Ramanathaswamy Temple
The Ramanathaswamy temple is a popular Hindu temple which is located on the island of Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. According to the Shaiva mythology, it is commonly believed that in this place Lord Rama prayed to Lord Shiva, to absolve all the sins which he might have committed during the battle against the demon king Ravana. The Ramanathaswamy temple is one of the holiest Hindu shrines that should be visited at least once in a lifetime.
The Ramanathaswamy Temple, like all the other ancient temples in South India, has a high compound wall on all four sides of the temple premises. The huge compound wall measures about 865 feet furlong from east to west and also one furlong of 657 feet from north to south. The walls have huge towers or Gopurams at the east and west and finished gate towers at the north and the south. The Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameshwaram has striking long corridors in the interior.
The corridors run between huge colonnades on platforms, which are above 5 feet high. The junction of the third corridor on the west and the paved way leading from the western Gopuram to the Setumadhava shrine forms a unique structure in the form of a chessboard. It is popularly known as Chokkattan Mandapam. The outer set of the corridors has a reputation of being the longest in the world.
History of Ramanathaswamy Temple
The town has been changed many hands; the main amongst them were Cholas, Jaffna Kingdom, Allaudin Khilji (Malik Kafur), Pandya Dynasty, and Vijayanagara Empire, followed by some other rulers who ruled the town for a very short while before the British East India Company directly took over it and made it a part of Madras Presidency.
The Rameshwaram Temple which is the main reason the town is known to every other person following Hinduism, Lord Shiva, and Lord Vishnu is said to be built by Sethupathis of Sethukavalan - custodian of the legendary bridge built by Lord Rama when he crossed the sea to reach Lanka (now Sri Lanka) the place in the control of Demon King Ravana, also a Brahman.
Rameshwaram is believed to be the place from where Lord Rama started his journey to get his wife Sita back from Ravana and the Lord was helped by the 'Vaanar-Sena' army of legendary monkey-humans and served by Hanuman, Lord Ram's paramount devotee. Also, many later versions of Ramayana testify of installing a ShivaLingam by Shri Ram and Devi Sita to worship Lord Shiva as a part of penance for Brahmahatya - the killing of Brahmana, Ravana who was himself a well-known staunch follower of Lord Shiva. The Rameshwaram Temple, built-in 12th century is believed to have the same Shiva Lingam.
The bridge to Lanka named 'Rama Setu', also known as Adam's Bridge is of religious as well as ecological importance. Some 30 Km long, it was supposed to be passable on foot till the 15th century after which a storm deepened the channel.
Architecture of Ramanathaswamy Temple
'Ramanathaswamy' literally means 'the Master of Rama' which refers to Lord Shiva, which the temple is all about. There are two 'lingam' inside the temple; 'Ramalingam' by Devi Sita built from sand and 'Viswalingam' brought by Lord Hanuman from Kailasha (abode of Lord Shiva) and installed by Lord Rama. Temple tanks, a hall of 1000 pillars, and several other shrines in the temple attract millions of pilgrims every year, especially during Maha Shivratri.
