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Uniqueness
The
island temple of Lord Siva called Ramanathaswamy Aalayam embodies a
kind of charm irresistible; glory ineffable; and appeal,
inexhaustible, that very few temples come nearer to it either in
spiritual wealth or sculptural opulence. Situated at the extreme
south eastern point of the Indian peninsula, this temple of
Rameswaram occupies geographically, culturally and spiritually a
much-coveted place among the four reputed Dhams -- Badari, Puri,
Dwaraka and Rameswaram, the first three being Vaishnavate temples
dedicated to the incarnations of Lord Maha Vishnu. It is one of the
most highly venerated -- pilgrim centres of India for numerous
reasons -- it possesses one of the twelve Jyotirlingas and is
installed here by Sri Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu,
and worshipped to purge of the sin of killing Ravana -- King of
Srilanka, lying just 45 km away; it contains the Sethu Madhav shrine
inside the precincts, testifying to the spirit of universality
permeating in the thirtha kshetra; it is encircled by the holy
waters of Ratnakara -- Indian Ocean and Mahodathi -- Bay of Bengal,
blessing it with ever green verdure and gorgeous scenery in addition
to enshrining sacred thirthas, famous for washing off sins; its
visit alone, as tradition says, rounds off the arc of pilgrimage; it
is from here the historic sethu -- bridge was constructed to link it
up to Lanka for conveying the Vanarasena; it is this island temple
that resembles Panchajanya -- Lord Vishnu's conch and also Tamil
letter 'OM';.........
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