Did Lord Rama Name Australia? Aniruddhacharya’s 'Astralay' Viral Claim Leaves Internet In Disbelief

Australia’s origin story has taken an unexpected spiritual twist after a video of Kathavachak and religious leader Aniruddhacharya went viral online. Instead of geography or history, he offered a mythological explanation for how the continent came into existence and the internet can’t stop reacting to it.In the circulating Instagram clip, Aniruddhacharya narrates that Australia's roots go back to the legendary battle between Lord Ram and Ravana in Lanka during the Ramayana era.He says, ““Australia kya hai? Jab Ram-Ravan ka yudh poora hua, toh us yudh mein hazaron–lakhon talwarein padi thi, kyunki sainik maare gaye, Lanka ke log maare gaye.” (“What is Australia? When the war between Ram and Ravan ended, thousands—lakhs of swords were lying there

because soldiers were killed, the people of Lanka were killed.”)

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He further explains that crores of people had perished, including Ravana’s sons and grandchildren. He continues, “Sochiye, Ravan ke ek lakh bete aur sawa lakh naati, aur Ravan ki puri sena — agar sab mar gaye, toh un sab ki talwārein aur astra-shastra wahan kachre ki tarah jama nahi ho jaate?” (“Think about it — Ravan’s one lakh sons, his one and a quarter lakh grandsons, and his entire army. If all of them were killed, wouldn’t all their swords and weapons have piled up there like heaps of waste?”)According to him, the battleground was left with mountains of weapons. Concerned that powerful arms like those of Ravana or Meghnath might fall into the wrong hands, Lord Ram allegedly instructed his army to load the weapons onto ships and discard them far away.As he explains, ““Jahaan Ram ji ne apni sena ko kaha ki jao, astra rakh kar aao. Toh jab woh sainik astra rakhne gaye, toh jahan astralay tha — jahan wo astra rakhe gaye — us jagah ka naam pad gaya ‘Australia’.” (“When Lord Ram told his army to go and put away their weapons, the soldiers went to the place where the armoury was. That place — where all the weapons were kept — eventually came to be called ‘Australia’.”)How the Internet Reacted - Social media users jumped in with humour, disbelief, and sarcasm.One person quipped, “Australia ki fielding set hogayi abh.”Another joked, “Toh phir vastra bhi kahin rahke honge dhone ke liye, toh vastralaya country kahan hai ?? Shastralaya continent kahan hai ??? Kuch bhi phenko lo.”A third commented, “So visionary !! … Australaya sounds so much correct … Google maps needs to be updated.”