Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameswaram –
Legends
Lord Rama made a Shiva Linga before proceeding to Lanka:
According to a popular legend, it was Lord Rama who
installed this Linga here. Story holds that when Lord Ram was on his way
to attack Ravana, he reached this place where he made a linga of sand and
worshipped it. It is said that when Lord Rama was drinking water on the
seashore there was celestial proclamation “You are drinking water without
worshipping me”.
Listening to this Lord Rama made a linga of sand and
worshipped it and asked to be blessed so that he could vanquish Ravana. Lord Shiva
blessed him accordingly. He also requested Lord Shiva to reside eternally
here so that entire mankind should benefit from it. Shiva then manifested
himself as the Linga and was installed there for eternity.
Story behind two Lingas “Ramalinga” and “Vishwalinga”:
The temple of Lord Ramanathaswamy dates back to the
period of Ramayana. The epic begins with the birth of the four princes in
Ayodhya, but its subsequent scenes change in quick succession from the banks of
the Sarayu River to this southernmost part of our land - the confluence of Mahodadhi
and Ratnakara. In Rameswaram, one can capture glimpses of scenes from Sundara
Kaandam, the epic’s fifth canto, unfolding.
Sri Rama, the Prince of Ayodhya, is an embodiment of
love, virtue and Dharma. He undergoes a 14-year-long exile on the eve of his
coronation to fulfill a promise of his father Dasaratha. His wife Sita and his
most caring brother Lakshmana accompany him to the forest. In his quest for
Dharma, Rama vanquishes thousands of Raakshakas in the forests during the exile
and brings peace and happiness among the Rishis and other inhabitants.
The exile passes off peacefully till the abduction of
Sita by Ravana, the Asura king of Lanka, at Panchavati on the banks of
Godavari. Rama is grief-stricken. He along with Lakshmana wanders through the
forests in search of Sita. One day they meet Sugriva, an exiled monkey king
from Kishkintha, and Hanuman, his minister, who vow to help Rama trace Sita.
After regaining his kingdom, Sugriva dispatches search parties in all directions.
Hanuman, Angada, Nala and others travel southwards and land on the
Gandhamadhana Parvatha along the south-eastern coast. This is the present
Rameswaram.
The famous Sundara Kaandam begins here with the
unbelievable act of Hanuman taking Vishwa Roopam and leaping across the ocean
from this hill to reach Lanka. After a frenzied search, Hanuman finally
succeeds in locating Sita, held captive in Ravana’s Ashoka Vana. He hands over
to Sita a ring from Rama as proof of his being Rama’s messenger. Assuring Sita
that Rama will come soon, wage a battle against Ravana and end her agony,
Hanuman takes leave of Sita after accepting with reverence her Choodamani (head
ornament) as a token for Rama. Later Hanuman destroys Ashoka Vana and gets
himself captured by Ravana’s son Indrajit. When Ravana, orders setting fire to
the tail of Hanuman, he sets the whole of Lanka ablaze with his burning tail.
Hanuman takes the air route back to Gandhamadhana
Parvatha, where the search party has set up camp. They all rejoice the glad
tidings. Soon they reach Kishkintha. Hanuman meets Rama and gives him the
Choodamani with the news that Sita is safe. Rama is immensely pleased with
Hanuman and embraces him warmly. Sugriva organizes a big retinue of monkeys and
bears from all over the land to proceed on the mission to rescue Sita. Headed
by Rama and Lakshmana, they traverse the eastern coast.
Following tradition, Rama first invokes Lord Vinayaka
(Veyil Ugandha Vinayaka) at Uppoor seeking to remove obstacles on his mission.
He offers puja to Navagrahas at the present Devipattinam or Navapashanam by
installing nine stones in the sea. He then reaches a marshy land known as
Dharbaaranyam (because the place was full of Dharba grass). He worships Adi
Jagannatha, the presiding deity, and receives Divya astras and the Lord’s
blessings for his mission.
In a battle that follows, Rama, accompanied by Lakshmana
and the Vanara Sena, vanquishes the ten - headed Ravana to the great relief of
everyone. And, how all these happened within the time requested by Sita to
rescue her is brought out beautifully by sage Valmiki in his epic. With the
battle over, Rama, accompanied by Sita, Lakshmana and the army, returns to the
shores of what is Rameswaram now.
Here, as advised by Rishis, Rama decides to consecrate a
shrine for Shiva to wash off the Brahmahatthi dosha - the sin of killing
Ravana, a Brahmin and great grandson of Brahma. A time for the auspicious
ceremony is fixed. Rama rushes Hanuman to Mount Kailas to fetch a Linga. As the
auspicious time for the installation has neared, but since Hanuman has still
not reached, Sita makes a Linga out of sand and the puja is performed within
the stipulated time.
It is consecrated as Ramalinga. Meanwhile, Hanuman
returns from Shiva’s abode with two Lingas. He is disappointed that the
ceremony is already over. In anger, he tries to uproot the sand Linga with his
tail, but in vain. Rama pacifies Hanuman and installs a Linga brought by
Hanuman from Kailas to the left of Ramalinga, and ordered that all pujas be
first performed for this Linga, called Vishwalinga. This priority in puja is
followed even today.
Rama then performs Abhisheka with holy water from the
Ganga. He aims an arrow at a point to create a spring and takes the purifactory
bath. This is the much – revered Kodi Theertha, situated in the first corridor
of the Rameswaram temple. This holy Theertha and several other sacred waters,
mostly in the form of wells within the temple precincts in Rameswaram thus have
a special sanctity attached to them with the touch of Rama’s holy feet.
The people of Rameswaram consider it sacrilegious to
plough the land or use heavy stone crushers to produce oil since Sita made
Ramalinga out of earth.
Legend of Sethu Madhava:
The legend of Sethumadhava is linked to Ramanathaswamy
Temple. Once there ruled a Pandya king, Punyanidhi. He did not have an heir and
so he and his queen decided to go on the Sethu Theertha Yatra. He found a baby
girl in the palace garden and adopted her as his daughter. As years passed, the
princess reached marriageable age. One day an old Brahmin from Kashi, holding
Ganga water, appeared in the palace garden and sought her hand in marriage.
The king was furious at the audacity of the Brahmin and
ordered him to be chained in the temple corridor. That night the king had a
dream in which he realized that his daughter was Goddess Lakshmi and the suitor
in the guise of the old man was Lord Vishnu. Punyanidhi fell at Lord Vishnu’s
feet and asked to be forgiven. He gave his daughter in marriage to Lord Vishnu
at Rameshwaram. He is known as Sethu Madhava or Swetha Madhava (as his image is
made of white marble). In Kasi, Lord Vishnu is worshipped as Bindu Madhava.