Introduction

Rameshwaram Jyotirlinga represents the

southernmost of the 12 Jyotirlingams of

India and has been a time honored

pilgrimage center held on par with Varanasi.

Rameshwaram Temple Jyotirlinga is

associated closely with the Ramayana and

Rama's victorious return from Sri Lanka.

The island is frequented by pilgrims from all

over India.It is one of the most deeply

venerated places of India for not only is it

one of the 12 Jyotirlings – the most sacred of

Shiva temples but it is also one of the four

Chardhams, the most ancient and holiest

Vaisnavite pilgrim circuit established by continued on page 14

The twelve jyotirlinga are Somnath in Gujarat, Mallikarjuna at Srisailam in Andra Pradesh, Mahakaleswar at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Kedarnath in Himalayas, Bhimashankar in Maharashtra, Viswanath at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Triambakeshwar in Maharashtra, Vaidyanath at Deogarh in Jharkand, Nageswar at Dwarka in Gujarat, Rameshwar at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and Grishneshwar at Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

Adi Shankaracharya. Moreover, a

pilgrimage to Kashi (Varanasi) is considered

incomplete without a pilgrimage to

Rameshwaram.

Situated in the south-eastern parts of Tamil

Nadu, the sacred island of Rameshwaram is

a sandy pit about 50 kilometers long and 12

kilometers wide and protruding from the

mainland towards the coast of Sri Lanka.

That it was connected to the mainland in

ancient times is evident from the submerged

blocks of a causeway that are visible from

the modern bridge that now provides the rail

and road l ink to the island from

Geography

Ramanthapuram, 55 kilometers to the west.

“After vanquishing Ravan and killing him in

the war, Rama returned to Rameshwaram

island with his consort Sita. Sita had to

perform the ordeal by fire (Agni Pariksha)

here to prove to the world her unblemished

character and purity, though having been

kidnapped by Ravan.

To kill a Brahmin, is considered to be a great

sin. The sin continues till it is expiated and

washed off by acts of penance. All the sages

assembled to receive Rama and Sita

returning from Lanka after killing the ten-

Legend

This article is a researched article and borrows heavily from printed and electronic encyclopedias as well as material provided by our panel of research scholars, astrologers, academics and pundits.

Rameshwaram – The Temple Of Corridors

Je rameshwardarshankari hahi |

Te tanu taji mam loka sidaari hahi ||

Those who go to Rameshwar and seeks my blessings shall always reside in Shivloka.From Ram Charitra Manasby Sant Tulsidas

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15

headed demon. Rama felt as if some

shadow was following him. The Rishis

explained it to be the sin of killing a Brahmin

(Brahmahatya Papa) Ravan, the Demon

king, was the grandson of the sage

Pulastya, a Brahmin by caste.

Although Rama had killed Ravan in the war

for saving the righteous persons from

Ravan’s evil deeds, still Rama had to

perform the prayaschitta before a Shiva

linga. As there was no Shiva linga there,

Hanuman was ordered to go to Kailasa at

once and request Shiva to give his image for

worship at Gandhamadana Hill. As

Hanuman was not able to get the image,

Rama started the penance to keep the time

of the muratha as the auspicious time was to

expire shortly, the delay was causing anxiety

and the Rishis and Rama decided not to

miss the auspicious time. As there was no

Shiva linga present, Sita had to make it out

continued from page 13

of sand and the same was worshipped at the

fixed hour, Wednesday the Sukla tenth of

Jaishta when the moon was in Hasta and the

sun in Taurus.

Shortly afterwards Hanuman arrived with

the Shiva linga from Kailas. Finding the puja

was over, Hanuman felt sorry and became

dejected. Seeing his discomfiture Rama told

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“After vanquishing Ravan and killing him in the war, Rama returned to Rameshwaram island with hisconsort Sita. Sita had to perform the ordeal by fire (Agni Pariksha) here to prove to the world her unblemished character and purity, though having been kidnapped by Ravan.

The famous Pamban bridge connecting Rameshwaram with the main land

16

him to throw away the lingam already

worshipped and install the one brought by

him in its place.. Hanuman, it is said, tied his

tail to the Shiva linga and tried to pull it out ,

but failed.

Seeing this, Rama consoled him by asking

him to install the Shiva linga brought by him

continued from page 14

to the left of the one that had been

worshipped and then Rama ordained that all

pilgrims should worship the linga installed

by Hanuman first, which is being followed

even now. This linga is called Kasi

Vishvanath Ramanthswami Ramalinga.

The figure of Hanuman in the posture of

pulling out the Shivalinga made of sand in a

small shrine in the temple precincts is

worshipped by all pilgrims”

(excerpted and adapted from Temples of

Tamilnad by R.K.Das published by

Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan)

Dhanushkod i was a t t he t i p o f

Rameshwaram is land where the Bay of

Bengal joins the Indian Ocean, before it was

destroyed in a cyclone. In Tamil,

Dhanushkodi means, “end of the bow”. The

name of the place Dhanushkodi is derived

from the belief that, on his victorious return

from Lanka Lord Sri Rama himself

destroyed with his bow and arrow the bridge

that he had built to cross the sea and reach

Lanka.

Rama did this at the request of Vibishana the

younger brother of Ravan who Rama had

installed as the king of Lanka after killing

Ravan, because Vibishana was afraid of

many unscrupulous attacks on Lanka by

other kings in the future.

Dhanushkodi

Rameshwaram is frequented by pilgrims from all over India. It is one of the most deeply veneratedplaces of India for not only is it one of the 12 Jyotirlings – the most sacred of Shiva temples but it isalso one of the four Chardhams, the most ancient and holiest Vaisnavite pilgrim circuit established byAdi Shankaracharya. Moreover, a pilgrimage to Kashi (Varanasi) is considered incomplete without apilgrimage to Rameshwaram.

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The Rameshwaram temple pillars

continued from page 15

This is also the spot where Vibishana

surrendered to Rama after being exiled by

Ravan.

The temple, which has over the centuries

grown into its present gigantic dimension,

stands on the eastern shore of the island

which is shaped like a conch that Lord

Vishnu bears in one of his hands. No field is

ploughed or oil pressed anywhere in the

island.

The temple is 264 meters east to west and

200 meters north to south. There are two big

Gopurams and two unfinished ones. At the

main eastern entrance stands a huge

gopuram of 38.4 meters height. The

outermost or third corridor is 196 meters

long and 120.4 meters wide and is one of the

achievements of Hindu artists down the

ages. There are about 4000 pillars each 3.7

meters high, all of which are located on a

platform 1.5 meters high. What is

remarkable, apart from the sheer artistry is

that all these stones must have been

transported here from long distances across

the sea. A huge Nandi 6.7 meters long and 5

meters high stands outside the second

prakara It is made of sudai, a material used

for sculptures on gopuras.

Another important aspect of pilgrimage to

Rameshwaram is bathing in the sacred

baths or theerthams that are 22 in number,

some of which are situated outside the

temple whilst the rest are inside the temple.

Pilgrims take the first dip in the

Agnitheertham, which is in the sea itself and

rush to the temple in wet clothes and take a

dip in the theerthams till the final dip is taken

in the Kodi theertham. Some pilgrims take a

little water from each theertham and then

pour it on themselves in one consolidated

bath.

None other than Lord Krishna is said to have

bathed in all these 22 theerthams in the

prescribed order.

The Temple

The 22 theerthams

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The Kasi Vishvanath Ramanthswami Ramalinga at Rameshwaram

Volunteers of the Gaytri Pariwar cleaning the corridors at Rameshwaram