Ramanathaswamy Temple is located in the southern district of Rameshwaram in the state of Tamil Nadu. This is one of the 12 famous Jyotirlinga temples dedicated to Lord Shiva across the country. Here Lord Shiva forms a pillar of light. There were three famous Nayanamars in ancient Tamil history – Appar, Sundarar, and Tirugnana Sambandhar. These three reputed Saivaite saints had combined a list of 274 famous Lord Shiva temples and sang songs in their praise. These temples are known as Padal Petra Sthalam and Ramanathaswamy Temple is one of them. The Pandya dynasty rulers contributed heavily towards the expansion of this temple in the 12th century. Jaffna dynasty rulers, Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan and his son, Gunaveera Cinkaiariyan contributed handsomely towards the renovation of this temple. This temple is renowned for having the biggest corridor among all Hindu temples in India. This island temple is considered to be a famous pilgrimage site for Saivaites, Vaishnavites, and Smarthas.
According to Hindu mythology, Lord Ram had come to this place to wash away his sins as he had accidentally killed a Hindu Brahmin in the war with the demon King Ravana. Lord Ram instructed his ardent devotee, Hanuman to bring the biggest Lingam from the mountains to be installed here. Since this took time, Goddess Sita made a Lingam from the sand of the sea shore, which is today, the main deity here. Lord Ram offered his prayers to this Lingam and the Lingam that Hanuman brought from Kailash, is also installed here as Vishwalinga.
History
The main deity in this temple is named Lord Ramanathaswamy, because the Lingam was worshipped by Lord Ram himself when he returned from Sri Lanka after fighting and defeating the demon King Ravan and his army. This was the first place that Lord Ram set foot in, after coming from the war. He wanted to offer prayers to Lord Shiva here to cleanse him of his sins committed during the war. Since there was no temple here, he instructed Hanuman to bring the biggest Lingam from the hills to offer prayers. However, before he could bring it, Goddess Sita had already made a lingam out of the sea sand here.
The Devakottai ALAR family contributed heavily to completing the nine-tier eastern tower of the temple between 1897 and 1904. With the funds collected for the renovation of the temple, the sanctum sanctorum and the interior corridor were renovated using black granite between 1907 and 1925, after which the Ashtabandana Kumbabishekam was performed. The second and third Kumbabishekam were performed between 1947 and 1975 respectively.
World Famous Third Corridor
- East-west of Outer wing – 690 feet
- North-south of the outer wing – 435 feet
- East-west of Inner wing – 649 feet
- North-south of Inner wing – 395 feet
- Number of pillars – 1212
- Corridor height – 22.75 feet
Second Corridor
When the first corridor was constructed, plans were devised to start renovation work on the second corridor. As per plans, work kicked off and the limestone structure was removed to be replaced with black granite stonework. However, after renovating the western side compound wall and a part of the northern portion on the west wing towards the south gate, work was stalled due to want of funds.
It was unanimously decided that the temple authorities would ask for public donations to complete renovation work on the 2nd corridor. Within 24 years, renovation work was resumed and completed on the western side fully and a part of the Northern and southern sides, thanks to the funds accumulated in the temple renovation fund. This was done in 1985 and after, work started getting underway for renovating the remaining parts of the second corridor.
On 19th September 1969, construction work on Sethupathy Mandapam started, thanks to the personal contribution of 2.75lakh INR by Ramanatha Sethupathy, one of the descendants of the Ramnad Raja dynasty. This mandapam was constructed right in front of the Raja Gopuram of the temple. Construction of this was completed on 11th February 1974.
Renovation activities on the Northern and Southern Gopurams started after getting the necessary approval and blessings from Shri Jagadguru Shringeri Peedathipathy and Shri Jagadguru Kanchi Kamakoti Peedathipathy.
How to Reach
Rameshwaram is not just about the temple. There are various tourist attractions here, which you can easily cover, irrespective of the type of transport that you choose for coming here.
By Air
Madurai airport, at a distance of 163km away from Rameshwaram, is the nearest to reach this temple town. There are many domestic and international flights coming to Madurai regularly.
By Rail
The Rameshwaram railway junction is quite big and it is well-connected with important places like Madurai, Trichy, Chennai, Coimbatore, Tanjore, etc. by regular trains. Indira Gandhi Bridge, which runs up to 2km in length, connects Rameshwaram with the mainland.
By Road
The bus stop at Rameshwaram is just about 2 km from the main temple town. Buses- both government and private sector, run in large numbers to and from here connecting Rameshwaram with almost all the cities in South India and the neighboring states as well. Chennai, Trichy, Kanyakumari, Coimbatore, Pondicherry, Tanjore, etc. are well connected by buses from and to here.
Best Time to Visit
Ramanathaswamy temple witnesses a large number of pilgrims throughout the year. These are the various seasons that are prevalent in the temple currently.
October to February
This is probably the best time to visit the temple because the entire South India has a pleasant climate during this time of the year. The average temperature in Rameshwaram is close to 17 degrees Celsius during this period. Slight chilly air and a pleasant climate make this season, the peak tourist season in Rameshwaram. You can enjoy sightseeing and doing other activities around the temple when you come here between October and February.
March to June
Be prepared for the harsh rays of the sun in Rameshwaram if you come here from March to June. Temperatures shoot up to 35 degrees Celsius here. However, during the evenings, the pleasant sea breeze brushes across your face, making you forget all kinds of discomfort that you faced during the day. However, you can enjoy the beach to a great extent during this period.
July to September
This is the period when Rameshwaram receives average to huge rainfall. While some tourists do not prefer to visit the temple town during this time owing to high humidity levels, some of them love to come here during the rains to witness the greenery of the coastal town in its fullest form.
Religious Pilgrimage Tour Packages 