About Rameswaram: This island is located in Ramanathapuram district, the town is a part of Pamban Island also known as Rameswaram. This is one of the four pilgrimage places for Hindus (Char Dham of India). This Island is being associated with the legendry temple Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy Temple, built in marvelous Dravidian style of architecture. Situated at the very tip of the Indian peninsula, the island is connected with Indian mainland by Pamban Bridge on Pamban Channel in Gulf of Mannar. Rameswaram is said to be the Varanasi of South. Rameswaram is believed to be the place from where Lord Rama started his journey to get his wife Sita back from Ravana and he was helped by ‘Vaanar-Sena’ army of legendary monkey-humans and served by Hanuman, Lord Ram’s paramount devotee.
Day 1: After a very stressful week, I needed a short break and the moment I told Sur, he was all ready to go on a break to help me destress. For some reason I was thinking the monsoon has started so the only place I felt comfortable to travel was Rameswaram. This has been in my bucket list for a very long time, however since Sur cannot handle the heat, this has been getting pushed further and further. This time as we ran out of options, Sur reluctantly agreed for Rameswaram.
We started our journey as usual by 6 AM sharp, however it had unusual traffic. After few hours, I was very hungry so we were looking for a place to stop for breakfast, finally found Adyar Ananda Bhavan, near Hosur Industrial Complex and I enjoyed the mini breakfast which had Idli, Dosa, Pongal, Kesari and soft fritter (medhu vada) and a nice filter coffee, while Sur enjoyed the masala ghee dosa. Once we loaded our energy we hit the road back and it was a pretty good drive. We just had to do a quick stop for fuel and then we headed back to the road again.
We were looking for a stop for lunch and we found Ammachi mess, near Kottangulam. It was ok for just a quick south Indian veg meals. Then we hit the road.
On the way we stopped for few minutes in Pamban bridge. This is a railway bridge which connects the town of Mandapam in mainland India with Pamban Island, and Rameswaram. Opened on 24 February 1914, it was India’s first sea bridge, and was the longest sea bridge in India until the opening of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in 2010.
Then we reached the Daiwik Hotel. We checked in to the room and freshened ourselves. We were too tired to step out for dinner so just ordered some tea and chilli cheese toast, as I realized later this hotel was a pure Veg hotel so I didn’t have other options. Thankfully the chili cheese toast was good. I ordered a cup of tea but I got 4 cups of tea instead. I was trying to finish the whole tea as I didn’t want to waste it and Sur was laughing looking at my plight of tea overdose. Then we dozed off.
Day 2: Woke up to a beautiful day and went for the breakfast. The buffet spread was decent and then headed straight to our first stop Dhanushkodi, this town is believed to be the place where Lord Rama had ordered Lord Hanuman to build a bridge which could carry his army across to Sri Lanka, where Demon King Ravana had kept Sita captive. As ordered, Lord Hanuman had obliged and it was here that the Ram Setu was built by the Vanara Sena.
We went straight to Arichal Munai. It’s a Coastal lookout marking the end point of the Indian mainland, popular for viewing ocean sunsets. We enjoyed the beautiful view of the beach, there were quite a lot of crowd and then came to the Dhanushkodi town, which most of the people call it as a ghost town as this was completely destroyed in Cyclone in 22-23 Dec 1964. There is only a church entrance wall standing and a little bit of altar. Otherside the railway station is completely destroyed and you could see skeletons of post office, school and railway station. Even though the Pamban bridge was rebuilt but the town was never rebuilt as this town after cyclone was considered unfit for living. There are few shops and very few houses with a small hindu temple.
On the way back we visited Kothandaramar Temple. The temple is the only historical structure to survive the 1964 cyclone that washed away Dhanushkodi. The temple is estimated to have been constructed about 500-1000 years ago. Rama, the main idol, is depicted as having a bow (Kothandam), and hence this temple is called Kothandaramar temple. The temple has the deities of Rama, Lakshmana, Sita, Hanuman and Vibhishana. The temple is believed to be the place where Vibhishana, the younger brother of Ravana, asked Rama and his vanara (ape men) army for refuge. According to this tradition, after the abduction of Sita, Vibhishana advised Ravana to return her to Rama. However, Ravana did not listen to the advice, which led to Vibhishana fleeing from Lanka and joining Rama’s army. It is also said that after the slaying of Ravana, Rama performed the “Pattabhishekam” (ascension to king of Lanka) for Vibhishana at this place. The story is depicted in painting across the walls inside the shrine.
