Ramanatha

(7th Jyothirlingam)
IPLTOURS

Srītāmraparṇījalarāśiyoge nibadhya
Setuṃ viśikhairasaṅkhyaiḥ
Srīrāmachandreṇa samarpitaṃ
Taṃ rāmeśvarākhyaṃ niyataṃ namāmi

Story behind the Twelve Jyotirlingas

Hinduism plays a significant role in human life from the eras Krutha, Thretha and Dwapara continuing in present Kali era. In the entire eras, God wears several incarnations to punish evil and to protect sages and his devotees. The demons get boons from Brahma, the creator and used to show their sadism on sages and devotees of God in all these eras. Vishnu and Shiva wear several incarnations to punish the evils and to protect sages and his devotees from their harassment. The places where Vishnu and Shiva wear incarnations spread all over India are came in to existence a holy places with the respective incarnation names. The holy places of Dwadasa Jyothirlingas spread from Kedarewar in north to Rameswaram in South and from Vaidhyanath in the east to Somanath of Gujarat in the West protecting our nation from times immemorial. The Dwadasa Jyothirlingas Spread all over India like a Conch.

The legend is that Vishnu and Brahma argued about supreme creation. Shiva prepared the three worlds as an endless Jyothirlinga pillar of light. Brahma decides to travel downwards along with the pillar and Vishnu to travel upwards respectively, to find the end of the light. Brahma lied that he had found the end, while Vishnu agreed his defeat. Shiva appeared as a second pillar of light and find the lie told by Brahma. Shiva got angry on Brahma and cursed Brahma him not to have place in ceremonies and Vishnu would be worshipped in eras. There are 64 Temples of Shiva and twelve only being called as Dwadasa Jyothirlingas and holy places of Shiva. Darshan of Dwadasha jyothirlingas feasible only on Spiritual culmination of human being. Every jyothirlingam became familiar with different names in the name of local shrine.

Ramanathswamy Jyothirlinga

Ramanath Jyothirlinga is the 7th Jyothirlinga among the 12 Jyothirlingas situated in Rameswaram of Tamilnadu State. Ramanathaswamy Temple dedicated to the Shiva located in Rameswaram is also one of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples. The temple was expanded during the 12th century by Pandya Dynasty, and its principal shrines were renovated by Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan and his successor Gunaveera Cinkaiariyan of the Jaffna kingdom. The temple has the longest corridor among all Hindu temples in India. The temple is located in Rameswaram considered a holy pilgrimage is believed to have been established and worshiped by Rama.

According to Ramayana, Rama prayed Shiva to solve him from the sin committed during his war against Ravana. Rama wanted a large lingam to worship Shiva and directed Hanuman to bring a lingam from Himalayas. Hanuman delayed in bringing the lingam and Sita, built a small lingam out of the sand available in the seashore, which is believed to be the lingam in the sanctum. The temple priests are Marathi Brahmins of Maharashtra who get Diksha from Sringeri Mutt.

Places to visit around Rameswaram

Temple Tanks

There are sixty-four Tīrthas (holy water bodies) in and around the island of Rameswaram. According to SKANDA PURANA, twenty-four of them are important. Bathing in these Tīrthas is a major aspect of the pilgrimage to Rameswaram and is considered equivalent to FORFIET OUR CURSES. Twenty-two of the Tīrthas are within the Rāmanāthasvāmī Temple. The number 22 indicates the 22 arrows in Rama’s quiver. The first and major one is called Agni Theertham, the sea (Bay of Bengal). The temple is among those offering free meals under the Free Meals Scheme of the government, which provides meals to devotees of the temple. There is one Sphatika linga in the temple which was said to be established by Adi Sankaracharya.

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Abhisekam will be perfomed daily in the early morning befoe worshipping of Main Lingam. Sphatikam is a semi-precious gemstone. The Hindu temples in South India use this semi-precious mineral for making Shiva Lingams. It is good conductor of heat. Hence people wear sphatikam jewelry (mala) to keep their body cool. Some other people claim that these beads have healing properties. It is believed that all people irrespective of gender of ARIES Zodic sign visit and worship the Ramanath Jyothirlingam will be relieved from all their hurdles in life.

Pamban Bridge

Pamban Bridge is a railway bridge which connects the town of Rameswaram on Pamban Island to mainland India. The bridge was opened on 24 February 1914 and it is India’s first sea bridge, The rail bridge for the most part is a conventional bridge resting on concrete piers, but has a double-leaf bascule section midway, which can be raised to let ships and barges pass through. In 1988, a road bridge was also constructed parallel to the rail bridge. This road bridge is also known as Indira Gandhi Road Bridge. The Pamban Road Bridge connects the National Highway (NH 49) with the Rameswaram island. The bridge is in between the shores of Mandapam and Pamban. It was inaugurated by former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on 2 October 1988. The travelling in train on the Pamban Bridge gives the Pilgrims utmost pleasure and happiness.

Distance between Rameshwaram and Sri Lanka (Dhanuskodi)

The total straight line distance between Rameshwaram and Sri Lanka is 224 KM (kilometers) and 600 meters. The miles based distance from Rameshwaram to Sri Lanka is 139.6 miles. This is a straight line distance and so most of the time the actual travel distance between Rameshwaram and Sri Lanka may be higher or vary due to curvature of the road.

Rama’s Bridge or Rama Setu is a chain of limestone shoals between Rameswaram Island known as Pamban Island and Mannar Island of the north-western coast of Sri Lanka. It is evident that this bridge is a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka.

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The bridge is 48 km long. Some of the regions are dry and the sea in the area rarely exceeds 1 metre (3 ft) in depth. The Ingress and egress on foot reported to be possible until the 15th century, and was completely above sea level until it broke in a cyclone in 1480. Still there are lime stones used for the bridge available .

Pilgrims may also visit the nearby Temples in Sriramgam, Tiruchurapalli, Palani, Jambukeswar, Kanyakumari and Trivendrum. Pilgrims feels happy and pleasant atmosphere. Pilgrims irrespective of their age enjoy the trip.

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