
that both are one and the same.
But  Pulasthya and Pulaha are mentioned

as separate entities in Mahabharatha.

However the name Pulastya is always mentioned

as one of the first borns of Brahma
and also as the grand father of Ravana.
Ravana's father Visravas was the son of Pulasthya
whereas his mother was a of Asuric origin.
Ravana's relatives hailed from Deep South.
Pulasthya's son coming to marry a woman from the Southern hemisphere
shows that Pulastya could have settled in the South.

I have a reason to say this.
The Paulisa siddhantha was said to have originated outside the present day Bharath.
The calculations pertaining to the sky seem to have been taken from a place outside India.
Even the Surya Siddhantha originated outside India

in Romaka Desa,
which was 90 degrees to the west  of present day Lanka.
This puts the Romaka desa in a region in Atlantic ocean.
This corresponds to the lost Atlantis.
In my an analytical series on "Thamizhan Dravidana",
I have located this place as follows:
http://thamizhan-thiravidana.blogspot.com/2011/03/46-2.html

I am happy to see that a researcher in anthropology also identified
the same place for Atlantis.
http://frontiers-of-anthropology.blogspot.com/2011/07/post-69.html

Maya Danava was the originator of Surya Siddhantha
which he received in Romaka desa
from the Sun God.
Due to a previous karma he was born as a mleccha in Romaka Desa

 and received it,
so says Surya Siddhantha.

The Paulisa Siddhantha is also said to have originated outside Bharath.
Not much is known about this Siddhantha.
But in my opinion that it must have originated in the Southern hemisphere.
That was the place where early man thrived after his movement out of East Africa.
The kingdom of Daksha prajapathi was situated in the South.
The climatic conditions for human development was conducive in the South about 20,000
years ago when a mini Ice Age hit the North.
 Pulastya as a progenitor of mankind must have lived there.
Those regions are now under water in the Indian Ocean.
(I have written extensively about the scientific causes that led to the
loss of those lands to the sea
in my series on "Thamizhan Dravidanaa?")
The Paulisa Siddhantha could have originated at that place.

The information given in the Srilankan website on Ramayana places

 also talks about the early name of Srilanka.
It says that the old name of Srilanka was Heladiva.
But from Valmiki Ramayana we come to know that Lanka was its original name.
Lanka in Sanskrit means 'grain'.
It is possible that this name was derived from the grain like appearance
or from a probability that plenty of grains were available in Lanka when it was populated.

It was a city built on top of a hill 'tri-kuta'.
3 peaks surrounded the city like fort walls.
There are similar references like this to Lanka in Sangam Tamil texts also. 
It was a planned city built by Viswakarma, the sculptor for Devas.
Lanka was the city that lies at the farthest in the South

when one sees from the top of Meru, the North pole,
according to astrological texts.
This Lanka was built for the benefit of Kubera, the step brother of Ravana.
No civilization existed in Srilanka when Lanka was built.

The city was very beautiful that Ravana confiscated it from Kubera.
After losing it to Ravana, Kubera went to settle down in the
Himalayan region.
Ravana's maternal relatives, who lived in the Deep South,
moved to Lanka and
they were the Rakshasas we find in Ramayana.
(The Rakshasas were the people who inhabited the South Pole
at a time when South was warm and hospitable).

From these accounts,
it is known that the name, Lanka was the original one.
The name Heladiva (if found in old texts)
could have come later.
Hela in sanskrit means 'Moonlight".
There is chapter in Valimiki Ramayana on the Moon rise in Lanka.
The entire chapter describes how the city looked beautiful in moonlight.
Perhaps this gave rise to the name Hela dweepa
which was shortened to Heladiva.

It means ‘the city / dweepa of Moonlight’.

Now to the place of Pulastya.
There is a reference in Vishnu Purana to the abode of Pulastya.
It says,
"The residence of Pulastya  was at Viranagara,
a large handsome city on the banks of the Devika  river.
In a beautiful grove adjoining to the stream
the pupil of Ribhu, Nidagha  conversant with devotional practices, abode."
(V-P 2-15)

Earlier in verse 2-3 of Vishnu Purana,
river Devaki finds a mention along with the rivers of Bharath such as
Kaveri, Vedavati etc.
It is possible to assume that Lanka was considered as part of Bharath
and Devaki was a river in Lanka.

So any conclusion on Pulastya's abode in the said location
in Srilanka must have a river nearby.
It is hoped researchers give importance to the Epics of Bharat
in their search for ancient past.

- Jayasree

***********************

From

http://www.ramayanaresearch.com/pulasthi.html

In Polonnaruwa to the north of the Pothgul Vehera

is a granite boulder, adorned with a large statue.

This is one of the finest statues in the Island and measures

11 feet 6 inches in height.

The historians and the archaeologists

have not confirmed its identity to date.

                                                       Pulasthi Statue – Polonnaruwa.

Some refer to it as the statue of King Parakramabahu
because its closeness to one of his major irrigation works;
others refer to it as Rishi Pulasthi’s statue. 
The presence of a Brahmanical sacred thread
that runs from the left shoulder across the body and the Ola leaf book
that he carries confirms that it is of Rishi Pulasthi.


The third option is because Polonnaruwa was referred as Pulasthipura in primeval times.
Prof Anuradha Seneviratna says that
there is a worn out Rock Inscription which reads as ‘PULA THA SA’
behind the head of the statue. It proves that this statue is of Rishi Pulasthi.