Then we headed to Jatayu Theertham which is closeby and this is also considered one of the important shrines in Rameshwaram. The road is pretty narrow with thorny trees on both sides of the road. This place is nice to stop for a group lunch/family outings etc. This temple is dedicated to Jatayu, considered to be the King of birds, who was an ardent and loyal devotee of Lord Rama. According to the religious beliefs, when demon Ravana had kidnapped Goddess Sita, Jatayu had helped Lord Rama by fighting the demon. During the fight, Jatayu’s wings were slashed because of which it fell down and died. Afterwards, Lord Rama had buried the Jatayu body at the place where a temple stands now and is dedicated to Jatayu. it is said that the entire place where it was buried, turned into vibhuti, which is the holy ash that is obtained after the yagnas by the saints. It is also believed that Jatayu also helped in getting herbs from mountains to save Lord Rama’s life. We said a prayer there and then headed to the famous temple of Rameshwaram which is Arulmigu Ramanthaswamy Temple.
This Arulmigu Ramanthaswamy Temple has the longest corridor among all Hindu temples in India. It was built by King Rebel Muthuramalinga Sethupathiy. The temple, located in Rameswaram, is considered a holy pilgrimage site for Shaivites, Vaishnavites and Smarthas. Mythological accounts depict the presiding deity, the Lingam of Ramanathaswamy (Shiva), as having been established and worshiped by Rama, before he crossed his bridge to the present-day island of Sri Lanka. Ramanathaswamy Temple Theertham (holy water bodies) is very special. There are 22 theerthams in the form of a pond and a well. These 22 theerthams represent the 22 arrows of Sri Rama. It is said that every devotee should bathe in these 22 theerthams before going to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. You are supposed to stand in front of each theertham and the temple folks will take the water from the holy well through a bucket and pour the whole bucket of water on you. We were not at all prepared for this, so we asked the guide to pour the water in the hand so that we can splash a little water on the head instead of getting fully wet. We completed all 22 theerthams, the final one being called Ganga theertham and then we entered the temple to pray. The floors are completely wet and very crowded, so be prepared for that when you plan to visit.
Then we were looking for a place to have our lunch, unfortunately I didn’t realize until then that most of the restaurants are vegetarian as this being temple town. I came with the expectation to enjoy the seafood as it’s a coastal town, to my disappointment, there were mostly vegetarian restaurants.
The two seafood places we identified to try for lunch. First we went to Coral Casita, after spending almost 45 minutes of drive in a small lane, we realized the property didn’t exist. Then we thought we will give a try to Ocean Paradise Beach Resort & Sea Food Restaurant, after another hour drive and wading through the sand a bit we were informed its only for the house guests. So finally we had to return back and Sur now has given up helping me find my food as he was hungry. So I reluctantly agreed to go to a vegetarian restaurant.
The worst part was Sur wanted to try the lunch in JKR Resort & Spa. Imagine my plight, I would have been totally fine to go to restaurants like A2B and order a south Indian veg thali which I love, and I would have been totally ok with it. But going to a high end restaurant for a vegetarian buffet that I couldn’t handle. With all the complaints and grumpy face that I had till I came out of that place, Sur realized never take me out to a high end pure vegetarian restaurant especially while travelling. You don’t want to face me in that situation, I am sure Sur can vouch for that.
Talking about JKR Resort, this place ranked top while we were searching for a place to stay, however every review in the last few months had been negative. Even though the rooms and views are good, the service was pathetic, that’s what we read about the reviews online. That’s why we didn’t book this property. However Sur thought at least will try their food and see the experience by ourselves. The food at JKR for the veg buffet was decent and Sur enjoyed, while I loved the paneer and papads as I didn’t have an option. Then we decided to try some of their drink in the menu like buttermilk etc. The waiter said chef is not available as he stepped out for shopping so only drink available was butter milk, which also might get delayed. This was during peak lunch hours so we kind of understood the level of hospitality at this high-end premium resort. We also had a family sitting next to us ordering A la carte, they didn’t get their food on time, finally when the food came, there were no plates, for few minutes waiter was not available as he was busy with other customers.The lady lost her patience and started lecturing the waiter.
I had no interest to be at this place any longer, so we quickly left from the place and went to House of Kalam. This is the childhood home of India’s beloved former president, late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Not many know that late Dr Kalam was born and raised till his teenage years in the temple town of Rameswaram. The House of Kalam was established as museum in 2011.
