Kumari Kandam: The Sunken Continent

Original map of Kumari Kandam

Kumari Kandam

The Sunken Continent

After explaining the Tsunami of 3102 BCE, you readers know how Dwarka was submerged into the ocean. However, it’s not the only city which we lost. Dwarka was a city, big city. But you probably know nothing about the large continent of Kumari Kandam. We’ll dig its history today.

World map with Kumari Kandam

Lost continent of Kumari Kandam is said to be ruled by Tamil Kings once. It was many thousands years ago, because we know that we don’t have that land now. The above described image is said to be the sunken continent of Kumari Kandam. It is lost for many millennia. Kumari Kandam is also known as Lemuria. It is said that Kumari Kandam was larger than the whole India. Because its boundaries were connected with Tamil Nadu, Australia and Africa. Even it was connected with Madagascar. What happened to that continent? Yes, it sank in the ocean. When? Not sure. Tamil and Sanskrit texts describe about this continent of Kumari Kandam. Specifically, Skanda Purana, which has more detail about Lord Murugan (Kartikeya) refers Kumari Kandam as the land of kings and where Brahmins also used to live. 

Map describes how Kumari Kandam was the part of Aryavart

The earliest explicit discussion of a katalkol ("seizure by ocean", possibly Tsunami) of Pandyan land is found in a commentary on Iraiyanar Akapporul. This commentary, attributed to Nakkeerar, is dated to the later centuries of the 1st millennium CE. It mentions that the Pandyan kings, an early Tamil dynasty, established three literary academies (Sangams): the first Sangam flourished for 4,400 years in a city called Tenmaturai, attended by 549 poets (including Agastya) and presided over by gods like Shiva, Kubera and Murugan. The second Sangam lasted for 3,700 years in a city called Kapatapuram, attended by 59 poets (including Agastya, again). The commentary states that both the cities were "seized by the ocean", resulting in loss of all the works created during the first two Sangams. The third Sangam was established in Uttara (North) Madurai, where it is said to have lasted for 1,850 years.

Manimeghalai (dated around 6th century CE) mentions that the ancient Chola port city of Kavirippumpattinam (present-day Puhar) was destroyed by a flood. It states that this flood was sent by the Hindu deity Indra, because the king forgot to celebrate a festival dedicated to him. Perhaps, this flood or we can say Tsunami had swallowed the entire big portion of Kumari Kandam or maybe the portions were swallowed many times in these thousands years, and Kumari Kandam is now lost forever.

Lemuria and connection with Kumari Kandam:

Lemuria was called as Kumari kandam

In 1864, the English zoologist Philip Sclater hypothesized the existence of a submerged land connection between India, Madagascar and continental Africa. He named this submerged land Lemuria, as the concept had its origins in his attempts to explain the presence of lemur-like primates (strepsirrhini) on these three disconnected lands. Before the Lemuria hypothesis was rendered obsolete by the continental drift theory, a number of scholars supported and expanded it.

How did it actually submerge?

Few ancient Tamil Poets and writers write the giant flood (Tsunami) which swallowed the entire land of Kumari Kandam. Yet, modern theories say that when sea level rose during the end of last ice age, the land of Kumari Kandam might be submerged during that period. Few other references describe the same thing that it must have sunk during the end of last ice age.

Flood in Lemuria (Tsunami)

Remaining parts of Kumari Kandam:

1. Adam’s Bridge (Rama’s Bridge):

Adam’s Bridge which is also known as Rama’s bridge, which was made by army of monkeys in the leadership of Lord Rama to reach at Lanka. That bridge was made over the sea. If the myth of Kumari Kandam is true, there shouldn’t be the sea where Lanka once stood. If there was a sea, it must be a bay or a gulf that used to connect with the Ravan’s palace. Ramayana describes Lanka as an island, and if Lanka was an island, there should be no existence of Kumari Kandam.

Adam's Bridge (Rama Setu from Ramayana)

Or what if Kumari Kandam existed before the era of Ramayana? Even if it did exist before the era of Ramayana, the last ice age rose the waters and it destroyed the remaining parts of Rama’s bridge. But texts describe that Kumari Kandam had Pandya rulers and Tamil rulers, it means it did exist at the time of Ramayana, because Pandya and Tamil rulers came many years after Ramayana.

2. Sri Lanka and Madagaskar:

If we believe on the myth of existence of Kumari Kandam, it is clear that Sri Lanka was once a part of Kumari Kandam which was ruled by Tamil rulers. Kumari Kandam used to connect with the Madagascar of Africa. So it means the subcontinent of India was connected with each of these continents with land and by water.

Though, many historians and archaeologists have found few submerged ruins of sunken Kumari Kandam and they seem ancient. It might be possible that we had a land called Kumari Kandam that we lost in Tsunami.

When it’s all going around myths, let’s return to our theory of Tsunami of 3102 BCE. I know that Tamil kings were modern title, but our civilizations may have given names to the ancient kings as Tamil Kings. It may be possible that the Tsunami of 3102 BCE which swallowed the Dwarka city, might have swallowed the entire Kumari Kandam, or few of its parts. And it might be possible that later when sea level rose at the end of last ice age, or many previous ice ages, the land sank into water by time.

We could apply this theory to Dwarka too. As I said that Dwarka was made and remade seven times in these years. So it might be possible that those incarnations also sank due to the rise of sea level at the end of ice ages.

There are many islands exist in Arabian sea and the Indian Ocean, and they might relate to the continent of Kumari Kandam. In south Indian states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Kumari Kandam is a famous word, but what happened and how it disappeared under the sea, no one knows about that. This theory of Tsunami might prove its existence, otherwise it has been taken as a mythical land.

Ruins of Kumari Kandam

However, we can’t deny the facts that archaeologists have found the submerged parts of civilization, and according to texts Kumari Kandam had Indo-Aryan Civilization, and we are descendants of that civilization. Perhaps, the mythical land which we are talking about, existed millions of years ago, and submerged in ocean partwise time by time. Maybe the various Tsunamis and floods along with rise in sea level during ice ages had impacted this land.

Whatever it was, or whatever we find, if we have evidences about it, we can’t deny about it. Besides, Lemuria Civilization was also said to be existed there. The parts we have found, might not belong to Kumari Kandam, but it might relate to Lemuria, and may be Lemuria existed on the ruins of old Kumari Kandam. Whatever the fact is, whatever the truth is, we need to know our culture deeper. Because as far as we have been seeing, it seems we haven’t understood our own culture yet. Just imagine if Kumari Kandam Continent still existed, we would have the largest amount of land. Besides, existence of us and Indo-Aryan Civilization adds some evidences in existence of Kumari Kandam.

References: Data about books, poems and images have been collected from various sources on the Internet.

Note: The story flow is developed by me, and thinking of its submersion partially or fully with Tsunami of 3102 BCE is completely my thinking.