Revisited!

This Puranic concept is virtually the Hindu theory of evolution of life on earth. According to this concept, we are now approximately 5000 years into the Kali-yuga which started at the death of Lord Krishna, the 9th incarnation, and marked the end the third eon, the Duwaper-yuga. Rama was the 7th and the last of the three incarnations in the preceding Treta-yuga and followed the 6th incarnation of Parsurama in the same eon. It is interesting to note that the Ramayana story mentions both these incarnations. The story describes a face to face confrontation between Lord Rama and Parsurama at the occasion of Rama’s wedding. Lord Parsurama retires to the heavens after getting convinced of Rama being the next incarnation. Working backwards in time from the current period in Kali-yuga we can estimate the Puranic time of this change over from 6th to the 7th incarnation. We are almost five thousand years into the Kali-yuga which is believed to have started at the end of Duwaper-yuga with the death of Lord Krishna, the ninth incarnation. Adding 864,000 years of the Duwaper-yuga, brings us to 869,000 years back at the end of the Treta-yuga of which Rama was the last incarnation. Thus the period of changeover from the sixth incarnation of Lord Parsurama to the 7th incarnation of Lord Rama may be easily placed at 900,000 years back in time.


Parsurama armed with axe may, in fact, represent the evolutionary stage of tool using hunter gatherers. Rama’s skills in using bow and arrow makes the evolving man the master of the animal kingdom leading to the start of the civilization as we know it. This may, to some extent, explain the meaning of the suggestion by the divine sage Narada for sage Valmiki to base his story on the first hero of the civilization according to the Puranic concepts, thus providing a time stamp for the epic.


The story of Ramayana may have been inspired by the Puranic incarnations but appears to have been composed much later to serve as a guide to the mankind for right conduct. Story of the Ramayana is played in the form of amateur theater every year in every nook and corner of India. The story is repeated time and again in daily pursuits of the population so that everybody becomes thoroughly conversant with the conduct of each character of the story. Conduct of the characters appearing in the story of Ramayana covers almost all aspects of day to day life. These characters define virtual laws for right conduct for the people thus providing suitable role models for the people to base their actions upon.


Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human says that humans are bipedal primates belonging to the species Homo sapiens (Latin: "wise man" or "knowing man") in Hominidae, the great ape family.[2][3] They are the only surviving member of the genus Homo. Humans have a highly developed brain, capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem solving. This mental capability, combined with an erect body carriage that frees the arms for manipulating objects, has allowed humans to make far greater use of tools than any other species. Mitochondrial DNA and fossil evidence indicates that modern humans originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago.[4] Humans now inhabit every continent and low Earth orbit, with a total population of 6.8 billion as of November 2009.[5]


Like most higher primates, humans are social by nature. However, humans are uniquely adept at utilizing systems of communication for self-expression, the exchange of ideas, and organization. Humans create complex social structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families to nations. Social interactions between humans have established an extremely wide variety of values, social norms, and rituals, which together form the basis of human society. Humans have a marked appreciation for beauty and aesthetics which, combined with the human desire for self-expression, has led to cultural innovations such as art, literature and music.


Humans are noted for their desire to understand and influence their environment, seeking to explain and manipulate natural phenomena through science, philosophy, mythology and religion. This natural curiosity has led to the development of advanced tools and skills, which are passed down culturally; humans are the only extant species known to build fires, cook their food, clothe themselves, and use numerous other technologies.