Rameswaram (; also transliterated as Ramesvaram, Rameshwaram) is a municipality in the
Ramanathapuram district of the
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
n
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* '' Our ...
of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil languag ...
. It is on
Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the
Pamban channel and is about 40 kilometres from
Mannar Island, Sri Lanka. It is in the
Gulf of Mannar, at the tip of the Indian peninsula. Pamban Island, also known as Rameswaram Island, is connected to mainland India by the
Pamban Bridge. Rameswaram is the terminus of the railway line from
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...
and
Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
. Together with
Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic t ...
, it is considered to be one of the holiest places in India to
Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
and is part of the
Char Dham pilgrimage.
According to Hindu ancient texts, Lord
Ram had built a
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
from here across the sea to
Lanka
Lanka (, ) is the name given in Hindu epics to the island fortress capital of the legendary asura king Ravana in the epics of the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata''. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks kn ...
to rescue his wife
Sita
Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, '' Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi ...
from her abductor
Ravana
Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations.
In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...
. The
Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called church (building), churches), Hindui ...
, dedicated to the Hindu god
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...
, is at the centre of the town and is closely associated with Rama and Shiva. The temple and the town are considered a holy pilgrimage site for
Shaivas and
Vaishnavas.
Rameswaram is the second closest point from which to reach Sri Lanka from India and geological evidence suggests that the
Rama Sethu was a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka.
The town has been in the news over the
Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project
Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project () is a proposed project to create a shipping route in the shallow straits between India and Sri Lanka. This would provide a continuously navigable sea route around the Indian Peninsula. The channel would b ...
,
Kachchatheevu
Katchatheevu ( ta, கச்சத்தீவு, translit=Kaccattīvu, si, කච්චතීවු, translit=kaccatīvu) is a 163-acre uninhabited island administered by Sri Lanka and was a disputed territory claimed by India until 1976. ...
,
Sri Lankan Tamil refugees and capturing local fishermen for alleged cross-border activities by Sri Lankan Forces. Rameswaram is administered by a municipality established in 1994. The town covers an area of and had a population of 44,856 as of 2011. Tourism and fishery employ the majority of workforce in Rameswaram.
Legend
Rameswaram means "Lord of Rama" (''Rāma-īśvaram'') in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...
, an epithet of
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...
, the presiding deity of the Ramanathaswamy Temple. According to Hindu epic ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages e ...
'',
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...
, the seventh
avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...
of the god
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within ...
, prayed to Shiva here to absolve any sins that he might have committed during his war against the demon-king Ravana in Sri Lanka. According to the ''
Puranas
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
'' (Hindu scriptures), upon the advice of
sages, Rama along with his wife
Sita
Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, '' Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi ...
and his brother
Lakshmana
Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja () ...
, installed and worshipped the
lingam
A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotion ...
(an iconic symbol of Shiva) here to expiate the sin of ''Brahmahatya'' incurred while killing of the
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...
Ravana. To worship Shiva, Rama wanted to have a lingam and directed his trusted lieutenant
Hanuman
Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and ...
(avatar of Shiva himself) to bring it from
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over ...
. Since it took longer to bring the lingam, Sita built a lingam made of sand from the nearby seashore, which is also believed to be the one in the sanctum of the temple. This account is well supported by the original ''Ramayana'' authored by
Valmiki
Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on the attributi ...
were it is written in yudha kanda. Sethu Karai is a place 22 km before the island of Rameswaram from where Rama is believed to have built a floating stone bridge, the Ramsetu bridge, that further continued to Dhanushkodi in Rameswaram till Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. According to another version, as quoted in ''
Adhyatma Ramayana'', Rama installed the lingam before the construction of the bridge to Lanka.
History
The history of Rameswaram is centred around the island being a transit point to reach Sri Lanka (Ceylon historically) and the presence of Ramanathaswamy Temple. ''
Tevaram'', the 7th–8th century Tamil compositions on Shiva by the three prominent
Nayanars (''
Saivites
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the God, Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates ...
'') namely
Appar,
Sundarar and
Thirugnanasambandar. The Chola king
Rajendra Chola I
Rajendra Chola I (; Middle Tamil: Rājēntira Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Rājēndradēva Cōla; Old Malay: ''Raja Suran''; c. 971 CE – 1044 CE), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, and also known as Gangaikonda Chola (Middle Tam ...
