Introduction: Rameshwaram is a city
belonging to the state of Tamil Nadu. It is an island city situated
at the Gulf of Mannar at the end tip of the Indian peninsula. It
is one of the most important pilgrimage centers of India. Here,
Lord Rama built a bridge with the help of his devotee apes to regain
his consort Sita from the grip of Ravana. Rameshwaram is a big pilgrimage
center for the Hindus as both the devotees of Rama and Lord Shiva
comes here for worship. Lord Rama worshipped Lord Shiva in this
place to cleanse his sin of killing Ravana. It is also known as
the Varanasi of the south.
History: The history of Rameshwaram draws back to the golden
age of the epic Ramayana. It is mainly based on mythology. Lord
Shiva thanked Lord Rama for killing the demon Ravana at the battle
of Sri Lanka here in this holy place of Rameshwaram. Based on this
belief, all the devotees of Rama and the devotees of Shiva are attracted
towards this holy eventful place of Rameshwaram. The kingdom of
Ravana is 24 km away. Rameshwaram is very significant in the story
of Ramayana as it was full of events of Rama in his process to conquer
Sri Lanka. It is in fact the most devoted place of Hindus
.
Places of interest: Ramanathaswamy Temple is famous for
its massive granite columns. It was built in 17th century in the
eastern side of the island near the sea. The water of the temple
tastes different. The building of the temple is worth visiting.
Agniteertham Temple is built a hundred meters away from the place
where Rama worshiped Lord Shiva to purify his sin for killing Ravana.
Gandamadana Parvatham is a shrine where a foot imprint of Lord Rama
is found in a wheel. It is built on the highest point of the island
2 km away from Rameshwaram.
Travel information: Madurai airport at 173 km away is the nearest
airport. The railway line in Rameshwaram connects with all the major
cities of India like Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Trichy and Tanjavur.
The state transportation as well as private bus services operates
in Rameshwaram. This is the cheapest mode of transportation for
local and out city transportation. The people speak Tamil, Hindi
and English. The climate of Rameshwaram is hot and humid round the
year. The climatic temperature ranges from 25 to 37 degree Celsius.
As per the season of visiting is concerned, it is favorable throughout
the year but the best is from October to March.