Other Name: Rameshwaram Temple
Location: : In Ramanathpuram district of Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu
Dedicated to: Lord Shiva (Sri Ramanathaswamy)
Year of Establishment: Temple's Construction began in 12th century
Significance: The temple houses one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of India
Architecture: Dravidian architecture
Special Attraction: 22 Wells present here
Festivals: Some of the important festivals of the temple are
Maha Shivaratri – Celebrated in February or March for a period of 10 days. Marriage of Lord Shiva and Parvati took place on this day.
ArudhraDarshanam – Celebrated between December and January for 10 days. The Nataraj statue is unveiled on this day which remains covered with sandalwood throughout the year.
Vasanthautsavam – This festival is celebrated in May to June for a period of 10 days to welcome the spring season.
Navratri – Celebrated for a period of 10 days in the month of August and September to revere the 10 incarnations of Goddess Durga.
Thirukkalyanam – This festival is celebrated for a period of 17 days in the month of July and August.
Ramalinga Prathista Utsavam – This festival is celebrated in the month of June and July for a period of 10 days in the remembrance of the day when Sita installed the Lingam.
All the three routes are available to reach to the temple.
Road route:Buses are very easily available to reach to the temple via cities like Madurai, Nagpur, Hyderabad and others for the devotees who are coming from Northern part of the country.
Train route:People travelling from Chennai, Thanjavur, Trichy and Coimbatore can easily reach to the temple from the Mandapam railway station which is just at a distance of 2 km from the temple.
Air route:The Madurai is the best air route for the domestic pilgrims while for people travelling from other countries Chennai is best air route.
Morning- 5:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Evening- 3:00 PM - 9:00 PM
This temple is an exclusive piece of art exhibited by the people of India and it holds a special spiritual significance. The temple is often referred with two different names including Rameshwaram Temple and Ramanathaswamy Temple. It is located in the state of Tamil Nadu in India and is dedicated to celebrating the prowess of Lord Shiva. The temple also houses one of the 12 Jyotirlingams that makes it a special attraction of the country. It holds great significance both in terms of architecture and spirituality. Amazingly, the temple has the world's longest corridor and immaculate and beautifully carved pillars.
Though, the construction of the temple was led by various rulers but it was the Lord Rama who has installed the lingam in the temple. The temple houses two lingams including that of the Shiva lingam and Rama lingam of which Shiva lingam is still worshipped first in order to keep the words of Lord Rama. There are twenty two wells in the premises of the temple which are considered very holy and it is believed that these holy waters can help in observing salvation and washing off all the sins and regrets in once life.
This temple's awe-inspiring architecture attracts people from around the world! People in huge number come to visit the temple for its beauty and majesty!! Walls from all four sides of the temple surround it to provide it protection. The walls on the West side of the temple measures around 865 feet while on the Southern side it measures around 675 feet. In the interior of the temple there is a long corridor. Another corridor of the temple stands at pillars of sandstone ceiling and beams. In addition to that there is another corridor which leads to Setumadhava shrine. The inclusive length of these corridors is 3850 feet.
In the outer corridor of the temple there are 1212 pillars! Among all these pillars Rajagopuram is the prominently large tower of length 53 metres. The chief halls of the temple include Kalyana Mandapam, setupati Mandapam, nandi mandpam and Anuppa Mandapam. Two significant lingams are present inside the temple. Devotees take bath in the holy water of the twenty two holy waters present inside the temple in the endeavor of obtaining Moksha.
This temple is basically linked to the time of Ramayana, the great epic of the Hindu religion in India. It is considered that Lord Rama used to worship Lord Shiva here at the site of temple after he had returned from Sri Lanka after defeating Ravana. According to the legend, sages and other learned people suggested Rama to install here at the site of the temple Shivalingam and worship along with Sita and Laxman so as to wash away the sins that may have been caused due to killing a Brahman that is Ravana. And, thereafter the Shivalingam was established here.
Rama at that point in time sent Hanumana to the Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva to bring a lingam. But Hanumana could not return on time with the lingam! Since it was getting late Sita decided to make a lingam on her own and get it installed. And, the story goes that Lord Rama installed the lingam at the site with all the Puja rituals which was made by Sita. And, later on when Hanumana returned with the lingam Rama installed the lingam brought by him by the side of the lingam made by Sita and it was called Visvalingam. Rama also said that Visvalingam would be always worshipped before the Ramalingam.
The Rameshwaram temple houses 22 wells inside its complexes whose waters are believed to be life saving. Each of these wells is known with different names and each of them believed to possess different properties. These wells have been built by Lord Rama by firing arrow in the sand.
Two LingamsThere are in all two lingams inside the temple called Ramalingam made by Sita and the Vishwalingam brought by Hanumana from Kailash.
