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The Rameshwaram
Overview
Rameswaram, (also spelt as Ramesvaram, Rameshwaram) is
a town and a second grade municipality in the Ramanathapuram
district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located
on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban
channel and is about 40 kilometres from Mannar Island, Sri Lanka.
It is situated in the Gulf of Mannar, at the very tip of the Indian
peninsula.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.
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.
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.
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.
Place Of
Interest
Here are sixty-four Tirthas or Theerthams (holy water bodies) in and around Rameswaram. VAccording to the Skanda Purana, twenty-four of them are important. Twenty-two of the tanks are within the Ramanathaswamy Temple.
Gandhamathan Parvatham, a hillock situated 3 km to the north of the temple is the highest point in the island. There is a two storeyed hall, where Rama’s feet is found as an imprint on a chakra (wheel). The Ramarpatham Temple is located on the hillock.
Dhanushkodi is the southernmost tip of the island and houses the Kothandaramaswamy Temple dedicated to Rama. Though Dhanushkodi was washed away during the 1964 cyclone, the temple alone remained intact. It is 18 km way from the centre of the town and can be reached by road. A popular belief is that, Dhanushkodi is where Vibishana, a brother of Ravana surrendered before Rama in the epic Ramayana.
Rameswaram is significant for many Hindus as a pilgrimage to Varanasi is considered to be incomplete without a pilgrimage to Rameswaram. The journey across the four cardinal points in India is considered sacred by Hindus who aspire to visit these temples once in their lifetime.
