Indian Talent, Global Content
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Indian Talent, Global Content |
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September 2010: What's in the breeze |
Rameswaram-the Island of Temples
INTRODUCTION On the very tip of the Indian peninsula, gently lapped by the waves of the Gulf of Mannar nestles an island, bejeweled with architectural splendor of temples-Rameswaram or ‘the god of Ram’. This conch-shaped island is as ancient as the Ramayanas and is thus one of the most sacred places of pilgrimage for the Hindus. It is also called the Varanasi of the South. Rameswaram is famous for its rituals and is considered a haven of solace for childless couples. With its sandy roads, looming temples and lucid echoes of mantras, one feels truly blessed and holy in this sacred land. The island is most famous for the great Ramanathaswamy Temple which is spread out in the middle of Rameswaram. It has four massive doorways with towering gopurams to the north, south, east, and west. The temple is a pinnacle of activity and most of the island residents derive their livelihood from it. Rameshwaram is connected to the mainland by the Pamban Bridge. HISTORY It dates back to the era of the Ramayanas when the king of Ayodhya , Rama built a bridge of stones across the great Indian Ocean to Srilanka to rescue his beloved queen Sita from the clutches of the demon king Ravana. To cross the ocean with his vanara sena or monkey troop, he engineered a stone bridge directly to Srilanka. The imprint of Rama’s footsteps is preserved on the top of a hillock called the gandamana parbat from where he gauged and ascertained the distance to Srilanka. Even today, Rama’s padam or feet is worshipped on the outskirts of Rameshwaram in a small temple called Ramarpadam. Sri Rama had to kill Ranava to vanquish him. On his way back to Ayodhya, to cleanse all the sins of the war, bloodshed and killing of Ravana, he wanted to worship Lord Shiva. Hanuman was sent with the mission of procuring a lingam, the symbol of Lord Shiva from Varanasi on the shores of the great Ganga. As he failed to turn up within the auspicious time, an anxious Sita created a lingam from sand and Rama started the puja. Later, a miffed Hanuman tried to prise away the sand lingam with his tail. The lingam is still said to bear the imprint of Hanuman’s tail. So strong was Sita’s lingam that the sheer force of the pull threw Hanuman a few miles away making the soil where he fell, a bright red. Legend has it that this is the reason of the mysterious red soil spread across a few square kilometers in the island. Temples The crowning glory of Rameshwaram is the Ramanathaswamy temple housing the lingam made by Sita and enshrined by Lord Rama within its hallowed premises. The temple was built on an ambitious scale by the Sethupathy dynasty. It also houses a lingam called the white spatika lingam regarded as one of the twelve great jyotilingams in India. The temple dates back to the 17th century. The hallmark of this temple is the remarkable corridor whose length is 1200 meters and is supposed to be the longest in the world. It has an unbelievable thousand pillars, ornate and carved in exquisite detail. This astounding architectural marvel is flanked on either side with carved pillars above raised platforms. To view the lingam or the presiding deity of Sri Ramanathaswamy, one has to enter through the massive east gopuram or the eastern entrance. The shrine dedicated to his consort Parvarthavardhini is on the right side .The temple houses 22 wells whose waters are medicinal and scared. Each well has a different taste and it is considered holy if one bathes in its waters or the ‘koti theertam’. This ritual is preceded by a bath in the sea called ‘agni thereetam’. A person is considered to be purified of all sins if he takes all holy dips. The entry of the ram lingam is guarded by Hanuman who is smeared in orange vermilion. As one goes inside, there is the typical flag staff of the temple and a huge image of Lord Shiva’s bull, Nandi. There are multifarious shrines of other gods like Ganesha, the lingam brought by Hanuman or the Hanuman lingam and various gods and goddesses spread about within the temple premises. On the eastern most part of the island is a place called dhanushkoti which had great significance before a holocaust of powerful cyclones ravaged it. The Kodandarama Temple is located between the dhanushkoti and Ramanathaswamy Temple. There is a small temple called ‘vibhishan’ temple where Rama was crowned as the king of Srilanka. The whole island is dotted with several small off shoots of the main temple. In every street, one can see tiny temples dedicated to Lord Ganesha, Hanuman and many forms of the goddesses. RITUALS During the month of ‘masi’ or March and ‘adi’ or August, elaborate rituals start in the island. This is necessarily attached to the main temple where the Lord Ramanathaswamy and his consort Parvarthavardhini are taken out in a grand procession around Rameswaram. Care is taken to deck the deities who are taken around the island to the pulsating beats of the maylum and the sonorous notes of the nadaaswaram. Every year the marriage ceremony between lord Ramanathaswamy and goddess Parvarthavardhini is conducted with all grandeur and pomp. The whole island reverberates with music praising the divinity. Rameswaram is very famous as a reassuring hope for childless couples who come here to perform the nagapratishta puja or offerings to the snake god in the hope of begetting a child. It is also a place where shanti pujas for ancestors are conducted. The incomes of most of residents revolve around providing lodging and food and performing different pujas for tourists. CONCLUSION Rameswaram is one of the busiest of all the holy places in India. It thrives and grows with the money generated from the temples and its rituals. It boasts of many lodges and travel companies with cottages and choultries catering to the needs and comfort of the tourists. Most of the people are employees working in the business of running the temples. Rameswaram can be rightly called as an island of temples as the temples are the heartbeats on which its residents survive. Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article.
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