Adam's Bridge (Tamil: ஆதாம் பாலம் āthām pālam), also known as Rama's Bridge or Ram Setu (Tamil: இராமர் பாலம் irāmar pālam, Sanskrit:रामसेतु rāmasetu), is a chain of limestone shoals, between the islands of Rameswaram, off the southeastern coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and Mannar, near northwestern Sri Lanka. Geological evidence indicates that this bridge is a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka.The bridge is 30 miles (48 km) long and separates the Gulf of Mannar (southwest) from the Palk Strait (northeast). Some of the sandbanks are dry and the sea in the area is very shallow, being only 3 ft to 30 ft (1 m to 10 m) deep in places, which hinders navigation.
Name
The bridge was first mentioned in Valmiki's ancient Sanskrit epic, Ramayana. The western world first mentioned it in "historical works in the 9th century" by Ibn Khordadbeh in his Book of Roads and Kingdoms (ca. 850 AD) and was called Set Bandhai or "Bridge of the Sea". Later Alberuni described it.
The name Rama's Bridge or Rama Setu (Sanskrit; setu: bridge) was given to this bridge of shoals in Rameshwaram, as Hindu legend identifies it with the bridge built by the Vanara (monkey-men) army of Rama , which he used to reach Sri Lanka and rescue his wife Sita from the Rakshasa king, Ravana, as stated in the Sanskrit epic Ramayana. It is called as Adam's Bridge in the west and the name probably comes from an Islamic legend, according to which Adam used the bridge to reach Adam's Peak in Sri Lanka, where he stood repentant on one foot for 1,000 years, leaving a large hollow mark resembling a footprint. Both the peak and the bridge are named after this legend.
The sea separating India and Sri Lanka is called Sethusamudram "Sea of the Bridge". Maps prepared by a Dutch cartographer in 1747, available at the Tanjore Saraswathi Mahal Library shows this area as Ramancoil, a colloquial form of the Tamil Raman Kovil (Rama's Temple)Another map of Mogul India prepared by J. Rennel in 1788 retrieved from the same library called this area the area of the Rama Temple [8] Many other maps in Schwartzberg's historical atlas and other sources call this area with various names like Koti, Sethubandha and Sethubandha Rameswaram along with others. Valmiki Ramayan called the bridge built by Lord Rama Setu Bandhanam in verse 2-22-76.
The earliest map that calls this area Adam's bridge was prepared by a British cartographer in 1804.
Location
Adam's Bridge starts as chain of shoals from the Dhanuskodi tip of India's Rameswaram Island and ends at Sri Lanka's Mannar Island. Rameswaram Island is connected to the Indian mainland by 3 km long Pamban Bridge. Adam's bridge and neighbouring areas like Rameswaram Dhanushkodi, Devipattinam and Thirupullani are mentioned in the context of various legends in Ramayana.
