Sunday 30 August 2015

The Holiest Hindu place - Rameshawaram


Rameswaram

By Manoj
Overview
Rameshwaram is one of the holiest places in Tamil Nadu region in southern India. It is one of the most renowned pilgrim places in the region and is located on a beautiful island in the lower side of India and is separated by a small Pamban channel from Sri Lanka.

Rameswaram is the holiest pilgrimage place for the Hindus. Every year several people visit the place with holy intentions of offering sacred prayers to Lord Rama. It falls in the Gulf of Mannar and is a peninsula. According to the Hindu mythology, this is the place where Lord Rama created a bridge across the sea to Sri Lanka. Lord Shiva too is worshipped in this place. It’s a place where Ravana was killed and hence it has a great historical foundation. It is also known as Varanasi of southern India.

It has one of the famous Jyotirlings in the place which one would like to worship as a part of Hindu culture. The place has several wonderful temples, which are a great master piece of creativity. The place has highest number of wells as well.

Book India tour packages to enjoy a great holiday in Rameswaram. It is a holy place to perform several rituals and people from all across the globe come at this particular place to worship Lord Rama and offer sacred prayers to the holy deity. The place has wonderful sculpture of Lord Rama encarved in several walls of the temples and the statues of the lord are made with great artistic essence.

Must See/Do: Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple

Fast Facts
State: Tamil Nadu
District: Ramanathapuram
Famous for/as: Pilgrim, Jyotirlinga
Languages: Tamil
Best Season: Oct - April
Weather: Summer 25 to 38°C, Winter 17 to 32°C
Altitude: 10 m
Pincode: 623xxx
STD code: 04573
History
Rameshwaram, the holy town has associated with the Mythological tales of Rama. The name of the city itself has been derived from Rameshwara, which was an ‘Iswara’ that was installed by Lord Rama. According to the Puranas, Rama along with Sita and Lakshman came to the town to perform a sacred Puja in order to do penance for the sins for Bhramahatya.

It is believed that Rama had fixed an auspicious time for conducting the Puja, and sent Anjaneya to get the lingam from Mount Kailash. However, Anjaneya could not return in time. Thus, Sita caricatured a lingam of sand and they performed the Puja on time.

After successful completion of Brahmahata Dosham ceremony, Lord Rama along with Umadevi announced that anybody who takes bath in the Danudkodi and prays to the Shivalingam, will be known as Ramalingam. Hence, the place came to be known as Rameshwaram after the deity called Ramanathswamy.

When Anjaneya returned with lingam, he found that the Puja was nearly over and in anguish tried to remove the sand lingam from his tail. In spite of many attempts, he was not able to do so and realized the divinity of Sita. Then Ram ordered him to place the lingam that he brought on the northern side of Ramalingam. After it Rama also ordered that people should worship the Ramalingram, only after worshipping the lingam that was brought and installed by Sri Anjaneya.
Travel within City
The city of Rameswaram is a very popular destination in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This is one of the most popular tourist hotspots in Tamil Nadu, mainly because of the religious importance that Rameswaram is given by members of the religious community. A lot of pilgrims visit Rameswaram too, and the public transport system in Rameswaram is moderately developed and decently organized.

Bus


You can opt for buses while traveling within the city of Rameswaram, as this is the easiest mode of transport. Buses in Rameswaram ply through the main road to the major bus stand, covering all major areas in the process. Bus charges will range around Rs 3 to 5, and buses will normally be crowded during the peak hours. Only semi deluxe buses are available for public transport services, and air conditioned buses will soon be released.

Auto Rickshaw


You can also travel through auto rickshaws, though the auto rickshaws in the state of Tamil Nadu never run on meter. You will have to fix up a particular price by talking to the driver before boarding the auto rickshaw. Auto rickshaw fares will range around Rs 15 to 30/40.

These are the available modes of transport within the city of Rameswaram and choosing the right mode can be quite challenging. Auto rickshaws will help you in case you are in a hurry and there are no night charges involved too.


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