“Far across the southern seas stood a golden city, guarded by demons and ruled by one who defied even the gods.”
That’s how ancient texts describe Lanka — the grand kingdom of Ravana, the ten-headed ruler who challenged dharma itself. But here’s the puzzle: if Ravana’s Lanka truly existed, why haven’t we found it?
For centuries, people have pointed to modern-day Sri Lanka as the Lanka of the Ramayana. After all, the name sounds the same. There’s even a place called Sigiriya, which some claim was Ravana’s palace. But when archaeologists, historians, and geologists examined the evidence, things didn’t quite add up. The more we searched, the more questions appeared. Was Lanka really where we think it was — or have we been looking in the wrong place all along?
1. The Lanka of the Ramayana Was Not Described as an Island Nation
The
Valmiki Ramayana
describes Lanka as a city surrounded by water, but it doesn’t clearly call it a separate
island nation
. It mentions that Hanuman crossed the sea to reach it, but that doesn’t mean it had to be as far south as modern-day Sri Lanka. The descriptions in the text speak of a city built on a mountain, covered in golden spires, with advanced fortifications and celestial architecture — features that sound more mythic than earthly.
This raises a key question: was Lanka a literal geographical location, or a symbolic realm representing material and spiritual power?
2. The Distance from Rameswaram to Modern Sri Lanka Doesn’t Match Ancient Descriptions
When Hanuman leaps from the southern tip of India to Lanka, the
Ramayana
describes a journey of about 100 yojanas. One yojana varies between 8 to 13 km depending on the period of measurement. That would place Lanka nearly 800 to 1,300 km away — far beyond the 30 km stretch separating India and Sri Lanka today.
This inconsistency has led many researchers to suggest that the Lanka described in the Ramayana might have been located further south in the Indian Ocean — possibly near the now-submerged landmass known as Kumari Kandam or Lemuria, believed by Tamil traditions to have existed thousands of years ago.
3. Archaeological Evidence in Sri Lanka Doesn’t Support a City of Ravana’s Scale
Archaeological surveys in Sri Lanka have found ancient cities like Anuradhapura, Sigiriya, and Polonnaruwa — but none match the time period or descriptions of Ravana’s Lanka. These cities belong to later historical eras, typically between 500 BCE and 1000 CE, while the
Ramayana
’s events are said to have occurred in the Treta Yuga, thousands of years earlier.
Despite local legends of Ravana’s caves, airports (vimana shilas), and even his tomb, no solid archaeological evidence has yet proven the existence of such a grand, advanced civilization that aligns with the Ramayana’s portrayal.
4. The Name “Lanka” Was Used Generically in Ancient Texts
The word
Lanka
in Sanskrit simply means “island” or “fortified place surrounded by water.” Ancient texts used it to refer to several different locations, not just one. Therefore, the Lanka of Ravana could have been anywhere — a fortified island city along the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, or even in a now-submerged part of southern India.
This linguistic clue suggests that the identification of Lanka with modern Sri Lanka may have been a later geographical interpretation, not a direct one from the Ramayana itself.
5. The Adam’s Bridge (Ram Setu) Mystery
The bridge connecting India and Sri Lanka — known as
Adam’s Bridge
or
Ram Setu
— is often cited as proof of the Ramayana’s historicity. Satellite images show a 30 km stretch of limestone shoals between Rameswaram and Mannar Island, which some scientists believe to be natural formations, while others argue they are ancient man-made structures.
A 2007 NASA clarification stated that the images do not prove the bridge’s artificial origin, but geological studies by the National Institute of Oceanography (India) found sand layers dating back around 7,000 years. That timeline aligns intriguingly with ancient Indian chronologies. Yet, if the Setu was a bridge built to reach Ravana’s Lanka, the Lanka must have been close by — not thousands of kilometers away as other theories suggest.
6. The Kumari Kandam Theory – A Lost Southern Civilization
Tamil traditions speak of
Kumari Kandam
, a vast landmass south of India that sank beneath the sea due to cataclysmic events. Some scholars connect this lost land with the idea of Ravana’s Lanka. Ancient Tamil texts like the
Silappathikaram
and
Ettuthokai
mention southern kingdoms that existed before the floods, possibly pointing to a prehistoric civilization advanced enough to match Lanka’s grandeur.
If true, Lanka might not lie in today’s Sri Lanka but under the Indian Ocean — part of a lost world that once bridged India, Madagascar, and Australia, now submerged due to tectonic shifts.
7. Geographical Shifts Over Thousands of Years
The Indian subcontinent has undergone significant tectonic movements. The Indian plate continues to drift northward, colliding with the Eurasian plate and forming the Himalayas. Thousands of years ago, the southern coastline would have looked very different. Parts of ancient peninsular India may have been submerged, altering how early civilizations described their geography.
Thus, the Lanka of the Ramayana may have been a physical city that no longer exists in its original form — destroyed by natural shifts and buried beneath the sea.
8. Some Scholars Argue Lanka Was Within India Itself
A few Indian researchers, such as Dr. P.V. Vartak, have proposed that Ravana’s Lanka was not across the sea at all but located within India — possibly near Nashik or Madhya Pradesh. Their reasoning comes from local legends, river names, and similar descriptions of mountainous regions. In this theory, “crossing the sea” might have been symbolic of crossing great obstacles rather than literal water.
Though controversial, it reflects a broader idea: that the Ramayana blends geography with spiritual symbolism, and not every description was meant to be physical.
9. Sri Lankan Local Legends Keep the Connection Alive
Sri Lankans themselves maintain strong belief in Ravana’s existence. Sites like
Ravana Ella Cave
,
Ravana Falls
, and
Ravana Airport (Ussangoda)
are preserved as part of local lore. Some claim to have found ruins of Ravana’s palaces and his
Pushpaka Vimana
landing grounds.
While scientific evidence for these claims is weak, they reflect how deeply the Ramayana’s story has rooted itself in Sri Lanka’s cultural identity — perhaps because of the phonetic similarity between “Lanka” and “Sri Lanka,” which reinforced the association over centuries.
10. Myth, Memory, and Meaning
In the end, the question of Ravana’s Lanka may not be about geography alone. It’s about how civilizations remember their past — through stories that blend memory, morality, and metaphysics. The Ramayana was never just a chronicle of war; it was a spiritual journey through the human condition. Ravana’s Lanka symbolized both material brilliance and moral downfall — a golden city built on arrogance.
Whether buried under the Indian Ocean or standing as mythic memory, Lanka remains a mirror to human ambition and the eternal balance between dharma and desire