(This note is written based on the inspiration
from the bedtime stories that I heard from my parents in my childhood, followed
by my visit to Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi in October 2016 and later from the available
resources that I had read up due to my curiosity on the historical /
mythological importance of the captioned subject).
Namaste[1]
from India!
Vanakkam[2] from Tamil Nadu!
Namaskaram[3]
from Ramanathapuram District!
Nice to meet you here, at Rameswaram
- 9.2876° N, 79.3129° E
Blessings from the Ramanathaswamy
Temple!
For
the sake of non-Indian readers, I would like
to pen down a little on the backdrop before diving in to the
rubric.
You
are with me at Rameswaram, a temple town which is spread across an area of
nearly 60 sqm, or, in geographical terms, we are at the tip of the Indian peninsula, in
a conch-shaped island, roughly 40 kilometres away from Sri Lanka’s Mannar
Island. The history of Rameswaram
revolves around the Ramanathaswamy Temple, which is situated close to the sea
on the eastern side of the island. It is worthwhile to experience being at the
beach of Rameswaram, one with no waves at all, for its waves rise only up to a
level of 3 centimetres! From a religious
perspective, Rameswaram is
considered by the Hindus as one of the four divine pilgrimage sites others
being Badrinath, Puri and Dwaraka.
The
word “Rameswara” literally means Eswara (Lord) of Sri Rama, who is Lord Siva,
the presiding deity of the Ramanathswamy Temple. According to the Hindu mythology, Sri Rama,
the Prince of Ayodhya is the seventh
incarnation of Lord Vishnu[4],
and is believed to have worshipped Lord
Siva at Rameswaram. The history of Ramanathaswamy Temple dates
back to the period of Ramayana - an ancient Indian epic (and, one of the
largest ancient epics in world literature)
which narrates the life of Sri Rama and his struggle to rescue his wife
Sita from the demon king Ravana. The temple is believed to have been built by
Lord Rama, which was later expanded by
the Pandya kings who were ruling the Ramanathapuram region up to the 15th
century.
According
to Hindu traditional beliefs, it is customary for one to set out on a pilgrimage to seek and attain
God. It is deemed a bliss to have a bath in the River Ganges (Ganga), seek blessings of Lord Kashi Viswanath
(Varanasi, India), wash away the sins at
Agni Tirtha (Rameswaram) and conclude the pilgrimage by seeking the
blessings of Rameswar (Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameswaram) to complete one’s
life cycle. Therefore, Rameswaram possesses
a superlative importance according to Hindu customs and beliefs. For one’s spiritual attainment, Hindu believers traverse to Rameswaram, from Jammu & Kashmir (North of India), Kanyakumari (South of India),
Kolkatta (East of India) and Mumbai (West of India) on a regular basis, which
is equally considered, in modern terms, as an initiative towards national integrity.
To
know more about the Tirthas (holy water bodies) of Rameswaram, it is important
to understand how the Tirthas are associated with Ramayana. Sri
Rama, an epitome of love and virtue had to undergo a 14 year long exile to the
forest just before his coronation as King of Ayodhya. His wife, Sita and brother Lakshmana
volunteered to accompany him to the forest.
The exile which had been peaceful, got turbulent after Sita was abducted
by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka.
Grief stricken Rama, along with Lakshmana, wandered through the forests in search of
Sita. The search remained unfruitful
till they met Sugriva, the exiled monkey-king of Kishkindha.
Sugriva and his Minister, Hanuman,
vowed to assist Rama in tracing and rescuing Sita. Hanuman, with his monkey army travelled
southwards and landed on the Gandhamadhana
Parvatha[5] situated
along the south-eastern coast of India. It is this place that is marked in Ramayana as
the present Rameswaram.
More
on the epic is out of our current scope, but I wish to highlight that Ramayana
continues to narrate very exhilarating turn of events including how Hanuman, as
Lord Rama’s messenger, flew across the
sea to Lanka and his success in finding her whereabouts, followed by Lord Rama
and his army’s mission to rescue Sita
from Ravana, the details of the Rama-Ravana war, coronation of Lord Rama and so on and so forth.
The
Tirthas of Rameswaram are the 64 holy
wells (some sources say 53, though) and water
bodies in and around Rameswaram.
According to the Puranas[6], 24 of them are highly significant, and having a holy dip in these Tirthas is considered
a vital aspect of the pilgrimage to Rameswaram and is equivalent to
undertaking a penance. 22 of them are located within the Ramanathaswamy Temple. It is believed that the number 22 depicts the
22 arrows in the quiver of Lord Rama. The other two of the 24 Tirthas are Agni Tirtha, which is the serene
shallow water close to the Ramanathaswamy Temple and Sethu Tirtha, located at Dhanushkodi[7],
which is nearly 20 kilometres away from Rameswaram. A bath at Dhanushkodi is considered sacred
because of the meeting of two mighty
water bodies - Bay of Bengal and the Indian
Ocean.