Then we headed to Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam National Memorial in Rameswaram. Here you cannot carry a mobile phone, hence ensure don’t carry any things when you go to visit. The one person I always admire is Dr. Kalam, he is the epitome of simplicity, powerhouse of knowledge and an inspiration to every person specially the students. So I felt so good and was very glad that I visited this place. Looking at the statue of Dr. Kalam, I felt I was meeting him in person and my heart was filled with respect, love and admiration. We had to hurry as it was time for closure, so quickly went around the museum and then we headed back to the hotel. As usual we ordered for the tea and chill cheese toast and dozed off.
Day 3: We had a good rest, had our breakfast and left to see more of Rameswaram. We also had few places to visit which was few kms away from this town. So our first stop for the day was Hanuman Temple (Sri Panchmukhi Hanuman Mandir & Floating Stones) which is the five-faced Hanuman Temple. It is said that Lord had revealed his five faces here, The five faces of lord Hanuman are of Lord Varaha that faces the north, Lord Narasimha facing the south, Lord Garuda facing the west, Lord Hanuman facing the east along with face of Lord Hayagriva that faces the sky. In 1964, after the cyclone in Dhanuskhodi, the idols of Lord Rama and Goddess Sita was brought to this temple and placed here.
Another major attraction of this temple are the ‘floating stones’ that have been kept at the temple for the devotees to see. These floating stones were used for building the floating bridge named Sethu Bandhanam, from Rameshwaram to Lanka so that Lord Rama, Lord Lakshman along with others could go to Lanka to rescue Goddess Sita and put an end to the brutalities of demon Ravana.
Then we went to Ram temple and Ram Tirtham, we said a prayer and left.
Then we headed to Agni Theertham, this place holds a significant place among Hindu Devotees, who visit here to offer their prayers to atone their sins by bathing in its holy waters. It is also visited by devotees to pray for the peace and moksha of their ancestors and to perform rituals after the demise of their loved ones. We didn’t step in the water as it was crowded.
Then we headed to Ram Padam (Ramar Paadham – Ram’s Feet). It is situated in the sandy hillock named Gandha Madhana parvatham (The village where this temple is located). The word Parvatham Literally means Mountain. The feet of Lord Rama is engraved in a stone chakra in this place. The Ramar paadham is the highest point in the Rameswaram, one can see the full panoramic view of Rameswaram island by standing on the top of this Temple. It is said that one can view Sri Lanka by standing on the top of the temple. There is a stair on the side to go upstairs to have the view. It is said that Lord Ram Stood on this place and planned for the bridge, Before he built a bridge (Ram Sethu) across the sea.
Then we headed out of town to explore few places of interest which were close by. First it was Ramanad Palace. This palace is in the midst of the busy main road so we didn’t find the place to park the car. When we asked few people around, they just said to park it outside and go. We were still worried of getting towed away as this was a busy road. Once we went inside the gate, we realized there was bigger space inside to park. The Gatekeeper then assured that car will not get towed away and it’s safe to keep it out, so we were relieved and went inside.
The entrance had a sign in Tamil (Ramalinga Vilasam). Ramanathapuram or Ramanad Palace is the home of the Sethupathy kings who ruled this region in the 17th century and were considered the guardians of the Sethusamudram near Rameshwaram. Pilgrims and travellers were protected by these rulers. The kings ruled parts of Southern Tamilnadu for more than 300 years and it is believed that some parts of the palace complex precedes even that era. This palace portrays the past glory of King Sethupathi. The mural paintings with natural dyes picturing the historical days of King Sethupathi are still intact. The palace also holds complex weapons which were used by King Sethupathi on various wars. The paintings were not just about the gods and goddess but also about the peace treaties with kings and queens from different countries. There is also idols of Ram, Sita, Hanuman & Lakshman. Then as we stepped out, we also saw few houses inside which we assumed they are the descendants of the royalty and we left for our next destination.
Our next stop was Navapashanam temple (Nine Planets Temple) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Navagrahas, the nine planetary deities, located in Devipattinam, which is 70 Kms from Rameswaram. The legend is that Ram before undertaking the journey to bring back Sita from Lanka, said to have performed prayers towards Navagraha (9 planets) in this place, installing all the deities by his own hands. Here the temple is located close to the sea and you have to walk through a bridge. Since you have to remove the footwear out, be prepared to walk on the bridge barefoot in the hot sun in order to see the nine deities. There were people taking holy bath where the deities were there as this is the only temple where people are allowed to touch the deities.