(1012–1040 CE) had a control of the town for a short period. The
Jaffna kingdom
The Jaffna Kingdom ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு, si, යාපනය රාජධානිය; 1215–1624 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of what today is northern Sri Lanka. It came i ...
(1215–1624 CE) had close connections with the island and claimed the title ''Setukavalan'' meaning custodians of the Rameswaram. Hinduism was their state religion and they made generous contribution to the temple. ''Setu'' was used in their coins as well as in inscriptions as marker of the dynasty.
According to Firishta,
Malik Kafur
Malik Kafur (died 1316), also known as Taj al-Din Izz al-Dawla, was a prominent slave-general of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji. He was captured by Alauddin's general Nusrat Khan during the 1299 invasion of Gujarat, and rose to promi ...
, the head general of
Alauddin Khalji
Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative ...
, 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. During the early 15th century, the present day Ramanathapuram, Kamuthi and Rameswaram were included in the Pandya dynasty. In 1520 CE, the town came under the rule of
Vijayanagara Empire
The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and Mahar ...
. The Sethupathis, the breakaway from
Madurai Nayaks, ruled Ramanathapuram and contributed to the Ramanathaswamy temple. The most notable of them are the contributions of Muthu Kumara Ragunatha and Muthu Ramalinga Sethupathi, who transformed the temple to an architectural ensemble. The region then fell under the rule of different leaders
Chanda Sahib (1740–1754 CE),
Arcot Nawab and
Muhammed Yusuf Khan
Maruthanayagam Pillai (1725 – 15 October 1764), was the commandant of the British East India Company's Madras Army . He was born in a Tamil Vellalar family in a village called Panaiyur in British India, what is now in Nainarkoil Taluk, Raman ...
(1725–1764 CE) in the middle of the 18th century. In 1795 CE, Rameswaram came under the direct control of the
British East India Company and was annexed to the
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including th ...
. After 1947, the town became a part of Independent India.
Geography
Rameswaram has an average elevation of . The island is spread across an area of and is in the shape of a conch. 74% of the area has sandy soil due to the presence of sea and it has many islands surrounding it, the
Palk Strait in the north west and Gulf of Mannar in the south East. The Ramanathaswamy Temple occupies major area of Rameswaram. The beach of Rameswaram is featured with no waves at all – the sea waves rise to a maximum height of and the view looks like a very big river. Rameswaram has dry tropical climate with low humidity, with average monthly rainfall of , mostly from
North-East monsoon from October to January. The highest ever temperature recorded at Pamban station was 37 °C and the lowest was 17 °C.
Ramsetu Bridge is a chain of
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...
shoal
In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It ...
s, between Rameswaram and Mannar Island, off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. Geological evidence suggests that this bridge is a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka. The bridge is long and separates the Gulf of Mannar (North-East) from the Palk Strait (South-West). It was reportedly passable on foot up to the 15th century until storms deepened the channel. The temple records record that Rama's Bridge was completely above sea level until it broke in a cyclone in 1480 CE. The bridge was first mentioned in the ancient Indian
Sanskrit epic ''Ramayana'' of Valmiki. The name ''Rama's Bridge'' or ''
Rama Setu
Adam's Bridge, '; ta, ஆதாம் பாலம் ' also known as Rama's Bridge or ''Rama Setu'', '; ta, ராமர் பாலம் '; sa, रामसेतु ' is a chain of natural limestone shoals, between Pamban Island, ...
'' (Sanskrit; ''setu'': bridge) refers to the bridge built by the
Vanara
In Hindu, Vanara ( sa, वानर, , forest-dwellers) are either monkeys, apes, or a race of forest-dwelling people.
In the epic the ''Ramayana'', the Vanaras help Rama defeat Ravana. They are generally depicted as humanoid apes, or human- ...
