Did planet Mercury (Budha) exist before lord Rama's time period?

Abstract

Sage Valmiki in Ramayana, did not mentioned about planet Mercury (Budha). In this article, we have analysed Sage Valmiki’s Bala Kanda slokas, Sundara Kanda slokas, Gomphotheres (Four tusked elephants) timeline, Himalayan mountain timeline, Lord Sri Rama’s birth timeline as per Vayu Purana, situations that lead to the birth of planet Mercury (Budha) in Vayu Purana and Padma Purana, Giant Impact of Earth’s Moon and various Yugas timeline calculations to conclude that, planet Mercury (Budha) did not existed during Lord Rama’s time period.