The Satpura Uplift and the Palaeoclimate of the Holocene and Auxiliary Evidence from the Valmiki Ramayana

The available geological, floral and faunal evidences support the existence of a very cold climate in the Peninsular India during the Pleistocene. Against this background, the middle to late Holocene event of a snowy winter at Panchavati described in the Valmiki Ramayana has been analysed.

The geological evaluation of the existing information indicates a 300 m epeirogenic uplift of the Satpura range and the adjacent areas, during the upper Pleistocene, followed by about 1000 m of orogenic uplift of the Satpura crustal block, bounded by the seismogenic, Moho-Reaching, Narmada and Tapti graben-Faults that were reactivated in the Holocene, as proved by recent geological mapping and geothermal drilling. The uplift may have taken place, either, by sudden displacements, or, by slow, tectonic creep, or, by a combination of both the processes, thereby raising the height of a pre-Existing Satpura range. This probably blocked partly, the route of very cold, arctic type of air-Flows descending from the Himalayan glaciers that had then reached lower elevations of 1000 to 1500 m and, interacting with the moist winds blowing eastwards from the Arabian Sea, thereby giving rise to the snowfall at Panchavati.

The warming up phase of the Quaternary commenced at the end of the Pleistocene glaciation. This continued up to the commencement of the late Holocene, and also caused the gradual recession of the of the snouts of the Himalayan glaciers to higher elevations. This resulted in the cessation of the arctic type of winds coming down to the Peninsula from the Himalayas, thus terminating the snowy winters prevalent earlier.

The astronomical method of dating the Ramayana gives the most probable age of the epic as 2000B.C. and the less probable age of 4000B.C., by traditional (historical and genealogical) methods of dating. The range of the above two ages tallies with the geologically deduced range of age of middle to late Holocene for the palaeoclimatic events described in the Panchavati area. It is suggested that the palaeoclimatic and other environmental changes of the Quaternary period in the Sonata area of the Peninsula be subjected to detailed studies in the future.