Rameshwaram

According to Firishta, Malik Kafur, the head general of Alauddin Khalji, the ruler of Delhi Sultanate, reached Rameswaram during his political campaign in spite of stiff resistance from the Pandyan princes in the early 14th century. He erected a mosque by name Alia al-Din Khaldji in honour of victory of Islam. The records left by the court historians of the Delhi Sultanate state that Malik Kafur raided Madurai, Chidambaram, Srirangam, Vriddhachalam, Rameswaram and other sacred temple towns, destroyed the temples which were sources of gold and jewels. He brought back enormous loot from Dwarasamudra and the Pandya kingdom to Delhi in 1311. The temple in its current form is believed to have been built during the 17th century, while Fergusson believes the small vimana in the west corridor belongs to the 11th or 12th century. The temple is said to have been sanctioned for construction by King Kizhavan Sethupathi or Raghunatha Kilavan. The contribution of the Jaffna kings of Pandya Dynasty to the temple was considerable. King Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan (1380–1410 CE) shipped stone blocks from Koneswaram temple, Trincomalee to renovate the temple's sanctum sanctorum. Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan's successor Gunaveera Cinkaiariyan (Pararacacekaran V), a trustee at Rameswaram who also oversaw structural development of this temple and the promotion of Saivite beliefs donated part of his revenue to Koneswaram. Especially to be remembered are the immense sums that were spent during the tenure of Pradani Muthirulappa Pillai towards the restoration of the Pagodas which were falling into ruins and the splendid Chockattan Mantapam or the cloistered precincts of the temple at Rameswaram that he finally completed.

In the Yuddha Kanda of the Ramayana, on their journey back to Ayodhya, Rama narrates to Sita the appearance and worship of Shiva in the form of a lingam on the island of Rameswaram before the construction of his bridge to Lanka. He describes the spot to be supremely sacred and capable of expiating major sins. In the Shiva Purana, Rama propitiates Shiva on the shore of Rameswaram in the form of a lingam by the repetition of mantras, meditation, and dancing. Pleased, the deity appeared before Rama and granted his requested boon of victory over Ravana. Rama then requested the deity to remain on the island to sanctify the world and offer his grace to all people. The text states that the worship of the Rameshvara lingam offers worldly pleasures and salvation for its devotees.

Shiva, also known as Mahadeva and Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism.

Read more about [Shiva](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva).

The primary deity of the temple is Ramanathaswamy (Shiva) in the form of lingam. There are two lingams inside the sanctum - According to tradition, one built by Rama from sand, residing as the main deity, called the Ramalingam, and the one brought by Hanuman from Kailash, called the Vishvalingam. Rama is said to have instructed that the Vishvalingam be worshipped first since it was brought by Hanuman—the tradition continues even today. Like all ancient temples in South India, there is a high compound wall (madil) on all four sides of the temple premises measuring about 865 feet furlong from east to west and one furlong of 657 feet from north to south with huge towers (Gopurams) to the east and the west and finished gate towers to the north and south. The temple has striking long corridors in its interior, running between huge colonnades on platforms above five feet high.

The second corridor is formed by sandstone pillars, beams, and ceiling.

The temple is one of the holiest Hindu Char Dham (four divine sites) sites comprising Badrinath, Puri, Dwarka and Rameshwaram. Though the origins are not clearly known, the Advaita school of Hinduism established by Sankaracharya, who created Hindu monastic institutions across India, attributes the origin of Char Dham to the seer. The four monasteries lie across the four corners of India and their attendant temples are Badrinath Temple at Badrinath in the North, Jagannath Temple at Puri in the East, Dwarakadheesh Temple at Dwarka in the West and Ramanathaswamy Temple at Rameswaram in the South. The temples are revered by the various spiritual traditions of Hinduism, such as Saivism and Vaishnavism. The Char Dham pilgrimage is an all Hindu affair. The journey across the four cardinal points in India is considered sacred by Hindus who aspire to visit these temples once in their lifetime. Traditionally the trip starts at the eastern end from Puri, proceeding in clockwise direction in a manner typically followed for circumambulation in Hindu temples.

As per the Shiva Purana, once, Brahma (the god of creation) and Vishnu (the god of preservation) had an argument in terms of their supremacy in creation. To settle their dispute, Shiva pierced the three worlds as a huge and endless pillar of light called the jyotirlinga. Vishnu and Brahma split their ways downwards and upwards respectively to find the end of the light in either directions.

Located in: Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu.