Ramanathaswamy Temple - The 7th Jyotirling
sutamraparnijalarashiyoge nibadhya setum vishikhairasa nkhyaih |
shriramachandrena samarpitam tam rameshvarakhyam niyatam namami ||
Rameswaram is a Jyotirlinga located in Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu in India. It is about 600 km from Chennai, the state capital of Tamil Nadu.
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| Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu |
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| Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu |
How to Reach
By Bus and Train
- Buses connected with all important towns of Tamil Nadu, City Buses are available including night services. Point to Point services, Tourist taxi, auto / cycle rickshaws and horse carts are also available.The taxi charges for a small car (Indica) is around Rupees 10 per KM. It costs around Rupees 3800 for return trip from Madurai to Rameshwaram. Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport corporation ( APSRTC ) operates Rameswaram , Tirupati daily service.
- Rail connected with all major cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy, Tirunelveli.
Places To See
- ''Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple'' this temple situated near the sea on the eastern side of the island is renowned for its magnificent prakarsa or corridors with massive sculptured pillars on either side. The longest corridor in the world is here and it is 197 metres long from East to West and is 133 meters wide from South-North. The temple has a Gopuram 38.4 metres tall. Different rulers built the temple as it stands today, at different periods from the 12th century A.D. Pooja is performed for an hour early morning daily to the Spatika Lingam that was given by the Shankaracharya to this temple. There is a popular belief that one needs to take bath in 22 theertha gundams with in the temple premises before having darshan. There many guides who will approach us as soon as we enter the temple premises. One needs to negotiate the deal of how much to pay them if we need their services. It is believed that the water from these gundams have some medicinal properties. The history of the temple is linked with "Ramayana" and it is believed the the deity was installed by Lord Rama after the war with Ravana at the instance of the great saints to get rid of the "Brahma Dosham".
- ''Agnitheertham'' Sri Ramanathaswamy temple faces east. The seashore, about 100 metres from the main entrance of the temple, is very calm and therefore ideal for bathing. The water at this place is considered sacred and known as Agni theertham. Pilgrims perform poojas in honour of their ancestors at this seashore.
- ''Gandamadana Parvatham'' is a hillock situated 3 km away and is the highest point in the island. Here one can see the imprint of Lord Rama’s feet on a chakra. The entire island of Rameswaram is visible from this point.
- ''Sugreevar Temple/Theertham'' is situated on the way to Gandamadana Parvatham near the Doordarshan Kendra.
- ''Satchi Hanuman Temple'' is considered to be the place where Hanuman delivered the good news of finding Sita to Rama with satchi or evidence, Choodamani or the jewel that belonged to Sita. Situated 3 km from the main temple, on the way to the Gandamadana Parvatham.
- ''Badrakaliamman Temple'' is a temple for Devi Durga, situated 2 km from the main temple on the way to the Gandamadana Parvatham.
- ''The Five-faced Hanuman Temple'' (2 km from the main temple) the deity of Hanuman drawn with senthooram. Idols of Lord Ram, Sita and Hanuman brought from Dhanushkodi during the 1964 cyclone were placed here. The floating stone, used to build the Sethubandhanam or the bridge between India and Lanka can be found in this temple.
- ''JadaTheertham'' (about 3.5 km from Rameswaram on the Dhanushkodi road) legend has it that Lord Rama, on his way back after killing Ravana, Worshipped Sri Ramalinga (believed to be installed by him). Before doing so, he washed his hair(Jada) in this theertham to purify himself.
- ''Nambu Nayagiamman Temple'' is greatly venerated by the people of Ramnad District. It is situated 8 km from the main temple in Rameswaram on the way to Dhanushkodi.
- ''Kothandaramaswamy Temple'' is located 12 km away from Rameswaram. A popular belief is that Vibhishana, brother of Ravana, surrendered before Rama here.
- ''Dhanushkodi'' (18 km) the southern tip of the island, Dhanushkodi was completely washed away by the 1964 cyclone. This is a strip of land about one km wide and 18 km long on the eastern end of Rameswaram island. On one side are the waters of the Indian Ocean and on the other the waters of the Bay of Bengal. The two seas otherwise known as Ratnakaran and Mahodadhi with their confluence is shaped like a bow while the strip of land resemble an arrow poised for release. Devout Hindus consider the Adi Sethu or the arrowhead, a sacred place to perform religious rites. It is also place worth visiting for its scenic beauty and bird life.
- ''Villoondi Theertham'' is situated 7 km from the main temple on the way to Pamban.
- ''Annai Indira Gandhi Road Bridge'' (12 km) is also known as the Pamban Bridge that connects the Rameswaram island with the main land. It is the longest sea bridge in India and its length is nearly 2.2 km and stands as a fine example for Indian architecture. The bridge was constructed with sufficient elevation. The islands near by and parallel rail bridge below can be viewed from this bridge.
Pooja Procedure at Main Temple
It is very important for you to know the correct procedure to offer Pooja at the main temple. Temple management allows only Hindus to perform this pooja. It is best to hire a guide a day in advance, generally around Rs 400-500 for everything. Pooja at the main temple is a 4 step process:
- ''Mani Darshan'' You should watch the ''Sphatik'' (Emerald) mani first thing in the morning at main temple. Darshan timings are 4:00 - 5:00 a.m. You should not take a bath before. There is a special entrance for Rs 50- but it's better to stand in the general queue for Rs 10 which, counter-intuitively, moves faster.
- ''Samudra Snanam'' Next, you should walk down to ''Samudram(Sea)'' for ''Snanam'' (bathing). The sea, 500m away from the temple, is very peaceful and shallow here without any tides at all. Mythology says that Samudram surrendered to Lord Rama during his attack on Lanka and since then it is calm.
- ''Teerth Snanam'' Proceed to the temple for ''Teerth snanam'' (Holy bath). The temple has 22 wells that are said to contain holy water from different places. You need to sequentially take bath at each place. The markings are good and you can easily make out the next well.The government rate for this is Rs 25 per person. Attendants are there at each well and they will pour water on you. They splash a bucket of water on a group of pilgrims. You may need to go in queue. You can also hire attendants out side the temple for this process. But they will charge 150 rs per person. Plenty of these attendants can be found at the temple entrances with a bucket and rope in hand. If you feel like getting drenched with one full bucket of water at each well, you need to hire an attendant; otherwise, this is not required.
- ''Main Pooja'' Now you can change your clothes and dry yourself. There are different prices for different kinds of pooja. The basic one starts at Rs 111. Your guide will arrange for the ''Pujari'' (priest), who will do some rituals. Then he will offer milk, grass, leaves, etc. to Lord Shiva on your behalf in main temple. You can view all this sitting in front at a price of Rs 500. Afterwards, he will tell you the story of Rameswaram. He will also ask you to recite some shlokas after him. Pujari charges around Rs 500-600 for his services.
- You can also enjoy sumptuous prasadam at 12 noon. It is offered near inner door of Lord Shiva temple.
Shop
- If you are intrested to buy some sea shell items you should visit the Kalam Sea shell Mart. You can get the quality things in a comparatively well priced than elsewhere in Rameswaram.
Eat
- Food is excellent in Rameswaram.A number of "Marwadi Bojanalays"- i.e. semi-sponsored restaurants for charity are available near the west entrance of temple where you can have good food at reasonable price.
- Except these semi-sponsored restaurants, one good place is the Ram Nivas Mess and Ramdev Marwadi Bhojanalaya. They specialise in Indian Chinese food and all the food we had there was amazing. They are a little slow but the food is definitely worth the wait. To get there you need to take a right at the temple when coming from the Bus Stand and walk about 50 metres.
- Gujarat Bhavan offers excellent homely meals as well. However, be prepared for a long wait time. When you exit the temple from the East gate and walk straight, around 200 metres towards the sea-shore you will find this place on the right hand side.
Accommodation
- There are lots of budget hotels and lodges around the Rameswaram Temple in Srisailam. Most of these do not require any prior reservation except during peak seasons and festivals, and most Mondays.
Story of The Legend
After Sita’s abduction, Ram wandered in the jungles looking for her. While doing so, he met Sugriva and made friends with him. Later with the help of special messenger Sri Hanuman, he found out where Sita was taken. Then Rama prepared an army to invade Ravana’s empire and reached the southern seashore. He did not have any means of crossing the sea. Lakshman and Sugriva saw Rama, who is a Shiva devotee in great anguish and could do nothing. But Ravana received some special boons from Lord Shiva. Rama was aware of this and therefore, his fears could not be set at rest. In the mean time, Rama was full thirsty. Just as he was about to drink water, he remembered that he was yet to perform Shiva pooja. He immediately made a Parthiva Linga and worshipped it with sixteen methods, i.e., Shodashopachara Vidhis.
Ramji prayed to Lord Shiva ardently and soulfully, and sang songs of Lord Shiva’s praise in a loud voice. He danced and made the sounds of “Aagad bam bam”. This pleased Lord Shiva immediately and instantly appeared before Rama and told him that could ask for any boons and that he would grant them. Ram showed a lot of care, affection and love to Lord Shiva and prayed and paid obeisance. Rama said “If You want to grant me my wishes, please stay on this earth for the sake of all make it holy” Shiva granted the same by saying “Evamastu” meaning “so be it”. He thus stayed there and came to be known as Rameshwara, in the form of a Shiva Linga and became popular.
With the blessings of Lord Shiva, Rama killed all the demons including Ravana and became victorious. Any one who takes a Darshan of the JyotirLinga at Rameshwar and sprinkles the holy water of Ganga, attains salvation, Kaivalya Moksha or Nirvana.