Next we went to Darbhashayanam Temple, in Tiruppullaani which is located near Ramanathapuram. It means the sacred forest abode of Pula Maharshi. Ram, took rest on the sacred grass during his penance, for three days and nights, in this particular place. There is a shrine of Lord Rama in the Darbasayana pose, signifying his resting here and invoking Varuna for help in crossing the ocean, enroute to Sri Lanka in search of Sita. Pullaranyam was a marshy land full of grass and Sri Rama chose a bed of Darbha grass, which is held very sacred by all the Hindus. The grass is used on all sacred occasions during the performance of propitiatory rituals in honour of Gods and one’s ancestors. Since it was lunch time, the temple was closed and I also had few work calls to take. So we went around and found few trees where we got a nice shade to park the car as the weather was hot and then attended my work calls. Then we headed to the temple however the sanctum was closed. So just stood out, said a prayer and we left.
Then we headed to Uthirakosamangai Temple (Mangalanatha Swamy Temple). The place got this name Uthirakosamangai from the fact that Lord Shiva taught Parvati the secrets of the Vedas. It is located in Ramanathapuram District in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the most ancient Shiva temples, Sethupathi Maharaja family is the hereditary trustee.The antiquity of the temple is also evident from the fact that the name of Mandodari, wife of Ravana (Emperor of Sri Lanka) is engraved on the wall of the temple. This temple is the place where the world’s first Natarajar appeared. The temple has the Emerald Nataraja Statue (Maragatha Natarajar). The famous Mughal King Alauddin Khilji, who ruled Delhi in the year 1300, found out that there was an emerald Natarajar statue in Uthirakosamangai and tried to loot it but he did not succeed in his attempt. It is also believed to be the first temple in the world.
When we reached the place, temple was still closed. Since I had few work calls to be done we parked in front of the temple and then by the time I finished the call, temple opened. So we were relieved and went inside the temple. First we went to visit the Natarajar temple on the right side which was outside of the main temple, prayed and then came to the main temple. Then on the left was goddess Parvati temple. Since this is the auspicious place for weddings we did see few newly wedded couples who just finished their rituals in the temple. Then we headed out to our next stop.
We reached Erwadi Dargah which is in Erwadi village in Ramanathapuram District. It is the holiest place for Islam. Here they have the grave and the shrine of Qutbus Sulthan Syed Ibrahim Shaheed Badusha Radiyallh Ta’ala anhu, the then ruler of Madinah Al Munawwara. The four dargahs were built here to commemorate Seyyad Ali Sulthan Ibrahim Shahid, His mother Fathima, wife Seyyad Ali Fathima & son Abu Thahir who migrated from Saudi Arabia and were considered messengers of God. Seyyad Ali performed lot of miracles, hence the King Sethupati gifted this land (6000 acres) as a token of appreciation. After King Sethupathi, Vikrama Pandya ruled this place and he was not in favour of him as the Hindus were converting to Muslims, So war broke out and except son, all of them lost their lives during the war. Here people bring mentally ill patients as they believe, God can cure them as Seyyad Ali had perfomed lot of miracles here. This is also a place of religious harmony which King Sethupathi patranised and that bond between hindus and muslims still continues till date.
It’s near the main road and we went in the afternoon so this was also closed and we saw it from out and left. Then on our way near the junction where we needed to head to Rameswaram, there was a juice vendor, we enjoyed the local drinks like kulukki sharbath, sugar cane juice, kulukki soda etc and then returned to the hotel, had our usual tea and chilli cheese toast and hit our bed.
Day 4: We woke up after a good sleep, had our breakfast and then it was time to check out. Had a lovely drive. We didn’t stop much as we wanted to reach Bangalore as quickly as possible. When we had to stop for lunch, we tried to look for a non-vegetarian place as I was complaining of eating veg food for the last 3 days, however we missed as usual. Then we gave up our search and settled for whatever was available. We found a new restaurant KMH Veg Restaurant near Velambadi. Sur loved the chilli mushroom manjurian and I ordered the south Indian veg thali. The place was very clean and the food was good. Then we headed straight to Bangalore and reached home by evening.
For me the whole trip looked like a penance but it was worth visiting this place. For all the seafood lovers, Dhanushkodi has few seafood restaurants, since we went in the morning just after breakfast, we couldn’t enjoy it. Once you are in Rameswaram town mostly you have to be prepared for a vegetarian meal.
Until our next trip, please stay safe and wear the mask. Sending all the blessings for world peace and harmony…