The Legend of Kumari Kandam and the Lost Land of Lemuria
Kumari Kandam is believed to be a continent in the Indian Ocean that was lost in the sea thousands of years ago. It is often associated with Lemuria owing to their similar geographic location. Both these mythical lands were also known to have submerged under the sea. Lemuria, christened by the nineteenth century zoologist Phlip Sclater, was speculated to be a large land mass connecting South India (esp. Tamil Nadu), Africa and Australia. Popularized by the occult works of Helena Blavatsky and William Scott-Elliot, the firm theories of tectonic plates and continental drifts obsoleted the idea.
References and Beliefs
The beginning of the twentieth century saw the rise of myths on Kumari Kandam and its relation to Lemuria. The early Tamil Sangam literatures refer to a lost land, devoured by the sea. The Tamil scholars claim that Kumari Kandam was ruled by the legendary Pandyas — one of the three kingdoms that ruled the ancient Tamil country. Silapathigaram, an old tamil literature elaborates that Kumari Kandam had 49 regions or Nadu's. Poompuhar, an ancient trading port, was destroyed by the sea as in another epic, Manimekalai.
Archeological Findings
The British writer and journalist, Graham Hancock has written about his findings near the coastline of Tamil Nadu in his well-known book, Underworld. About three kilometers from the shoreline of Poompuhar, there were structures found at a depth of 70 feet. He ascertains them to be 11,000 years old, belonging to the Ice Age. This timeline surprisingly coincides with the dates of the deluges mentioned in the ancient Tamil texts. The end of Atlantis in the Atlantic Ocean also fall in this timeframe as per Plato's works.
The research vessel, Joides Resolution, extracted samples from the Indian Ocean at two kilometers beneath the ocean surface. Scientists found pollens and spores similar to the ones found in India and Australia. Further study revealed the samples to be a part of a continent, lost twenty-million years ago.
Fact or Fiction
Professor Karsten M. Storetvedt of the University of Bergen in Norway believes that there might be some truth to the theory of sunken land mass. He says that the equator area is prone to natural calamities and the descriptions from the Tamil epics seem logical.
According to another study by the Indian Folklore Research Journal, while the existence of Kumari Kandam may be true, it is not possible to be as huge as Lemuria, covering many countries.
There is no solid conclusion regarding the credibility of Lemuria or Kumari Kandam. The answer lies in the sea-floor analysis. More researches in the future will reveal the truth — till then, we have to wait.
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