Lanka was built by Visvakarma. As per Sundara Kanda, it was once ruled by Kubera.
पालितां राक्षसेन्द्रेण निर्मितां विश्वकर्मणा |
प्लवमानामिवाकाशे ददर्श हनुमान् पुरीम् || ५-२-२०Hanuma saw that city of Lanka ruled by Ravana the king of Rakshasas, constructed by Visvakarma (architect of Gods), and which looked as though it were floating in the sky.
संपूर्णां राक्षसैर्घोरैर्नागैर्भोगवतीमिव |
अचिन्त्यां सुकृतां स्पष्टां कुबेराध्युषितां पुरा || ५-२-२४Lanka was filled with horrible rakshasas and serpants like the city of Bhogavati (capital of Patala), one which was unfathomable, a well arranged and a clear city governed by Kubera in earlier times.
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Hence, Visvakarma, great architect of Gods, constructed various buildings in Lanka, with the available material, including construction material, Gold, Gems, etc, in the then Lanka. It was clearly mentioned that series of mansions contain golden hued pillars, with their top portions studded with crystals and pearls and decorated with gold.
प्रासादमालाविततां स्तम्भैः काञ्चनराजतैः |
शातकुम्भमयैर्जालैर्गन्धर्वनगरोपमाम् || ५-२-५१
सप्तभौमाष्टभौमैश्च स ददर्श महापुरीम् |
तलैः स्फतिकसंकीर्णैः कार्तस्वरविभूषितैः || ५-२-५२
Hanuma saw that great city filled with series of mansions, golden hued pillars and window lattices, which was equal to the city of Gandharvas, consisting of seven and eight storied buildings with their top portions studded with crystals and pearls and decorated with gold.
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Silver and Golden pillars cannot sustain mansions of that magnitude.
The inference could be that the pillars and the houses were made of Wood. And, the wooden pillars/walls of houses of those mansions might have been covered with Silver or Gold sheets and crystals and pearls embedded in the Gold sheets.
The areas where the wooden pillars were not covered with golden/silver sheets are the art galleries and other pleasure houses, where wooden pillars are visible to Shri Hanuman. wooden mountains - दारु पर्वतकान् .
शिबिका विविध आकाराः स कपिर् मारुत आत्मजः |
लता गृहाणि चित्राणि चित्र शाला गृहाणि च || ५-६-३६
क्रीडा गृहाणि च अन्यानि दारु पर्वतकान् अपि |
कामस्य गृहकम् रम्यम् दिवा गृहकम् एव च || ५-६-३७
ददर्श राक्षस इन्द्रस्य रावणस्य निवेशने |That Hanuma the son of Vayu saw in the house of Ravana the king of rakshasas, palanquins of various shapes, wonderful bowers, art galleries and other pleasure houses which were constructed with wooden mountains, house for sexual delight and a beautiful diurnal house.
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Sage Valmiki said in Sundara Kanda that the entire Lanka got engulfed in the fire set by Shri Hanuman.
आदित्यकोटीसदृशः सुतेजा |
लङ्काम् समस्ताम् परिवार्य तिष्ठन् |
शब्दैरनेकैरशनिप्ररूडै |
र्भिन्दन्निवाण्डम् प्रबभौ महाग्निः || ५-५४-३३The great fire persisted, surrounding the entire Lanka, having a good splendour equal to that of millions of suns and blazed like a broken-up hemi-sphere of the world, creating many sounds of a wide-spread thunderbolt.
——
The buildings constructed with bricks, mortar and sand would not catch fire easily, though the wooden doors and windows might get damaged in a fire accident.
If we consider that the mansions, including pillars in Ravana’s Lanka were constructed by Visvakarma with wood, then there was a bright chance those mansions catching the fire set by Shri Hanuman quickly.
Further, according to my understanding, the wooden pillars would be carefully prepared, often with a layer of adhesive like Lac to provide a smooth and stable base for the gold leaf.
Ancient Chinese and Indian civilizations used the dye extracted from lac for dyeing silk and leather and as a cosmetic rouge and a coloring for head ornaments. The superior adhesive quality of the resin made it useful for setting jewels and sword hilts as well as repairing broken pottery.
Hence, Visvakarma, great architect of Gods, might have used Lac on wooden walls/pillars in Lanka, for providing a stable base as well as adhesive for setting crystals and pearls over Golden sheets.
Thus, the wooden structures in Ravana’s Lanka, combined with Lac, might have contributed for catching fire set by Shri Hanuman.
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(The core idea for this post, ie., the houses, structures in Ravana's Lanka might have been constructed by using wood, is my wife's contribution. The supplementary information and relevant shlokas were added)
శ్రీ మన్నారాయణ విశ్లేషణ బాగుంది. మనం వినే వాల్మీకి రామాయణం ద్వారా శ్రీ హనుమంతుడు లంకా దహనం చేశారు.ఒకరోజులో లంకా నగరం దహించి బడింది అంటే అవి fire catching material అనడం లో సందేహం లేదు.అంతేగాక అవి ఆ ప్రాంతంలో సులభంగా లభించేవి. అయితే వాటిని అంటించి అంటే అతుకు బెట్టి చేయడానికి వేరే పదార్థాలు అవసరం లేని విధంగా నిర్మించే సామర్థ్యం అప్పటి వారికి ఉండే ది అని నా ఆలోచన.🙏🕉️
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