Rāmeśvaram is one of the most sacred tīrthas (pilgrimage places) of Bhārata. It lies on Pāmban Island, off the south-eastern coast of Tamil Nadu, at the southern tip of India. It is the place of the Rāmeśvara Jyotirliṅga, which is counted as the eleventh of the twelve Jyotirliṅgas. Before the war against Rāvaṇa, Bhagavān Rāma worshipped Bhagavān Śiva here. So Rāmeśvaram joins the Śaiva and Vaishṇava traditions: Rāma, an avatāra of Bhagavān Vishṇu, set up a liṅga of Bhagavān Śiva here.

The Śiva Purāṇa (Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā), the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa and the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa all give accounts of this place.

Location

Rāmeśvaram is on Pāmban Island, a narrow island joined to the mainland of Tamil Nadu by the Pāmban rail bridge and the Pāmban road bridge. It is the southernmost major sacred town of India before Kanyākumārī. It juts into the sea between the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Bay.

Śrī Laṅkā (Sri Lanka) lies to the north-north-east, across the shallow Palk Strait. The chain of islands and shoals that joins Rāmeśvaram to Laṅkā is the Setubandha, the bridge of Rāma. Today it is also called Adam’s Bridge.

The Setubandha

Setubandha means “building of the bridge” (setu is bridge, bandha is building or binding). The Rāmāyaṇa tells how Rāma’s vānara army built a causeway of rocks and trees across the sea, from the southern shore of Bhārata to Laṅkā. It was a great feat of building, guided by the divine architect Nala, son of Viśvakarmā. The causeway let the vānaras cross, and the great war against Rāvaṇa began.

The Setubandha and Rāmeśvaram together make the sacred land of the southern chapters of the Rāmāyaṇa: the shore where Rāma prayed, the bridge he built and the sea he crossed.

Origin of the Rāmeśvara Jyotirliṅga

The Śiva Purāṇa (Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 31) says that before crossing to Laṅkā, Rāma made a pārthiva liṅga (a liṅga of earth) on the seashore and worshipped it with a sincere heart. He asked Bhagavān Śiva’s blessing for victory over Rāvaṇa. Bhagavān Śiva appeared and gave the vara (boon) of victory. At the request of Rāma and the devas, he made his home here for ever as Rāmeśvara.

The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa (Sāra Khaṇḍa, Sarga 10) tells it this way. Before crossing the ocean to Laṅkā, Rāma resolved to worship Bhagavān Śiva. Sītā made a liṅga from the sea-sand, a saiketa-liṅga (sand-liṅga). Agastya muni had asked Bhagavān Śiva earlier to leave Kāśī and come south. Bhagavān Śiva was pleased by Rāma’s devotion. He appeared at this place and said that he would dwell in the saiketa-liṅga. Bhagavān Śiva as Kāśī Viśveśvara also appeared here, so that Kāśī Viśvanātha and Rāmeśvara became one.

Bhagavān Śiva declared the Rāmeśvara liṅga to be the twelfth jyotirliṅga. It received the full tejas (radiance) of the Gandhamādana liṅga, which cannot otherwise be reached. This Gandhamādana liṅga is the twelfth hidden liṅga, on the peak of Meru that fell into the southern ocean. Bhagavān Śiva said: “As all pūjā and ritual done for the Gandhamādana liṅga accrues to it, so too shall it accrue to this Rāmeśvara liṅga.”

Hanumān and the shape of the liṅga

At the installation, Hanumān wrapped his tail around the liṅga to hold it steady. The pressure of his tail gave the top of the liṅga its tapering shape. This is why the Rāmeśvara liṅga is a little different in form from an ordinary liṅga.

The Rāmanāthasvāmi temple

The Rāmanāthasvāmi (Rāmeśvara) temple is one of the largest temple complexes in India. It is known for its corridor, the longest temple corridor in the world, lined with great carved pillars. The temple holds the Rāmeśvara liṅga, which is counted as the main Jyotirliṅga, and the Viśvanātha liṅga, which Hanumān brought from Kāśī according to the tradition. The tradition holds that Rāma first worshipped the pārthiva liṅga that became Rāmeśvara, and then asked Hanumān to bring a liṅga from Kāśī for further sanctification.

The Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Laṅkā Kāṇḍa

The Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa tells of the installation of the Rāmaliṅgeśvara at the start of the Laṅkā Kāṇḍa, just after the Setu was built.

The causeway was finished. It was ten yojanas wide and one hundred yojanas long. The vānara host built it in five days under Nala and Nīla. Śrī Rāma was filled with wonder at its beauty. He then had a Śivaliṅga brought to the place. In the presence of the gathered munis and the vānara army, he installed it and worshipped it. His reason was this: Rāvaṇa was a great devotee of Bhagavān Śiva. Before going to war against him, it was right to please Parameśvara, the master of all.

