Ramanathaswamy Templeਰਾਮਨਾਥਸੁਆਮੀ ਮੰਦਰ

What is Ramanathaswamy Temple?

Ramanathaswamy Temple on Rameswaram island in Tamil Nadu is the southernmost of the twelve Jyotirlingas and the southern shrine of the Char Dham, two of Hinduism’s greatest pilgrimages in a single complex. Tradition holds that Rama himself established its lingam before his bridge to Lanka, and its corridors are the longest of any Hindu temple in India.

The presiding deity is Ramanathaswamy, a form of Shiva worshipped as a lingam, with his consort Parvatavardhini (Parvati) in a separate shrine. The temple is sacred to Shaivites, Vaishnavites and Smartas alike, and is counted among the 276 Paadal Petra Sthalams glorified by the Nayanar poet-saints.

The legend of Rama’s lingam

According to tradition, Rama worshipped Shiva here as a lingam before crossing the bridge called Rama Setu to Lanka, and the spot is described in the Ramayana’s Yuddha Kanda as supremely sacred. The Shiva Purana tells that Rama propitiated Shiva on the shore of Rameswaram, and that the deity, pleased, granted him victory over Ravana and agreed to remain on the island. The temple's official site tells the story slightly differently: that Rama installed the lingam after his victory over Ravana, on the advice of the sage Agastya, to expiate the sin of killing him, and that it was Sita who shaped the sand lingam. Both tellings are presented here as tradition.

Inside the sanctum there are two lingams. Tradition names the main deity the Ramalingam, made of sand by Rama himself, and the second the Vishvalingam, brought by Hanuman from Kailash. Rama is said to have instructed that the Vishvalingam be worshipped first, a tradition that continues today.

Why do pilgrims bathe in 22 theerthams?

There are 64 theerthams, holy water bodies, in and around Rameswaram island; 22 of them lie within the temple itself, in the form of ponds and wells. The number 22 is said to represent the 22 arrows in Rama’s quiver. Bathing in these theerthams is a major part of the Rameswaram pilgrimage and is considered equivalent to penance.

The first and greatest is Agni Theertham, the sea itself, the Bay of Bengal lapping the temple’s shore. Rameswaram is one of the few temples distinguished as sthala, murthy and theertham together: the place, the deity and the holy water.

The longest corridors of any Hindu temple

The temple is built in the Tamil (Dravidian), architectural tradition, ringed by a high compound wall with great gopuram towers to the east and west; the main rajagopuram stands 53 metres tall. But its fame rests on the corridors: the outer set runs about 1,212 carved sandstone pillars, each around 30 feet high, and the total length of the corridors is some 3,850 feet, the longest of any Hindu temple in India.

The present structure is the work of centuries. The Pandyas expanded it in the 12th century; the sanctum was renovated by the Jaffna kings Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan (1380–1410) and his successor Gunaveera Cinkaiariyan; the 17th-century Setupatis of Ramanathapuram built much of what stands today; and the world-famous third corridor, the Chokkatan Mandapam, was completed in the late 18th century by Muthuramalinga Setupati, who ruled from 1763 to 1795.

Jyotirlinga and Char Dham in one shrine

Rameswaram is the southernmost of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the shrines where Shiva is worshipped as a fiery pillar of light. It is also the southern of the four Char Dham, the pilgrimage across India’s four cardinal points whose origin is attributed to the philosopher Adi Shankara: Badrinath in the north, Puri in the east, Dwarka in the west, and Rameswaram in the south.

Hindus traditionally aspire to visit all four Dhams once in a lifetime, beginning at Puri in the east and moving clockwise. For the full set of twelve Jyotirlingas and the wider circuit, see Somnath, the first of the twelve, and the guide to Hindu mandirs in India.

Visiting Rameswaram

The temple stands on Rameswaram island, Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu, near the southern tip of peninsular India. It is administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

The temple calendar includes the Vasanthotsavam spring festival and the sixth-day festivals of Adi (July–August) and Masi (February–March), when the utsava deities are kept in the Chokkatan Mandapam.