sutAmraparNIjalarAshiyoge
nibadhya setuM vishikhairasa.nkhyaiH |
shrIrAmachandreNa samarpitaM taM rAmeshvarAkhyaM niyataM namAmi ||
Importance of Rameshwaram
Taking the Ganga water to Rameshwar, is
considered as a very auspicious and pious thing to do after the pilgrimage of
the four holy shrines. After taking a holy bath in Ganga water, the holy water
is carried and offered to Lord shiva of Rameshwaram. After this a little sand
from here is carried to Ganga and immersed there. Completing this ritual is
believed to make one’s pilgrimage complete and successful.
On the southern seaside of India, Rameshwar sea
shrine is located.
In classics like the Skandha Purana, Shivapurana
etc., Rameshwar is shown as a very important place. The story of Rameshwara
goes like this:
Puranam of Rameshwar Jyothirlingam
After Sita’s abduction, Ram wandered in the
jungles looking for her. While doing so, he met Sugriva and made friends with
him. Later with the help of special messenger Sri Hanuman, he found out where
Sita was taken. Then Rama prepared an army to invade Ravana’s empire and
reached the southern seashore. He did not have any means of crossing the sea.
Lakshman and Sugriva saw Rama, who is a Shiva devotee in great anguish and
could do nothing. But Ravana received some special boons from Lord Shiva. Rama
was aware of this and therefore, his fears could not be set at rest. In the
mean time, Rama was full thirsty. Just as he was about to drink water, he
remembered that he was yet to perform Shiva pooja. He immediately made a
Prathiv Linga and worshipped it with sixteen methods, i.e., Shodasopachar
Vidhis.
Ramji prayed to Lord Shiva ardently and
soulfully, and sang songs of Lord Shiva’s praise in a loud voice. He danced and
made the sounds of “Aagad bam bam”. This pleased Lord Shiva immediately and
instantly appeared before Rama and told him that could ask for any boons and
that he would grant them. Ram showed a lot of care, affection and love to Lord
Shiva and prayed and paid obeisance. Rama said “If You want to grant me my
wishes, please stay on this earth for the sake of all make it holy” Shiva
granted the same by saying “Evamastu” meaning “so be it”. He thus stayed there
and came to be known as Rameshwara, in the form of a Shiva Linga and became
popular.
With the blessings of Lord Shiva, Rama killed
all the demons including Ravana and became victorious. Any one who takes a
Darshan of the JyotirLinga at Rameshwar and sprinkles the holy water of Ganga,
attains salvation, Kaivalya Moksha or Nirvana.
Specialities of Rameshwaram
The place where the JyotirLinga is located, a
large and expansive temple has been built. It is famous in the world as a
typical architectural example. In the Ramnad district of Tamilnadu, this temple
is situated on a big island of sand. It is worth seeing and is a wonderful
experience. The main entrance of the temple tower has many storeys and stands
tall. Its structure carvings, statutes and the peaks make people dumb founded.
The grandeur of the Lord is really felt here. The human weakness for being
narrow-minded is automatically removed and they feel their horizons broadened.
On the tall stone pillars of temple, beautiful
carvings can be seen. Elephants with their trunks raised are seen. The four
sides of the temple are enclosed by strong stone walls. They are 650 ft. and
12ft. wide and tall respectively. This wonderful temple built on the sand
island, is a work of great art and very impressive.
Near to a gold plated pillar, a river is carved
on a monolithic stone of 13 feet high and a foot wide. This indeed is a typical
example of beautiful sculpting.
Near the main temple of Rameshwar, there is a
separate temple for Parvati known as Parvatavardhini temple. Besides this,
there are temples of Santana Ganapati, Veerabhadra Hanuman, navagrahas, etc.,
At a distance of about nearly 2 kilometers from the main temple, there is
Gandhamaadhan mountain. In spite of being a sandy area, it is very green with a
variety of flora. This is the Nandanavan of Rameshwar.
This island shrine consists of 24 odd holy water
sources like Rama teerth, Sita Kund, Jata Teerth, Lakshman Teerth, Kapi
Teerthas, Brahmakund, Galawa teerth, Mangala teerth, Kodandaram teerth, Pandav
teerth etc., The waters at all these places is sweet and has a taste of its
own. Every teerth has a typical story attached to it. Devotees take Darshan and
feel purged by doing so.
Everyday, right from 4am till 10pm devotees keep
coming to the temple and prayers go on. After the Harati at night, the Lord is
made to sleep in a Golden swing i.e., the Bhoga statutes of Shankara and
Parvati put to bed.
During Mahashivaratri and on the 15th day in the
month of Ashadha (Rainy season) a Badatra mela/fete takes place, with great
festivity. Devotees flock here on these days and at all times right from Nepal
and entire India. People in a variety of dresses, attired differently come
here.
sambandhar, and appar have sung padhikam on
the Lord of Rameshwaram.
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