The
name “Dhanushkodi”, is derived from the Sanskrit word, “Dhanus” which means low and
Tamil word, “kodi” which means tip (of the bow). It is from here that Sri Rama constructed the
causeway to reach Lanka, and hence the causeway is also known as Rama Sethu[8].
Rama
Sethu is the bridge made of floating
stones built by the monkey army to reach Lanka for rescuing Sita. There are images of Rama Sethu and floating
stones available in the realm of the internet.
Another
prominent Tirtha of Rameswaram, the Villundi Tirtha, is a
well, which provides non-salty, drinkable water
despite its location amidst sea waters, around 30 metres away from the main land. According to mythology, it is said that Lord
Rama, while victoriously bringing Sita back from Lanka, shot an arrow in to the sea, when she sought
water to quench her thirst. The spent
arrow fell at this particular point at Thankachi Madom, creating a spring fountain to satiate many
thirsty throats, and was later known by the name, Villundi Tirtha.
Benefits
and beliefs that are associated with the 22 Tirthas located within the
Ramanathaswamy Temple are aplenty. Taking a dip in the sacred waters of these
Tirthas, is believed to bless the
devotees with each of their unique powers.
Sree Mahalakshmi Tirtha is the first Tirtha among the 22 inside
the temple. A dip in it blesses the
devotees with adequate wealth and happiness and frees them from the earthly sins.
Savithri Tirtha, Gayathri Tirtha & Saraswathi Tirtha,
are wells, taken after the names of rivers of India, favour
the devotees to get rid of all kinds of curses cast upon them.
Sethumadhava Tirtha, is
a holy tank which looks beautiful as it is suffused with lily flowers and purifies
the hearts of all those bathe in its holy water.
Those
who take a dip in Gandhamadana Tirtha, will be blessed with good fortune and elimination
of poverty.
Kavacha Tirtha,
the seventh well within the contours of the Ramanathaswamy Temple assures the devotee redemption from
hell, after his life.
Gavaya Tirtha,
is another holy water body in the form of a well which blesses those who have a
bath with its water, to get shelter under the Kalpavriksha[9] and
fulfil the aspirations.
As
an extension to the benefits of the holy dip in the Kavacha Tirtha, the Nala
Tirtha assures a place in heaven
after life on earth.
In
resonance with the Nala Tirtha, the waters of Neela Tirtha help attain bliss equivalent to having performed
various penances.
Sanku Tirtha, is in a way, more beneficial for you
and me living in the modern times, the holy waters of which wash away the sins
of having been ungrateful.
Chakra Tirtha, the
well connected to the Chakras[10]
of our physical state, blesses the
devotee with good health and longevity.
There
are many Tirthas capable enough to liberate the devotees who bathe in their
waters from their sins. Such include the thirteenth Tirtha, the Brahmahathi
Vimochana Tirtha and the twentieth Tirtha, the Satyamithra Tirtha.
Soorya Tirtha & Chandra Tirtha, named
after the Sun and the Moon respectively are believed to bless the devotees with knowledge
and insight about their past, present and future.
Ganga Tirtha, Yamuna Tirtha & Gaya
Tirtha – the first two named after the prominent rivers of India provide
water to grant the power of knowledge and attain wisdom.
Siva Tirtha, a well in
the name of Lord Siva blesses the devotees by obliterating their sins, if any, obtained by
talking ill of Lord Vishnu or Lord Siva.
Sarva Tirtha,
the twenty first Tirtha within the
confines of the temple is believed to bless the devotees who bathe in its
waters with “all” ( Sarva means all
or entire) the benefits of all the 22 Tirthas in temple and in all fourteen worlds[11].
Kodi Tirtha, as the
name Kodi[12]
suggests, is the most sacred of all the Tirthas and has tremendous powers. It is believed to be the holy well where Lord Krishna[13] was absolved of the sins he had inherited by
killing Kamsa.
It
is here, in the holy waters of this sublime temple town, that my father’s last
rites were performed. The beautiful
memories of Rameswaram, Dhanushkodi and the serene, shallow waters around,
leave me in a trance and will always remain so dear to me.
[1] A respectful greeting
in Hindi language
[2] Vanakkam (in Tamil
language) means greeting with respect.
[3] Same as Namaste
[4] A Hindu God
[5] A hillock situated 3 kilometres to the north of the temple
[6] Mythological texts
[7] An abandoned town at the south-eastern tip of Pamban Island of the
state of Tamil Nadu in India. The town was destroyed during the 1964 Rameswaram
cyclone and remains uninhabited in the aftermath.
[8] Also known as Adam’s
Bridge
[9] A wish fulfilling
sacred tree mentioned in Hindu mythology
[10] Cycles
[11] According to Hindu
holy texts, there are fourteen worlds that are extant.
[12] Crore (10 million)
[13] A Hindu God - another
incarnation of Lord Vishnu
