Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Then Rama, incarnation of Vishnu and hero of the Ramayana, led an army of monkeys
and bears across a monkey-built bridge to the island of (Sri) Lanka, where he defeated the
demon Ravana and rescued his wife, Sita. Afterwards, prince and princess came to this
spot to offer thanks to Shiva.
If all this seems like so much folklore, it's absolute truth for millions of Hindus, who
flock to the Ramanathaswamy Temple to worship where a god worshipped a god.
Apart from these pilgrims, Rameswaram is a small fishing town on an island, Pamban,
which is connected to the mainland by a 2km-long road and rail bridges. The town smells
of drying fish and has a lot of flies, and if you're not a pilgrim, the temple alone would
barely merit the journey here. But the eastern point of the island, Dhanushkodi, only 30km
from Sri Lanka, has a natural magic that adds considerably to Rameswaram's attractions.
Most hotels and eateries are clustered around the Ramanathaswamy Temple, which is
surrounded by North, East, South and West Car Streets. Middle St heads west towards the
bus stand (2km). The train station is 1.5km southwest of the temple.
Sights
Ramanathaswamy Temple
(camera ?25; 5am-9.30pm)
When Rama decided to worship Shiva, he figured he'd need a
lingam to do the thing properly. Being a god, he sent Hanuman to find the biggest lingam
around - a Himalayan mountain. But the monkey took too long, so Rama's wife Sita made
a simple lingam of sand, which is enshrined today in this temple's inner sanctum (open to
Hindus only). Besides housing the world's holiest sand mound, the temple, dating mainly
from the 16th to 18th centuries, is notable for its long, long, 1000-pillar halls and 22
theerthams
(tanks and wells). Pilgrims are expected to bathe in all 22 as well as the sea
before visiting the deity. The temple bathing takes the form of attendants tipping pails of
water over the (often fully dressed) faithful, who then hurry on to the next
theertham
. All
this water sloshing around makes the temple floors pretty wet, and you'll have a less slip-
pery amble round the corridors if you go when the inner sanctum is closed (12.30pm to
4.30pm).
HINDU TEMPLE