Ramanathaswamy Temple

Ramanathaswamy temple is a temple in Rameswaram which is dedicated to Lord Siva. It is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga temples and is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams.  According to tradition, the lingam of the Ramanathaswamy temple was established and worshipped by Lord before he crossed the Rama Setu to reach Sri Lanka. It is one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites.

The temple has the longest corridor among all the Hindu temples of India. It was built by King Muthuramalinga Sethupathy. The temple is considered a pilgrimage site for Shaivites(who follow Shiva tradition), Vaishnavites(who follows Vishnu tradition) & Smartas(who follows Smarta tradition).

Significance:

Rama, the 7th avatar of lord Vishnu, prayed to Shiva here to absolve any sins that he might have committed during his war against the demon-King Ravana who was a brahmin. According to Puranas, with the advice of sages, Rama along with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana, installed and worshipped the Shiva lingam to get rid of sin for killing a Brahmin. 

Lord Rama directed lord Hanuman to bring the Siva lingam from Himalayas. As it took more time to bring the lingam goddess Sita devi built a lingam made of sand from the nearby seashore.  Rama installed the lingam before the construction of the bridge to Lanka. 

The primary linga built by Rama is called the Ramalingam and the one brought by lord Hanuman from Kailash, called the Vishvalingam. Rama instructed that Vishvalingam brought by Hanuman must be worshipped first and the samew was being followed till today.

How To Reach:

Rameswaram bus stand is located at a distance of around 2.5 KM from the temple and railway station is 1.8 KM from railway station. You can take an auto rickshaw or hire a local taxi to reach the temple easily.