Arulmigu Ramanatha Swami Temple, Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu

The Ramanatha swamy temple at Rameswaram is an extremely important Shiva temple and a major pilgrimage center in the country. The temple is the southernmost of the twelve “jyothirlinga” shrines of Lord Shiva. Situated off the sethu coast of Tamil Nadu on an island, the temple is considered very holy and is compared to the Kasi Vishwanath temple. The popularity of the temple is from the belief that Lord Rama has constructed the temple here after returning victoriously from Lanka.  It is said that devotes are granted residence in Shivalok after the Lord’s Darshan here and is a pilgrimage center for both Saivaites and Vaishnavaites. The temple boasts of a four thousand pillared corridor – perhaps the longest in the world.

History
Though exact origins are not clear, the temple is originally believed to be a thatched shed. There are evidences that King Prakrama Bahu of Sri Lanka built the actual Sanctum Sanctorum of the temple in the twelfth century AD and over the centuries the Sethupathy dynasty contributed significantly to the temple’s development and gave it the shape that one presently sees.

Many kings from the Sethupathy dynasty, notably Udayan Sethupathy, who built the western tower in the fifteenth century while Tirumali Sethupathy built part of the southern corridor in the sixteenth century. Dalavai Sethupathy and Ravi Vijaya Ragunatha Sethupathi also have contributed significantly towards the temple development. The temple has been under the pandyas and Nayakas for some time. Muthuramalinga Sethupathy built the world famous third corridor in the eighteenth century. Many kings from other dynasties and kingdoms contributed towards the temple maintenance notably Travancore, Mysore and Pudukkottai.

Legends
There are many legends associated with this holiest of places and the most popular is that of Lord Rama. It is said that Lord Rama, returning victoriously from Lanka worshipped the Lord here in order to cleanse himself off the sin of killing Ravana. The Lord sent Hanuman to Kasi to fetch a Sivalinga to be installed here but Hanuman was unable to return from Kasi within a pre determined auspicious moment decided by Lord Rama himself. This led Sita into making a Linga out of the sand and Lord Rama actually offered prayers to this image. This Sivalinga was consecrated by Lord Rama and thus came to be known as Ramalingam and thus Rameswaram became the name of this town. The Sivalingam that Hanuman brought later is enshrined nearby the main sanctum and is referred to as Vishwanathar. There is another version to this story, which says that Lord Rama actually prayed at this place before leaving for Lanka and got the blessings of Lord Shiva to defeat Ravana. Lord Rama requested Lord Shiva to extend the benefit to all humans and asked him to reside here on earth. The Lord agreed to stay here and bless the devotees. Thus, Rameswaram is said to be a sacred place and the Lord’s blessings here will cleanse us of all our sins.

References
The temple is referenced to, many times in Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Accommodation
There are many places of accommodation in Rameswaram ranging from star status to ordinary. There is also a hotel run by the Tamil nadu state tourism development corporation.