Rameshwar Jyotirlinga Mandir

The Rameshwar Jyotirlinga is considered as the southmost Jyotirlingams of India. The mandir is siyuated on an island located on the south eastern coast of Tamil nadu. To the right of the Lords shrine is the shrine for Parvathi. To its North is the Kasi Viswanathars shrine. The temple has close association with Lord Rama and his victorious return from Sri Lanka. It is believed that the ancient shrine was a thatched hut till it was rebuilt by Parakrama Bahu of Sri Lanka into a lofty temple in the 12th century. The rest of the temple was completed by the Sethupathy rulers of Ramanathapuram. Between the 12th and the 16th century much of the additions were carried out in the temple. The temple has six worship services, the first one taking place at 5am in the morning. A special worship service takes place every Friday. There are 36 Theertham meaning water springs in Rameshwaram out of which 22 are situated in the temple.

The water of these springs are said to have medicinal properties. There is another Shivalingam situated in the temple. It is believed that this Lingam was brought by Hanuman from Benaras. This Shivalingam is referred to as Kasilingam and Hanumalingam. The Legend regarding the temple goes this way that Lord Rama wanted to worship Lord Shiva and so had asked Hanuman to get an image of Viswanathar from Benares. Hanuman got a bit delayed and so Lord Rama offered his prayer to a Shivalingam made out of earth by Goddess Sita on a pre-chosen auspicious moment. This Lingam came to be known as Ramalingam and the town is known as Rameswaram. There is a nearby hill in the island called Gandamadana parvatam and has a small temple where imprints of Rama's feet are worshipped. This hill also provides a majestic view of the temple.

There also exists a shrine dedicated to Ganapathi and Subramanya. The Rameshwaram temple is spread over an area of 15 acres with lofty towers, impressive 4000 feet long pillared corridor with over 4000 pillars. One unique feature about the corridor is that the rocks used are not originally from the island but have been brought from other places across the sea. The Rajagopuram on the eastern side towers to a height of 126 feet and it has nine levels. The western Gopuram is impressive but not as tall as the eastern one. There is a huge Nandi measuring 12 feet in length and 9 feet in height. To the North of the temple is the Kasi Viswanathars shrine. Two annual festivals are celebrated between June 15 and July15. This festival commemorates Lord Rama's worship.