Rāma Tīrtha is a holy lake on Mount Gandhamādana, within the Setu-kshetra at Rāmasetu. It is also called Rāma Kuṇḍa and Raghunātha Saras. Bhagavān Rāma himself made and consecrated it, and he set up a mahāliṅga on its bank. The Skanda Mahā Purāṇa tells two great accounts of its glory: the tapas of the ṛshi Sūtīkshṇa, and the purification of Yudhishṭhira after the Kurukshetra war.

Location and description

Rāma Tīrtha is a sacred lake on Mount Gandhamādana in the Setu-kshetra. It is also called Raghunātha Saras. Bhagavān Rāma did not only visit it. He made it and consecrated it himself. On its bank he installed a mahāliṅga so that his blessing would reach everyone who came here.

The tīrtha destroys all mahāpātakas (the great sins), including brahmahatyā (the killing of a brāhmaṇa), by one darśana (sight) of it, as the rising sun destroys darkness.

Sūtīkshṇa’s tapas

The ṛshi Sūtīkshṇa, a devoted disciple of Agastya, came to Rāma Tīrtha and did intense tapas (austerity). He lived on alms (bhikshāhāra). He fully controlled his anger and his senses. He bathed every day in Rāma Tīrtha. He chanted the shaḍakshara Rāma mantra (the six-syllable mantra of Rāma) five thousand times each day, with full concentration. Through this unbroken practice his devotion to Bhagavān Rāma became pure and steady. He made a stotra (hymn of praise) to Bhagavān Rāma and offered it every day.

Through this long practice at Rāma Tīrtha, Sūtīkshṇa gained great powers:

advaita-vijñāna (knowledge of non-duality) arose in him without study
knowledge of all the śāstras appeared on its own, without a teacher
the power to enter other bodies (parakāya praveśa)
the power to travel through the sky
knowledge of all past events
the power to speak with devas
understanding of the speech of all living beings, even insects and ants
the power to travel to all the fourteen worlds at will
all the ashṭasiddhis (the eight yogic powers)

The text says this is the supreme power of Rāma Tīrtha.

Sūtīkshṇa’s Rāma Stotra

During his tapas at Rāma Tīrtha, Sūtīkshṇa offered this stotra to Bhagavān Rāma:

“Jānakīnātha! Namaskāras to you. Hanumān’s beloved! Namaskāra to you. Consecrated to protect the yajña of the ṛshi Kauśika, namaskāra! O son of Kausalyā, dear to Viśvāmitra, namaskāra! O one who broke Śiva’s bow, worshipped by devas, namaskāra! O slayer of Mārīca, best of kings, O slayer of Tāṭakā, namaskāra! O foe of Kabandha, son of Daśaratha, O Vishṇu, namaskāra! O conqueror of Jāmadagnya, O slayer of Khara, namaskāra! O master of Sugrīva, O slayer of Vālin, namaskāra! O remover of Vibhīshaṇa’s fear, O destroyer of all mala, namaskāra! O remover of Ahalyā’s suffering, O elder brother of Bharata, namaskāra! O one who humbled the ocean’s pride, O builder of the setu, O tārakabrahman, O elder brother of Lakshmaṇa, namaskāra! O slayer of rākshasas, O crusher of Rāvaṇa, namaskāra! O bearer of the Kodaṇḍa bow, O giver of all protection, namaskāra!”

Yudhishṭhira’s release

In the Kurukshetra war, Yudhishṭhira was always known as a speaker of truth. Kṛshṇa persuaded him to say the words “Aśvatthāmā is dead.” These words were about an elephant of that name, which Bhīma had killed. They were meant to make Droṇa think that his own son was dead, so that he would drop his weapons. Droṇa did lay down his weapons on hearing the news, and he was killed. This act of untruth left a pāpa on Yudhishṭhira.

After the war, when Yudhishṭhira was about to be consecrated as king, an āśarīravāṇī (a voice from the sky with no body) said that he was not fit to rule because of this untruth, which had caused the death of Droṇa.

Yudhishṭhira was distressed. He went to Vyāsa, who in his compassion sent him to Rāma Tīrtha at Rāmasetu. Yudhishṭhira travelled there with Dhaumya and his brothers. He bathed at Rāma Tīrtha for one month. Every day of the month he gave dāna (gifts) of cows, land, sesame, cloth and gold. At the end of the month the āśarīravāṇī spoke again. It said that his pāpa had completely dissolved, that he was now pure, and that he had the right to rule and to be consecrated. Yudhishṭhira returned to Hastināpura and was consecrated as king.

Merit of this tīrtha

Rāma Tīrtha destroys all mahāpātakas, including the pāpa of a falsehood that causes another’s death. Even brahmahatyā is destroyed by darśana alone. All yogic and spiritual powers can be won through tapas here. The tīrtha gives devotion to Rāma (Rāma-bhakti) and freedom from saṃsāra (the cycle of birth and death).

Sources

Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Setu Māhātmya, Chapter 18

Rāma Tīrtha (Rāmasetu)