01Two lingas, one sanctum
The temple’s own katha is told at every pilgrim’s first stop. Rama wished to worship Mahadev at this shore and sent Hanuman to Kailash for a linga. Hanuman was late, the auspicious hour was passing, and Sita shaped a linga of sand with her own hands. That is the Ramalingam in the sanctum. When Hanuman arrived with his Vishwalingam, Rama had it placed beside the first and ordered that it be worshipped first, a rule the priests keep to this day. In Valmiki’s Yuddha Kanda, flying home in the Pushpaka, Rama points out the setu to Sita and tells her that Mahadeva showed him grace here.
02Wells, corridors and Kashi water
Inside the walls are twenty-two tirthas, wells and tanks, and pilgrims are drenched from each in turn before darshan, after a first dip in the sea at Agni Tirtham. The corridors that ring the shrine, lined with carved pillars and painted ceilings, are the longest of any temple in India. Most of this stonework came from the Sethupathi rajas of Ramanathapuram, hereditary guardians of the setu, between the 17th and 18th centuries. The old custom ties north and south together: carry Ganga water from Kashi to pour on Ramanatha, then take sand from Rameswaram back to the Ganga.
The life of this place
- 12th centuryThe stone sanctum takes shape, with later additions under Pandya and Jaffna rulers.
- 17th–18th centuryThe Sethupathis of Ramanathapuram build the great pillared corridors.
Bathe at Agni Tirtham, then in the 22 temple wells, before darshan. Dhanushkodi, where the setu began, is about 20 km away.