After the worship, Rāma spoke to the great gathering and declared that devotion to Bhagavān Śiva and devotion to Bhagavān Vishṇu are one. This is one of the best-loved passages of the Rāmacaritamānas:

Śiva sama priya mohi na dūjā / Śiva drohi mama bhagata kahāvā /
So nara sapane hum mohi na pāvā / Śaṃkara bimukha bhagati cāha morī /
So nārakī mūḍhamati thorī

“There is none dearer to me than Śiva. A man who calls himself my devotee while turning against Śiva will never receive my grace, even in a dream. One who seeks my bhakti while turned away from Śaṃkara is a fool, and he goes to naraka (hell).”

Rāma also gave the phalaśruti (the promise of fruit) of this holy place. Whoever worships this Rāmaliṅgeśvara with abhisheka (ritual bathing) of Gaṅgā water will reach sāyujya-mukti (liberation as oneness with Bhagavān Śiva). Whoever has darśana of this setu, the sacred causeway, even once, gains puṇya (merit) and mukti (liberation).

Benefits of the pilgrimage in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa

Bhagavān Śiva named these benefits of visiting and worshipping at Rāmeśvaram.

Freedom from pāpa. By Bhagavān Śiva’s grace, worship of Rāmeśvara frees a devotee from brahmahatyā (the killing of a brāhmaṇa) and all the great pāpas (sins).

The Setu and Kāśī pilgrimage. A person who does all of these:

Bathes at Setubandha
Visits and worships Rāmeśvara, with a formal sankalpa (a statement of intention)
Takes sand from the Setu in a vessel
Goes to Kāśī and puts the sand at the Veṇī-Saṃgama
Takes Gaṅgā water and comes back to do abhisheka of the Rāmeśvara liṅga

destroys all the pāpa gathered over countless births and reaches Brahma-pada (the abode of Brahman, liberation).

The sankalpa condition. Gaṅgā does not flow to Rāmeśvaram without a proper sankalpa. If a devotee comes to Rāmeśvaram without having made a sankalpa in this birth, it is understood that the sankalpa was made in an earlier birth.

Dhanushkoṭi

At the tip of the Setu, the bridge to Laṅkā, Rāma touched the bridge with the tip (koṭi) of his Kodaṇḍa bow and joined the two ends of the bridge. This made the tīrtha of Dhanushkoṭi. A bath at Dhanushkoṭi alone gives kaivalya (liberation). There is a temple of Kodaṇḍapāṇi (Rāma with the bow in his hand) here.

Jaṭāyu Tīrtha

Near the Setu, Rāma met Sampāti, the elder brother of Jaṭāyu. At Rāma’s suggestion, Sampāti made a tīrtha here in his brother’s name, in his memory and honour. This is the Jaṭāyu Tīrtha, and it has been famous from that time.

Other holy places near Rāmeśvara

The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa names two more sacred places near Rāmeśvara.

Agasteśvara liṅga. It lies to the south-east (āgneya diśā) of Rāmeśvara. Agastya muni set it up when he came here and was overjoyed to see Bhagavān Śiva, whom he had longed to see for ages.
Gandhamādana liṅga. It lies to the north-east (īśānya diśā) of Rāmeśvara. It is the fallen peak of Mount Meru, the twelfth jyotirliṅga. It cannot be seen by ordinary human eyes, but Rāma and the vānaras saw it at this moment.

The four dhāmas

Rāmeśvara is one of the four dhāmas (sacred abodes) that mark the limits of the sacred land of Bhārata:

Badarī in the north: Badarikāśrama in the Himālaya
Dvārakā in the west: Dvārakā in Gujarat
Purī in the east: Jagannātha Purī in Odisha
Rāmeśvara in the south: Rāmeśvaram in Tamil Nadu

A pilgrimage to all four dhāmas covers the whole sacred land of the subcontinent, from north to south and from east to west.

Significance

At Rāmeśvara the Rāmāyaṇa tradition and the Jyotirliṅga tradition meet. Rāma, the avatāra of Bhagavān Vishṇu, set up this kshetra of Bhagavān Śiva. The Śaiva and Vaishṇava traditions do not compete. They support each other. The same event that begins the last part of Rāma’s work, the crossing to Laṅkā, is the event that set up one of the twelve great kshetras of Bhagavān Śiva.

Sources

Śiva Purāṇa, Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 31
Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa (Rāmacaritamānas), Laṅkā Kāṇḍa, Sāgara-taraṇa section
Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Sāra Khaṇḍa, Sarga 10