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Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple is located in the island town of Rameswaram, off the Sethu coast of Tamil Nadu and is reached via the Pamban Bridge across the sea. It is one of the four sacred Char Dhams in the country. The temple gets its name from Lord Rama because he came here to worship Lord Shiva.
Rameshwaram Jyotirlinga represents the southernmost of the 12 Jyotirlingams of India and has been a time honoured pilgrimage centre held on par with Banaras. Rameshwaram Temple Jyotirlinga is an interesting temple both from the standpoint of its association with the Ramayana and the long ornate corridors, towers and 36 theerthams.
Rankings & Ratings #1 in 2 Things to Do in Rameswaram
Sree Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram is a highly significant temple in India. The temple is very well-maintained. It is very easy to reach the temple. There are many tourist attractions you can visit around the place in Rameswaram.
Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple is located in the island town of Rameswaram, off the Sethu coast of Tamil Nadu and is reached via the Pamban Bridge across the sea. It is one of the four sacred Char Dhams in the country. The temple gets its name from Lord Rama because he came here to worship Lord Shiva.
Rameshwaram Jyotirlinga represents the southernmost of the 12 Jyotirlingams of India and has been a time honoured pilgrimage centre held on par with Banaras. Rameshwaram Temple Jyotirlinga is an interesting temple both from the standpoint of its association with the Ramayana and Rama′s victorious return from Sri Lanka and the long ornate corridors, towers and 36 theerthams.
The Primary deity is Lord Ramanathswamy (Shiva) in the form of a lingam. There is a second Shivalingam in the temple, called Vishwalingam that was brought by Hanuman. As per Lord Rama's instructions, the Vishwalingam is worshipped first. The shrines of Ramanathswamy and Goddess Vishalakshi are separated by a corridor. There are separate shrines for numerous gods and goddesses.
This temple, spread over an area of 15 acres, has lofty gopurams, massive walls and a colossal Nandi. Rameswaram also boasts of a 4000 feet long pillared corridor with over 4000 pillars, supposedly the longest in the world. The interiors are very striking with long corridors running between columns built on platforms that are 5 ft high. The Pillars themselves are around 25 to 30 ft high.
What is unique about this corridor is that the rock is not indigenous to the island and it was brought in from elsewhere in Tamil Nadu across the sea. The eastern Rajagopuram towers to a height of 126 feet and it has nine levels. The Western Rajagopuram, though impressive is not as tall as the Eastern one. The stuccoed image of Nandi is about 18 feet tall and 22 feet in length.
Similar to many ancient temples, the Ramanathaswamy Temple is also surrounded by a high wall that has Gopuram (towers) on its eastern and western sides and gates on its northern and southern sides. An interesting structure in the form of a chessboard is formed at the junction of the third corridor and the path leading from the western gopuram to the Setumadhava shrine. This structure is known as Chokkattan Madapam where all the Utsava deities are adorned and kept during festivities and auspicious days. The outer set of corridors is the longest in the world, with a total of 1212 pillars. The pillars of the main tower or rajagopuram are carved with unique individual compositions.
After killing Ravana (a brahmin), Lord Rama arrived at Rameshwaram from Lanka with his wife Sita. To expiate the 'kukarma' or 'dosha' of killing a brahmin, he wanted to worship Lord Shiva. Since there was no Shivling in Rameshwaram, he sent Hanuman to get the biggest Shivling from the Himalayas. Since it took him a long time to return, Sita made a shivling with mud and sand that became the original Rameshwaram shivalingam.
The island of Rameshwaram contains 64 holy water bodies ( theerthas), of which 24 are considered very important. 22 of these tirthas are present within the temple. The largest and the most important one is the Agni Theertham (Bay of Bengal). Bathing in this theerthas is believed to absolve one of all crime and negativity, thus making Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple a very important ritual during the pilgrimage.
One can easily reach Rameswaram Temple by taking regular buses or by hiring taxis from anywhere in Tamil Nadu It is situated by the beach and locals will be more than happy to help you if you are lost. Madurai Airport is the nearest one situated at a distance of 167 kms from Rameswaram.
Sethu Express is the best way to get to Rameswaram - fast, affordable (at around 350 Rupees for a Sleeper class berth) and it reaches Rameswaram early in the morning at 4:45 AM. While going on this train, DO NOT MISS the experience of the train going over Pamban bridge at around 4:15 AM.
