Tamilnadu Tourism: Lakshmana Theertham, Rameshwaram

Lakshmana Theertham, Rameshwaram

Lakshmana Teertham has been constructed in memory of Lord Lakshman, brother of Lord Rama. In order to offer sacred prayers to lord Lakshmana, temple has been constructed in Rameshwaram itself which indicates that Lord Lakshman had been given a valuable place in the dynasty of Lord Rama.

Several wonderful sculptures of Lord Lakshmana have been carved out from marble and the temple has the statues of lord Rama and Goddess Sita too, as they are never supposed to be separated as they stayed united all their lives. This shows the trustworthiness of Lakshman towards his family and especially his elder brother Rama and Goddess Sita.

Laxmanan was the younger brother of Lord Ram who had accompanied Lord Ram on his exile willingly sacrificing all the worldly pleasures and devoutly served Lord Ram and Devi Sita. He also fought against Ravana on behalf of Lord Ram in the legendary battle of Ram and Ravana.

The Laxmana Theertham of Rameshwaram constructed in the honor of Laxmana bestows an equally divine status to Laxmana and worships him along with Lord Ram and Devi Sita. The waters of the adjoining pond are adored as sacred Theertham and devotees immerse in this holy water in the reverence to Lord Laxmana.

Lakshmana Theertham refers to a holy temple tank or Theppam in Rameswaram. This temple is located on the highway connecting Dhanushkodi and Kochi. It is located On the Rameswaram – Pamban Road.

It is believed that Lord Lakshman (the brother of lord Ram) installed a Shiva linga and worships lord Shiva for vanishing his sins and took bath in this theertham.

During Thai poosam festival (Poosam Nakshathra on Tamil month Thai (Pausa month in Sanskrit) is referred as “Thai poosam “in tamil), there is a floating car procession of Ramanathaswamy inside the Lakshmana Theertha pond.

Geographic Position

Lakshmana Theertham in Rameswaram is located at 9°17'07.6"N 79°18'22.7"E or 9.285450, 79.306301.