Famous Temple of Lord Shiva Known as Rameshwar Temple in the State of Tamilnadu, India

The country of India is full of the places of pilgrimage in almost all of its remote corners. If you start visiting these places, one life may not be sufficient to cover all such places. There is a very famous temple of Lord Shiva known as Rameshwar temple, which is situated in the state of Tamilnadu in India. I had an opportunity to visit this famous Lord Shiva temple, which is one of the twelve Swayambhoo Jyotirlingams of Lord Shiva during my last trip to India. These twelve Swayambhoo Jyotirlingams have been produced through totally natural process and hence, are considered the most vital places of the pilgrimage.

Rameshwar is an island in South of the city of Chennai. There was no water between Chennai and Rameshwar in the ancient times and there was a continuous land. However, subsequently, sea water came and covered the area, thus converting Rameshwar in to an Island. This island is very large in size. It is 10 miles long and 7 miles wide. One can reach Rameshwar by the train by getting down at the Renugunta station on Chennai-Mumbai line. All the tourists have to use a ship/launch from this station to reach up to Rameshwar Island. The journey from Renugunta station to Rameshwar takes around 2 hours in the sea. It is said that this famous temple was constructed by Lord Ram, while going to Lanka to find Goddess Sita who was in the custody of Ravan, king of Lanka. Lord Ram made the Lingam of Lord Shiva from the sand at that time and installed at this temple before around 10000 years from today. The temple of Rameshwar is the biggest temple of India. It has four very large main Gopurams in all the directions. These Gopurams are 260 feet in height and are considered one of the marvels of the engineering. There are solid gold kumbhas kept on all the four Gopurams that shines brightly in the sunlight. You will have to walk around half a mile to completely take one round around the Shiva lingam. There are many slots made in the walls all around the temple to put the statues of all other gods.

As soon as you enter the temple, you shall see the large statue of lord Hanuman in front of the temple. Then, there is the largest Nandi that is mounted opposite to the main Shiva Lingam. You will not find such a big Nandi anywhere in India. There is also a statue of Annapurna Devi inside the temple. In addition to this, there also statues of Lord Vishnu, Lord Ganesh, and goddess Parvati here at this temple, which are also worth seeing. When you look at this large temple, you will find that this temple was not built at a time but has been built in many phases. There is no other temple bigger than this Rameshwar temple in the whole of India. The temple opens at 5 am in the morning and closes at 8 pm in the evening. There are around 12 major festivals celebrated here at this temple. The festival of Mahashivratri, the birthday of Lord Shiva, is the most important of them. There is a very large fair held here on that auspicious day. Millions of pilgrims come here at that time and take holy bath here in the sea prior to the Darshanas.

There are only one or two hotels suitable for stay that offers good facilities to the tourists. These are Tourists bungalow operated by the State government of Tamilnadu and the Vivekananda Rest house. Both these facilities are very nice and provide neat and clean double rooms at a rate of around Rs.600 ($15) per day. There are number of Dharmshalas also available for the pilgrims that offer some basic facilities for staying. There is one place called as Ramzarukha, around 4 miles away from this temple. This was the place where Lord Ram had stayed for one night during his journey to Lanka to find his wife Sita. The hired car or taxis are available for going to Ramzarukha. The food can be slightly rough here at Rameshwar and too spicy as well. Hence, make sure to clarify while ordering your food items. Make sure to carry bottled mineral water for drinking purpose as the water is very hard and contaminated here.

Rameshwar is a very vital pilgrimage spot for all the Hindus who have strong faith in Lord Shiva. That is why we find this place full of pilgrims all through out the year.