Rameshwaram
Rameswaram (also spelt as Ramesvaram, Rameshwaram) is a town and municipality in the
Ramanathapuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is on Pamban Island separated
from mainland India by the Pamban channel and is about 40 kilometres from Mannar Island,
Sri Lanka. It is in the Gulf of Mannar, at the tip of the Indian peninsula.[1] Pamban Island,
also known as Rameswaram Island, is connected to mainland India by the Pamban Bridge.
Rameswaram is the terminus of the railway line from Chennai and Madurai. Together with
Varanasi, it is considered to be one of the holiest places in India to Hindus, and part of the
Char Dham pilgrimage.
It is written in the Ramayana that the Divine King Rama built a bridge with Hanuman's help
from here across the sea to Lanka to rescue his wife Sita from her abductor Ravana. The
Ramanathaswamy Temple, dedicated to the Vedic god Shiva, is at the centre of the town and
is closely associated with Rama. The temple and the town are considered a holy pilgrimage
site for Shaivas.[2][3]
Rameswaram is the closest point from which to reach Sri Lanka from India, and geological
evidence suggests that the Rama Sethu was a former land connection between India and Sri
Lanka[4]. The town has been in the news over the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project,
Kachchatheevu, Sri Lankan Tamil refugees and capturing local fishermen for alleged cross-
border activities by Sri Lankan Forces.[5] Rameswaram is administered by a municipality
established in 1994. The town covers an area of 53 km2 (20 sq mi) and had a population of
44,856 as of 2011. Tourism and fishery employ the majority of workforce in Rameswaram.
Rameswaram means "Lord of Rama" (Rāma-īśvaram) in Sanskrit, an epithet of Shiva, the
presiding deity of the Ramanathaswamy Temple.[6] According to one of the versions of
Ramayana, Rama, the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu, prayed to Shiva here to absolve any
sins that he might have committed during his war against the demon-king Ravana in Sri
Lanka.[7][3] According to the Puranas (Hindu scriptures), upon the advice of sages, Rama
along with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana, installed and worshipped the lingam (an
iconic symbol of Shiva) here to expiate the sin of Brahmahatya incurred while killing of the
Brahmin Ravana.[8] To worship Shiva, Rama wanted to have a lingam and directed his
trusted lieutenant Hanuman to bring it from Himalayas.[9][3] Since it took longer to bring the
lingam, Sita built a lingam, made of just Sands of the shores, which is also believed to be the
one in the sanctum of the temple.[9]Sethu Karai is a place 22 km before the island of
Rameswaram from where Rama is believed to have built a floating stone bridge, the Ramsetu
bridge, that further continued to Dhanushkodi in Rameswaram till Talaimannar in Sri Lanka.
[7][10] According to another version, as quoted in Adhyatma Ramayana, Rama installed the
lingam before the construction of the bridge to Lanka. However, both Valmiki and
KambaRamayana does not have any evidences about this Rameswaram story.
(http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/letters/article2595588.ece) [11]
History
The history of Rameswaram is centred around the island being a transit point to reach Sri
Lanka (Ceylon historically) and the presence of Ramanathaswamy Temple. Tevaram, the
7th–8th century Tamil compositions on Shiva by the three prominent Nayanars (Saivites)
namely Appar,[12] Sundarar and Thirugnanasambandar.[13] The Chola king Rajendra Chola
I (1012 – 1040 CE) had a control of the town for a short period.[14] The Jaffna kingdom
(1215–1624 CE) had close connections with the island and claimed the title Setukavalan
meaning custodians of the Rameswaram.[15] Hinduism was their state religion and they
made generous contribution to the temple.[15] Setu was used in their coins as well as in
inscriptions as marker of the dynasty.[15]
According to Firishta, Malik Kafur, the head general of Alauddin Khalji, the ruler of Delhi
Sultanate, reached Rameswaram during his political campaign in spite of stiff resistance from
the Pandyan princes in the early 14th century.[16][17][18] He erected a mosque by name Alia
al-Din Khaldji in honour of victory of Islam.[16][17] During the early 15th century, the
present day Ramanathapuram, Kamuthi and Rameswaram were included in the Pandya
dynasty.[14] In 1520 CE, the town came under the rule of Vijayanagara Empire.[14] The
Sethupathis, the breakaway from Madurai Nayaks, ruled Ramanathapuram and contributed to
the Ramanathaswamy temple.[14][3] The most notable of them are the contributions of
Muthu Kumara Ragunatha and Muthu Ramalinga Sethupathi, who transformed the temple to
an architectural ensemble.[19] The region then fell under the rule of different leaders Chanda
Sahib (1740 – 1754 CE), Arcot Nawab and Muhammed Yusuf Khan (1725 – 1764 CE) in the
middle of the 18th century.[20] In 1795 CE, Rameswaram came under the direct control of
the British East India Company and was annexed to the Madras Presidency. After 1947, the
town became a part of Independent India.[14]
