As per legends, 21 days after Lord Rama killed the King of Lanka, Ravana, which is observed as Dussehra in the country, the entire Ayodhya lit lamps and diyas to welcome their king from his 14-year exile. Indians celebrate the homecoming of Lord Rama as Diwali. While some devout believers consider this legend to be true, others don’t, citing the lack of authentic proof for the same.Well, a post on the social media platform X has gone viral, and it has again raised debates on whether Lord Rama actually walked the planet.
The viral post featured a screenshot of Google Maps, claiming that the journey from Sri Lanka to Ayodhya takes 21 days and 10 hours on foot, aligning with the 21-day gap between Dussehra and Diwali. The user captioned the tweet, a, “Why is Diwali celebrated 21 days after Dussehra? They told me that it took Shree Ram ji 21 days to walk from Sri Lanka to Ayodhya. I then checked it in Google Maps and I was just shocked to see it does take 21 days to get back. So Shree Ram ji did exist and he knew the fastest route too!!! I am speechless.”
Why is Diwali celebrated 21 days after Dussehra.
They told me that it took Shree Ram ji 21 days to walk from Srilanka to Ayodhya.
I then checked it in Google maps and I was just shocked to see it does take 21 days to get back.So Shree Ram ji did exist and he knew the… pic.twitter.com/d2uedGp2d6
— Mukul Dekhane (@dekhane_mukul) October 12, 2024
The post has garnered a lot of attention since it was posted. While some have been amazed by this information, others are criticizing the user for oversimplifying the divine journey of Lord Rama. Some users have been quick to point out that the geography of India has undergone changes since, and imitating the probable path followed by him using modern-day gadgets might not be the right way.
An X user commented, “Whoa!! There is also a theory that Ram, Sita, Lakshman, and Hanuman went to Ayodhya through Pushpak Viman. But this seems more logical because they must have reached Ayodhya in no time via Pushpak, and thus Diwali would have been celebrated much earlier.”
According to the Ramayana, aware of the distance and Bharat’s vows, Lord Rama, with Vibhishan’s assistance, arranged for an aircraft to facilitate their return. The mythical plane, known as the Pushpak, which was originally built for Brahma by master craftsman Vishwakarma, helped them reach their destination.