Rameshwaram

The temple and the island of Rameswaram have acquired this name because, Lord Rama worshipped Lord Shiva, the God of Gods here on return from Sri Lanka. According to legend, after killing Ravana Lord Rama returned with his consort Goddess Seetha to India first stepping on the shores of Rameswaram. To expiate the "dosha" of killing a brahmin, Lord Rama wanted to offer worship to Lord Shiva. Since there was no shrine in the island had despatched Sri Hauman to Kailash to bring an idol of Lord Shiva.

•      Between 1897 and 1904, the ALAR family of Devakottai completed the imposing eastern tower of nine tiers 126 feet in height from Thiruppani funds. Between 1907 and 1925 they renovated the Sanctum Sanctorum and the prakaram(inner most corridor) by replacing the lime stones by black granite with adequate provision for light and ventilation and also arranged for the performance of Ashtabandana Kumbabishekam in 1925; then on 22-2-1947 and the third Ashtabandana Maha Kumbabishegam was performed on 5-2-1975.
•  During the construction of first corridor, it was decided to renovate the second corridor. The lime stone structure in Second corridor was dismantled and started granited stone work. But only compound wall in west side and one portion in north side of western wing in south gate was renovate. After that no Renovation work as done.
•      Therefore, it was proposed to complete the Renovation work of Second Corridor by collecting Funds from the public. Between 1961 to 1985, the Renovation work of Second Corridor was taken up and completed the western side of Second Corridor and a portion in North and South side, from the Temple Renovation Fund. Now it has been proposed to complete the Renovation of Second Corridor which has been unfinished and the Renovation work is started now.

     The Sethupathy mandapam in front of the Temple’s Raja Gopuram9main Tower) was constructed by Ramanatha Sethupathy, a descendant of Ramnad Raja dynasty, with his own donation of Rs. 2,75,000 /-. This construction was started on 19-11-69 and completed on 11-2-74.     It is also most essential to construct the North and South Gopurams. Shri Jagadguru Sringeri Peedathipathy and Shri jagadguru Kanchi Kamakoti Peedathipathy have given their kind blessings for the constructions of the North and South Gopurams of the Temple.Adi Shankaracharya propagated the idea of Hinduism through Advaita Vedanta and the town of Rameshwaram stands as a testimony of his faith. One of the four pilgrimage places, Char Dham of India, it modestly invites followers of Lord Shiva from everywhere to pay visit at least once in their lifetime to the Jyotirlinga installed in the Ramanathaswamy Temple. Vaishnavites are also not left in their devotion to come to this place which is believed to be associated with Lord Rama, incarnation of Lord Vishnu as well.

Located in Ramanathapuram district, the town is a part of Pamban Island also known as Rameshwaram Island being associated with the legendry temple built in marvelous Dravidian style of architecture. Situated at the very tip of the Indian peninsula, the island is connected with Indian mainland by Pamban Bridge on Pamban Channel in Gulf of Mannar.

A visit to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh is not considered complete in terms of pilgrimage if not coupled with a trip to Rameshwaram which is said to be the Varanasi of South. Welcome to the charm that devotees come to associated with an abode of God irrespective of the place it belong to.The town has been changed many hands; main amongst them were Cholas, Jaffna Kingdom, Allaudin Khilji (Malik Kafur), Pandya Dynasty, Vijayanagara Empire, followed by some other rulers who ruled the town for a very short while before British East India Company directly took over it and made it a part of Madras Presidency.

The Rameshwaram Temple which is the main reason the town is known to every other person following Hinduism, Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu is said to be built by Sethupathis of Sethukavalan - custodian of the legendary bridge built by Lord Rama when he crossed the sea to reach Lanka (now Sri Lanka) the place in the control of Demon King Ravana, also a Brahman.

Rameshwaram is believed to be the place from where Lord Rama started his journey to get his wife Sita back from Ravana and the Lord was helped by 'Vaanar-Sena' army of legendary monkey-humans and served by Hanuman, Lord Ram's paramount devotee. Also, many later versions of Ramayana testify of installing a ShivaLingam by Shri Ram and Devi Sita to worship Lord Shiva as a part of penance for Brahmahatya - killing of Brahmana, Ravana who was himself a well-known staunch follower of Lord Shiva. The Rameshwaram Temple, built in 12th century is believed to have the same Shiva Lingam.

The bridge to Lanka named 'Rama Set u', also known as Adam's Bridge is of religious as well as ecological importance. Some 30 Km long, it was supposed to be passable on foot till 15th century after which a storm deepened the channel.Tirtham: Various temples were erected to honor those who had a left a lesson to learn from the epic of Ramayana and that includes-

