Ramanathaswamy Temple (Iramanatasvami Koyil) is a Hindu temple
dedicated to the god Shiva located on Rameswaram island in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is also one of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples. It is one of the 274 Paadal Petra Sthalams, where the three of the most
revered Nayanars (Saivite
saints), Appar, Sundarar
and Tirugnana Sambandar, have glorified the
temple with their songs. The temple was expanded during the 12th century by Pandya Dynasty, and its principal shrines sanctum
were renovated by Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan and
his successor Gunaveera Cinkaiariyan of the Jaffna
kingdom. The temple has the longest corridor among all Hindu temples in
India. The temple is located in Rameswaram
considered a holy pilgrimage site for Shaivites,
Vaishnavites and Smarthas.
The presiding deity, the Lingam of
Ramanathaswamy (Shiva), is believed to have been established and worshiped by Rama, an avatar of
the god Vishnu, to absolve the sins created
during the Ramayana war at Sri Lanka.
According to the Ramayana, Rama, the seventh avatar of the
god Vishnu,
prayed to the god Shiva to absolve him of the sin committed during his war
against the demon king Ravana
in Sri Lanka.Rama
wanted to have a large lingam to worship Shiva. He directed Hanuman, the
lieutenant in his army, to bring a lingam from the Himalayas. When
Hanuman was delayed in bringing the lingam, Sita, the wife of Rama, built a small
lingam out of the sand available in the sea shore, which is believed to be the lingam
in the sanctum.
The primary deity of the temple is
Ramanathaswamy (Shiva)
in the form of lingam.
There are two lingams inside the sanctum - one built by Sita, from sand,
residing as the main deity, Ramalingam and the one brought by Hanuman from Kailash called
Vishwalingam. Rama instructed that the Vishwalingam should be worshipped first
since it was brought by Hanuman - the tradition continues even today.
Like all ancient temples in South India,
there is a high compound wall (madil) on all four sides of the temple premises
measuring about 865 feet furlong from east to west and one furlong of 657 feet
from north to south with huge towers (Gopurams) to the east and the west and
finished gate towers to the north and south. The temple has striking long
corridors in its interior, running between huge colonnades on platforms above
five feet high.
The second corridor is formed by sandstone
pillars, beams and ceiling. The junction of the third corridor on the west and
the paved way leading from the western gopuram to the Setumadhava shrine forms
a unique structure in the form of a chess board, popularly known as Chokkattan
Madapam, where the Utsava
deities are adorned and kept during the Vasanthotsavam (Spring festival) and on
the 6th day festival in Adi (July–August) and Masi (February–March) conducted
by the Setupati of Ramnad.
The outer set of corridors is reputed to be
the longest in the world, measuring about 6.9 m in height, 400 feet each in the
east and west and about 640 feet in the north and the south. The inner
corridors are about 224 feet each in the east and the west and about 352 feet
each in the north and the south. Their width varies from 15.5 feet to 17 feet
in the east and west about 172 feet on the north and south with width varying
14.5 feet to 17 feet. The total length of these corridors is thus 3850 feet.
There are about 1212 pillars in the outer corridor. Their height is about 30
feet from the floor to the center of the roof. The main tower or rajagopuram
is 53 m tall. Most pillars are carved with individual compositions. At the
beginning, Ramanathaswamy Temple was a thatched shed. The present structure was
the work of many individuals spread over a number of centuries. The pride of
place in the establishment for the Temple goes to the Setupatis of
Ramanathapuram. In the seventeenth century, Dalavai Setupati built a portion of
the main eastern Gopuram. In late eighteenth century, the world-famous third
corridor was constructed by Muthuramalinga Setupati who lived for forty nine
years and ruled between 1763 and 1795. The corridor was called “Chokkatan
Mandapam”. The Mukhya Pradhani (Chief Minister) was Muthuirullappa Pillai and
the Chinna Pradhani (Deputy Chief Minister) was Krishna Iyengar. The Setupati’s
statue and those of his two Pradhanis (ministers) can be seen at the western
entrance to the third corridor.
The composite columns of Virabhadra
holding sword and horn are found be additions of the Vijayanayagara kings during
the early 1500s. Similar columns of Virabhadra are found in Adikesava Perumal Temple
at Thiruvattaru, Meenakshi
Temple at Madurai,
Nellaiappar Temple
at Tirunelveli,
Kasi Viswanathar temple
at Tenkasi,
Krishnapuram
Venkatachalapathy temple, Soundararajaperumal temple at Thadikombu, Srivilliputhur Andal temple,
Srivaikuntanathan
Permual temple at Srivaikuntam, Avudayarkovil, Vaishnava Nambi and Thirukurungudivalli Nachiar temple
at Thirukkurungudi.
There are separate shrines for Ramanathaswamy
and his consort goddess Parvathavardhini separated by a corridor. There are
separate shrines for the goddess Vishalakshi, the utsava images,
sayanagriha, Vishnu
and Ganesha.
