Tamilpakkam.com :: Tamil cinema | Tamil movie | Tamil songs | Tamil actors

“Rama's birthplace traced, but not Raja Raja's memorial”

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi said on Sunday that he was pained by the fact that the memorial of Chola ruler Raja Raja, who reigned from 985 CE to 1014 CE, could not be traced, while Justice D.V. Sharma of the Allahabad High Court was able to confirm the birth place of Rama. “Rama is said to have been born in Kritha Yuga, which covers 17,28,000 years. Now the birthplace of Rama, born about 17 lakh years ago, has been confirmed by the judgment,” he said in a statement, recalling Justice Sharma's observation that the disputed site at Ayodhya was the birthplace of Lord Ram and the disputed building was constructed by Babar. Mr. Karunanidhi said it was a matter of regret that neither the details of Raja Raja's death, nor the place where he was buried and the site where a pillar was erected in his memory could be traced, though he lived a mere 1,000 years ago and ruled the entire South. The Tamil Nadu government recently organised a festival at Thanjavur, the capital of the Cholas, to commemorate the millennium of the Big Temple constructed by Raja Raja. Recalling the speech he made at the function, Mr. Karunanidhi said schemes, including land survey and democratic election ( kudavolai) of panchayat chiefs, were introduced during his reign, and the Big Temple and the epigraphs on its walls bore testimony to the achievements and political acumen of Raja Raja.

Mr. Karunanidhi said that though a proper history of the Dravidian race was not yet written, archaeologists and linguists of foreign countries opined that the Dravidian civilisation was at least 3,000 years old. “This is based on researches on Lemuria, the Indus Valley Civilization and the Tamil language.” He said the truth about how the Dravidian race lived scientifically could be explained by making comparative studies between the Dravidian and other histories. “But the Aryan civilization that tried to upstage the Dravidian race is keen on only inculcating irrational beliefs in the people without any basis.” Mr. Karunanidhi also recalled his speech at Nagercoil in Kanyakumari district, stressing that Dravidians were descendants of a race that lived in Lemuria, lakhs of years ago. He said the ancient Tamils' origin could be traced to Lemuria. Ours is a unique culture. We call it Dravidian culture to distinguish it from the Aryan culture,” he said.