• Agni Tirtham - A large lake and 22 wells with unique-tasting waters make it an important pilgrim place where they believe to get cured by the curative properties.
• Ram Tirtham (Gandamadana)- worshipped by many communities of south India.
• Lakshman Tirtham - Built inside Rameshwaram to give the brother of the Lord the place he rightly deserved helping his brother in the holy war against Ravana.
• Jatayu Tirtham - Commemorates the memory of Eagle God who assisted Lord Rama in his fight for Devi Sita.
• Kaveri and Jada Tirtham - A place is meant to worship for god Kapardikeshwar and a Peepal tree representing all the deities.1. Lord Rama who was the protagonist of Ramayana offered prayers to Lord Shiva at the very location of the Rameshwaram Temple.
  2. Also known as Ramanathaswamy, this temple is often regarded as ‘the Kashi of the South as it is equally significant.
  3. Rameshwaram Temple is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams, which are the holiest locations relating to Lord Shiva around the world.
  4. It is a unique temple as it is highly revered by both the Vaishnav and Shaivaite sects of Hinduism. Lord Rama had built the Rama Setu from here. It is the famous bridge which he walked upon to reach Lanka.
  5. After his victory in Lanka and Ravana’s downfall Rama returned to Rameshwaram to rest and worship Shiva to absolve the sin of killing Brahma’s grandson i.e Ravana.
  6. Lord Rama had instructed Hanuman to bring the famous Shivling from Kailash for worship. This pooja had to be done within an auspicious time period and Hanuman didn’t return quick enough. So Sita made a Linga out of sand which is known as the Ramalingam. But the Vishvalingam that Hanuman brought is always worshipped before the Ramalingam. The same tradition continues even today.
  7. The temple as it stands today was envisioned by the rulers of the Pandya Dynasty in 12thcentury CE. It has some of the longest corridors of any Indian temple and according to some experts; it also represents the Panchajanya conch shell of Lord Vishnu.
  8. Rameshwaram is also one of the Char Dhams (four holiest shrines) of Hinduism along with Badrinath, Dwarka and Puri.Rameswaram Temple is spread over an area of 15 acres and has lofty gopurams, massive walls and a colossal Nandi. Rameswaram Jyotirlinga also boasts of a 4000 feet long pillared corridor with over 4000 pillars, supposedly the longest in the world. The carved granite pillars are mounted on a raised platform. Worth noticing fact about this corridor is that the rock is not indigenous to the island and is said to have been brought in from elsewhere in Tamil Nadu across the sea.
  The eastern Rajagopuram towers to a height of 126 feet and has nine levels. The Western Rajagopuram is also quite impressive though not as tall as the Eastern one. The temple also has several mandapams with mini shrines to other deities. There is a huge Nandi measuring 12 feet in length and 9 feet in height with the idols of Viswanatha Naicker and Krishnama Naicker. The lingams are housed in the inner section of the Ramalingeshwara. High walls enclose the temple, forming a rectangle with huge pyramidal gopura entrances on each side.According to a popular legend, it was Lord Rama who installed this Linga here. Story goes that when Lord Ram was on his way to attack Ravana, he reached this place where he made a linga of sand and worshipped it. It is said that when Lord Rama was drinking water on the seashore there was a celestial proclamation - "You are drinking water without worshipping me". Listening to this Lord Rama made a linga of sand and worshipped it and asked to be blessed so that he could vanquish Ravana. Lord Shiva blessed him accordingly. He also requested Lord Shiva to reside eternally here so that entire mankind should benefit from it. Shiva then manifested himself as the Linga and got installed there for eternity.
  According to yet another legend, while returning to Ayodhya, Ram worshipped Lord Shiva in the form of a Shiva Lingam made of earth by Sita. It is said that Hanuman was entrusted with the task of bringing an image of Viswanathar from Banaras. Anticipating delay in Hanuman′s return from Benares, Rama offered worship to a Shivalingam at a pre-chosen auspicious moment. This lingam is referred to as Ramalingam and the town is known as Rameswaram.
  There is yet another Shivalingam here - Viswanathar said to have been brought by Hanuman from Banares. This Shivalingam is referred to as Kasilingam and Hanumalingam. Prayers are offered to Viswanathar before they are offered to Ramanathaswamy.Itis one of the most famous Shiva shrines in India. It is significant for Hindus as a pilgrimage to Banaras is incomplete without a Pilgrimage to Rameswaram. According to the legend, Rameswaram is the place from where Lord Rama, built a bridge across the sea to rescue his consort Sita from Ravana. This is also the place where Rama worshipped Lord Shiva to cleanse away the sin of killing Ravana. Both the Vaishnavites and Shaivites visit this pilgrimage which is known as the Varanasi of South. Rameswaram along with Dwarka, Puri and Badrinath form the four Char Dhams.
  
  Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple, Agnitheertham, Gandamadana Parvatham, Dhanushkodi, Kothandaraswamy Temple and Erwadi are the popular and the most visited pilgrimage attractions . Sri Ramanathaswamy temple (Rameswaram Temple) is one of the most fascinating temples in entire India. This is renowned for its magnificent corridors and massive sculptured pillars. The third corridor of Ramanathaswamy temple is the longest one in the world. The presiding deity here is in the form of a Linga with the name Sri Ramanathaswamy, it also happens to be one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. This temple stands as an epitome of Dravidian architectural style of the medieval ages.
  
  There are about 64 thirthas situated in Rameshwaram, of which, 24 are considered as important. Bathing in these Tirthas is a major aspect of the pilgrimage to Rameswaram and is considered equivalent to penance. Twenty-two of the Tirthas are within the Ramanathasvami Temple. Ramanathapuram, Tirupullani, Uthirakosamangai, Sethu are the nearby attractions to Island of Rameshwaram. Beautiful beaches at Olaikuda, Danushkodi and Pamban are other attractions apart from the religious point of view. Scuba diving and Migratory birds watching during winter are the activities here.
  
  Rameshwaram is located on the Pamban Island, which lies at the very tip of the Indian peninsula in the Gulf of Mannar. Pamban Island, which is separated from the mainland of India by the Pamban Channel, is connected by the Pamban Bridge or Annai Indira Gandhi Bridge.