There are various halls inside the temple, namely Anuppu Mandapam, Sukravara
Mandapam, Setupati Mandapam, Kalyana Mandapam and Nandi Mandapam.
Temple Tanks
There are sixty-four Tīrthas (holy water
bodies) in and around the island of Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, India. According to Skanda Puraṇa,
twenty-four of them are important. Bathing in these Tīrthas is a major aspect
of the pilgrimage to Rameswaram and is considered equivalent to penance.
Twenty-two of the Tīrthas are within the Ramanathasvami Temple. The number 22
indicates the 22 arrows in Rama's quiver. The first and major one is called
Agni Theertham, the sea (Bay
of Bengal).
Significance today
The temple is one of the holiest HinduChar Dham (four divine sites) sites comprising Badrinath, Puri and Dwarka. Though the origins are not
clearly known, the Advaita
school of Hinduism established by Sankaracharya, who created Hindu
monastic institutions across India, attributes the origin of Char Dham to the
seer. The four monasteries lie across the four corners of India and their
attendant temples are Badrinath
Temple at Badrinath in the North, Jagannath Temple at Puri in the East, Dwarakadheesh Temple
at Dwarka in the West and Ramanathaswamy Temple at Rameswaram in the South.
Though ideologically the temples are divided between the sects of Hinduism,
namely Saivism
and Vaishnavism,
the Char Dham pilgrimage is an all Hindu affair. There are four abodes in
Himalayas called Chota Char Dham (Chota meaning small): Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri - all
of these lie at the foot hills of Himalayas. The name Chota was added
during the mid of 20th century to differentiate the original Char Dhams. The
journey across the four cardinal points in India is considered sacred by Hindus
who aspire to visit these temples once in their lifetime. Traditionally the
trip starts at the eastern end from Puri, proceeding in clockwise direction in
a manner typically followed for circuambulation in Hindu temples.
Jyotirlinga
As per Shiv Mahapuran, once Brahma (the
Hindu God of creation) and Vishnu
(the Hindu God of saving) had an argument in terms of supremacy of creation. To
test them, Shiva
pierced the three worlds as a huge endless pillar of light, the jyotirlinga.
Vishnu and Brahma split their ways to downwards and upwards respectively to
find the end of the light in either directions. Brahma lied that he found out
the end, while Vishnu conceded his defeat. Shiva appeared as a second pillar of
light and cursed Brahma that he would have no place in ceremonies while Vishnu
would be worshipped till the end of eternity. The jyotirlinga is the
supreme partless reality, out of which Shiva partly appears. The jyothirlinga
shrines, thus are places where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light.
Originally, there were believed to be 64 jyothirlingas of which 12 are
considered to be very auspicious and holy. Each of the twelve jyothirlinga
sites take the name of the presiding deity - each considered a different
manifestation of Shiva. At all these sites, the primary image is the lingam
representing the Stambha
pillar, symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva (without beginning or end).
The twelve jyothirlinga are Somnath in Gujarat, Mallikarjuna at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh,
Mahakaleswar
at Ujjain
in Madhya Pradesh,
Omkareshwar
in Madhya Pradesh,
Kedarnath
in Himalayas,
Bhimashankar
in Maharashtra,
Viswanath
at Varanasi
in Uttar Pradesh,
Triambakeshwar
in Maharashtra, Vaidyanath
at Deoghar
in Jharkhand,
Nageswar
at Dwarka
in Gujarat,
Rameshwar at Rameswaram
in Tamil Nadu
and Grishneshwar
at Aurangabad,
Maharashtra.
Historical pilgrimage
The temple is one of the most famous
pilgrimage sites and has several historical references about it. The Maratha kings
who ruled Thanjavur
established chatrams or rest houses throughout Mayiladuthurai and Rameswaram
between 1745 and 1837 CE and donated them to the temple.
Temple contributions and donations from Hindu kings
The temple in its current shape is believed to
have been built during the 17th century, while Fergusson believes the small vimana in the
west corridor belongs to the 11th or 12th centuries. The temple is said to have
been sanctioned for construction by King Kizhavan Sethupathi or Raghunatha Kilavan.
The contribution of the Jaffna
kings of the Sethupathy dynasty to the temple was considerable.
King Jeyaveera
Cinkaiariyan (1380 — 1410 CE) shipped stone blocks from Koneswaram temple, Trincomalee to renovate the temple's sanctum sanctorum. Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan's successor
Gunaveera Cinkaiariyan (Pararacacekaran V), a trustee at Rameswaram who also
oversaw structural development of this temple and the promotion of Saivite
beliefs donated part of his revenue to Koneswaram. Especially to be remembered
are the immense sums that were spent during the tenure of Pradani Muthirulappa Pillai
towards the restoration of the Pagodas which were falling into ruins and the
splendid Chockattan Mantapam or the cloistered precincts of the temple at
Rameswaram that he finally completed. The rulers of Sri Lanka also contributed to the temple
- Parakrama Bahu
(1153-1186 CE) was involved in the construction of the sanctum sanctorum of the
temple.
