By Justice Markandey Katju
A bhavya ( magnificent ) Ram Temple has been built in Ayodhya, costing 18,000 crores, which is going to be consecrated by the Prime Minister of India by a 'pran pratishtha' ceremony on 22nd January.
I have great respect for Lord Rama, about whom I have written the articles below
However, there is a question which has been troubling me for long, and that is this :
In the Vishnu Purana it is mentioned that we are living in Kali Yug, which will be 4,32,000 years long.
Before Kali Yug there was Dwaapar Yug, which was twice as long as Kali Yug, i.e. 8,64,000 years long.
Before Dwaapar Yug there was Treta Yug, which was thrice as long as Kali Yug i.e. 12,96,000 years long.
Before Treta Yug there was Sat Yuga which was 4 times as long as Kali Yug.
Now Lord Rama was said to have been born in Treta Yug, i.e. before Dwaapar Yuga (in which Lord Krishna was born), which was, as stated above, 8,64,000 years long.
Hence Lord Rama was born about a million years ago i.e. when dinosaurs were alive.
How then can it be possibly said where exactly he was born? How could it be possibly said that he was born on the very site of the demolished Babri Masjid?
My mind boggles when people say he was born precisely at this spot.
I have a dense mind, so I wish some bright person could enlighten me on this point.
There is also another issue which needs clarification.
Ram is a god in Tulsidas' Ramcharitmanas written in the 16th century AD. But in the original Ramayan by Valmiki in Sanskrit, written about 2000 years earlier he is a human being, a prince, who later became a king, but not a god.
Temples are built for gods & goddesses, not humans.
(Justice Katju is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. These are his personal views.)
