Rameswaram

Paadal Petra Sthalams - Ramanathapuram District

God

Ramanatheswarar, facing east

Goddess

Malaivalar Kadhali, facing south

Other Deities

Santhana Ganapathi, Maha Ganapathi, Muruga, Anjaneya, Viswanathar, Visalakshi, Pallikonda Perumal, Sethu Madhavar, Nataraja, Mahalakshmi

Rameswaram is a very large temple with 4 main Prakarams. The four cardinal directions have 4 beautiful and large Gopurams. The east gopuram is the Rajagopuram and has 9 tiers. The other gopurams are all 5 tiered. A total of 64 Theerthams are in and around Rameswaram, out of which 24 are considered very important as per Skanda Puranam. Out of this 22 Theerthams inside the temple are passed by the desiring pilgrims on their way to the sanctum sanctorum of the main deity. The Rameswaram has the longest length of corridors among the Hindu temple of India and the total length of all these corridors together is around 3850 feet. The outer corridor has about 1212 Pillars. There are several mandapams inside the Rameswaram temple including Anuppu Mandapam, Sukravara Mandapam, Setupati Mandapam, Kalyana Mandapam, Nandi Mandapam and Chokkattan Mandapam. The Chokkattan mandapam is in the form of a chessboard and the adorned processional deities are kept here during the Vasantotsavam (Spring Festival). Rameswaram temple is considered one of the 12 holy Jyotirlingams in India. These are the temples where Lord Shiva is said to have appeared as an endless pillar of light. The other 11 Jyotirlingams are Somnath in Gujarat, Mallikarjuna in Srisailam, Mahakaleswar in Ujjain, Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Kedarnath in the Himalayas, Bhimashankar in Maharashtra, Viswanath in Varanasi, Triambakeshwar in Maharashtra, Vaidyanath in Deoghar, Nageswar in Dwarka, and Grishneshwar in Aurangabad. Ablution to the main deity here at Rameswaram is only done with the waters of the River Ganges. There are several other important places and shrines around Rameswaram that are connected to its legend. They include Dhanushkodi from where the bridge to Sri Lanka was built and Gandhamadhana Parvatham from where Lord Rama is believed to have surveyed the sea and the distant land of Sri Lanka.

64 Theerthams including Agni Theertham (seashore, east of the temple), Dhanushkodi Theertham, Jataa Theertham, Brahma Theertham, Agastya Theertham, Hanuman Kundam, Lakshmana Theertham, Naga Theertham, and more. 22 Theerthams inside the temple – Brahma-hatti Vimochana, Chakra, Chandra, Gandhamadana, Ganga, Gavaksa, Gavaya, Gaya, Gayatri, Koti, Lakshmi, Nala, Nila, Sankha, Sarasvati, Sarva, Satyamrta, Savitri, Sethu Madhava, Siva, Surya, Yamuna Theerthams

Sacred Tree (Sthala Vriksham) – No information

History

Rameswaram temple was under a thatched roof in ancient times and was gradually developed to become larger. The temple has been visited and praised in their hymns by Thirugnanasambandar and Thirunavukkarasar (7th Century CE). A shrine in the west corridor is said to belong to the 11th or 12th century CE by historians probably built by the Sri Lankan King Parakrama Bahu (regnal years 1153-1186 CE). There have been significant contributions by the Kings of Sri Lanka including Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan (1380–1410 CE) who shipped stone blocks from the Koneswaram temple in Trincomalee to built the sanctum sanctorum and his successor Gunaveera Cinkaiariyan who oversaw structural development. The Rameswaram temple in its present form is said to have been built only during the 17th Century CE during the reign of King Kizhavan Sethupathi (Raghunatha Kilavan 1671–1710 CE).

Legend

Lord Rama is believed to have worshiped Lord Shiva here to get rid of the sin of killing Ravana in Sri Lanka. Anjaneya who was asked to bring a Lingam from the Himalayas was late in returning and in the meantime, Sita created a Lingam with the earth here. This Lingam is the Ramanatheswarar, and the one brought by Anjaneya is installed in the side as Viswalingam.

Directions

Rameswaram is an Island connected with the mainland by the Pamban Rail Bridge and a new road bridge. Rameswaram is about 55 kilometers east of Ramanathapuram. The nearest point of Sri Lanka is about 25 kilometers across the sea from Danushkodi.

Stay and Food

Rameswaram has many lodges, hotels, choultries, and restaurants. Ideally, at least 2 days would be required to see all the aspects of the Rameswaram Temple, the different associated shrines, and theerthams.

Paadal Petra Sthalams

Tamilnadu Temples