Rameshwaram -- Zenith of Spirituality

Rameshwaram is an island city located in southern Indian state of Tamilnadu at the peninsular tip forming a part of an archepology and link between India and Sri Lanka . The city is associated with Hindu faith and is known for beautiful surroundings .

Besides the religious fervor the place gives to its visitors , it also Blends Faith, Architecture , Engineering & waves of religious chants and music in its temples giving the visitors an ever lasting memorable experience

The Infinitely long corridors of the Grand Temple , Longest Corridor In the world .

Hindu Faith And Rameshwaram

It lies in southern vertex of Chaar Dham pilgrimage (4 point pilgrimage) , the other three beings Dwarka(West) , Puri(East) , Badrinath(North) forming a quadrangle of 4 holiest cities of india .the cities are associated with Hindu gods as under .

Sr No

City

Direction

Deity

1

Badrinath

North

Lord Vishnu

2

Dwarka

West

Lord Krishna

3

Puri

East

Lord Jagannath

4

Rameshwaram

South

Lord Shiva

Rameshwaram “Jyotirlinga”

Jyotirlingas are a devotional representation of Lord Shiva . Jyoti means ‘light’ and linga means ‘Mark’. So Jyotirlinga means the ‘Radiant Sign Of Lord Shiva’. Rameshwaram is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in India .

As per Hindu religious texts once Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu , the two most important gods of trinity of Hindu gods , had an altercation over the superiority among themselves. To settle this dispute which led to a war between them , Lord Shiva appeared as a huge pillar of light and asked them if could find the end .The one who could find will be considered as superior. Neither could find the end and the war was avoided . The Jyotirlinga temples are places where Lord Shiva appeared as a column of light. There are 12 of them and they are sacred sites for Hindus.

Rameshwaram and Ramayana

According to Hindu epic Ramayana , Sita wife of Hindu god Ram was kidnapped by Ravan , the king of Sri Lanka who wanted to marry her and was kept in his captivity. .

Ram and his army had gone to Sri Lanka by making a bridge connecting India and Sri Lanka to release her from his captivity . The bridge was made by the army at Rameshwaram and was used by the army to cross over the water mass between the countries . Sita was then released after a fierce battle between them in which Ravan was killed . The Hindu festival of Dashhara and Diwali are associated with this war . After the war , the couple landed at Rameshwaram before they proceeded to their kingdom .

Sita was also asked to prove her sanctity at Rameshwaram by jumping into a bonfire , A test which she passed successfully . Rameshwaram & The Ram Sethu ( “Ram Bridge” )- The Mystry

The 40 km long Ram Sethu ( “Ram Bridge” ) bridge was built by the army of Lord Ram to reach Sri Lanka . The satellite images shows the existence of submerged stone bridge connecting the two countries . The scientific estimates dates back the bridge to 5000 year before common era (BCE) . Here lies the mystry . The text says the bridge was of floating stones over which the army crossed over the ocean , while the bridge is submerged . This could be attributed to pumice stones which are floating stones but they submerged into ocean after some time . This leads to another controversy as the pumice stones are formed near the volcanic eruption while the nearest source of the volcanic stones from the island town is in Andaman Islands , near Indonesia . How these were brought 7000 year before from Andaman Islands to Rameshwaram remains unanswered ??

Parihara Sthala And The Theerthams

Parihara Sthala are the holy places which can help you in overcoming your sins . Theerthams are the holy ponds in these places and a dip in this pond helps a person getting rid of his sins . Rameshwaram is a Parihara Sthala with more than 20 Theerthams .

The Architecture And The Engineering

This religious city of India, which is one of the Char Dhams, has seen reign of many dynasties as well. The dravidian architecture of the buildings here presents a captivating sight. Many dynasties including the Jaffna Kingdom, Pandyan kingdom, Khilji family of Delhi, Vijayanagara Dynasty, Nayak rule and East Indian Company had ruled this city and left traces of their reign in the form of various structures and the everyday lifestyles of residents. For instance, when Alauddin Khilji came to Rameshwaram. Alia al-Din Khaldji mosque was built while it was during the Sethupathis rule, a huge amount was invested in the artistic development and beautification of Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple. It was also an important point for commerce too as it used to point for travelling to Sri Lanka, Ceylon.

Rameshwaram Tourism is not for only religious visit; along with many prominent shrine, its scenic beauty and architectural excellence of temples allures everyone. The most popular place to see in Rameshwaram is Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple. Its high religious significance along with marvelous structure captivates everyone. This temple has 22 holy theertham or wells. It is believed that bathing in all these 22 theertham along with a darshan of the Lord Ramanatha Swamy at the temple will free a person from his/her all the sins. Along with this temple, other ancient shrines in Rameshwaram are Kothandaramaswamy Temple, Agnitheertham, Dhanushkodi, Gandamadana Parvatham and many more. Ariyaman Beach, Pamban bridge and Adam’s Bridge or Rama Sethu are also worth visiting.

Reaching Rameshwaram

By Air

Nearest Aiport -- Madurai Airport

Best Served By Chennai Airport (560 Kms)

By Train

Trains Running from Major Cities Such As Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore,Trichy, Thanjavur On Regular Basis

By road

Regular buses to Rameshwaram from Madurai (170 Kms)