ni means colour. Thus the name Vanni or Varni and it is a mutated name from Tamiravarni, Tambravarni, Tambapanni or Tammanna. Another river called Tamirabharani is located in Tuticorin area and there was a connection of land which kept both countries together during ancient times. The name Tamil is derived from Tamir. Ptolemy may have named both sides of the sea with the same name in his Greek map. Ramayana refers to Mannar in epic terms. Adam's bridge connected Tamilnadu with Mannar district. According to an epic called "Ramayana", Rama built the temples of Ketheeswaram and Rameshwaram. India and Sri Lanka remained as one piece without separation during ice age.
The dry, barren island that lies at the eastern end of Adam's Bridge, a chain of shoals off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. Mannar Island has an area of about 50 square miles (130 square km). Fishing is economically important. The small port of Mannar is on the southeastern shore with a small local population of 132,000.
Adam's Bridge, also known as "Rama's Bridge", is a chain of limestone shoals, between the islands of Mannar, and Rameswaram, off the southeastern coast of Tamilnadu, India.(Source:Wikipedia) |