(ape men) army of Rama in
Hindu mythology, which he used to reach Lanka and rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana. The ''Ramayana'' attributes the building of this bridge to Rama in verse 2-22-76, naming it as Setubandhanam. The sea separating India and Sri Lanka is called
Sethusamudram
Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project () is a proposed project to create a shipping route in the shallow straits between India and Sri Lanka. This would provide a continuously navigable sea route around the Indian Peninsula. The channel would ...
meaning "Sea of the Bridge". Maps prepared by a Dutch cartographer in 1747 CE, available at the
Tanjore Saraswathi Mahal Library show this area as ''Ramancoil'', a colloquial form of the Tamil ''Raman Kovil'' (or Rama's Temple). Many other maps in Schwartzberg's historical atlas and other sources such as travel texts by
Marco Polo call this area by various names such as ''
Adam's Bridge
Adam's Bridge, '; ta, ஆதாம் பாலம் ' also known as Rama's Bridge or ''Rama Setu'', '; ta, ராமர் பாலம் '; sa, रामसेतु ' is a chain of natural limestone shoals, between Pamban Island, a ...
'', ''Sethubandha'' and ''Sethubandha Rameswaram''.
Demographics
According to
2011 census, Rameswaram had a population of 44,856 with a sex-ratio of 969 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 5,022 were under the age of six, constituting 2,544 males and 2,478 females.
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
accounted for 6.8% and .03% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 73.36%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had a total of 10579 households. There were a total of 16,645 workers, comprising 69 cultivators, 20 main agricultural labourers, 148 in house hold industries, 15,130 other workers, 1,278 marginal workers, 11 marginal cultivators, 26 marginal agricultural labourers, 44 marginal workers in household industries and 1,197 other marginal workers. The total number of households below poverty lane (
BPL) in 2003 were 976, which is 10.45% of the total households in the town and these were raised to 3003 (29.12%) in 2007.
As per the religious census of 2011, Rameswaram had 87.4%
Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
, 4.36%
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abra ...
, 8.13%
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
, 0.03%
Sikhs
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
, 0.01%
Buddhists
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and g ...
, and 0.07% following other religions.
Municipal Administration and politics
According to the
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including th ...
Panchayat Act of 1885, Rameswaram was declared a
panchyat union during British times. It became a township during 1958 and was declared a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality ...
in 2004. Rameswaram is a 3rd grade municipality having 21 wards, out of which 6 are general wards for women and one is reserved for
Scheduled Caste women. The major sources of budgeted income for Rameswaram municipality comes from the Devolution Fund of and property tax of . The major expense heads are for salaries of , operating expenses of , and repair & maintenance expenditure of . The functions of the municipality are devolved into six departments: General, Engineering, Revenue, Public Health, Town planning and the Computer Wing. All these departments are under the control of a Municipal Commissioner who is the supreme executive head. The legislative powers are vested in a body of 21 members, one each from the 21 wards. The legislative body is headed by an elected Chairperson assisted by a Deputy Chairperson.
Rameswaram comes under the
Ramanathapuram assembly constituency and it elects a member to the
Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a strength of 234 members of whom are democratically elected using the First-past-the-post system. The presiding officer of the Assembl ...
once every five years. The current MLA of the constituency is Dr. Manikandan from the
AIADMK .
Rameswaram is a part of the
Ramanathapuram (Lok Sabha constituency) – it has been realigned in 2008 to have the following assembly constituencies –
Paramakudi (SC), Ramanathapuram,
Mudukulathur,
Aranthangi,
Tiruchuli (newly created). The constituency was traditionally a stronghold of the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...
that won 6 times till the 1991 elections, after which it was won twice each by the
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; AIADMK) is an Indian regional political party with great influence in the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is a Dravidian party founded by the former chief ...
(ADMK) and the
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; DMK) is a political party based in the state of Tamil Nadu where it is currently the ruling party having a comfortable majority without coalition support and the union territory of Puducherry where it is curre ...
(DMK). The current Member of Parliament from the constituency is A. Anwhar Raajhaa from the AIADMK party.
India's renowned scientist and former President of India,
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, was born in Rameswaram.
Economy
Being a pilgrimage town, the majority of the population is involved in tourism related industry consisting of trade and services. Service sector increased from 70% in 1971 to 98.78% in 2001, while the agricultural sector reduced from 23% in 1971 to 0.13% in 2001. Rameswaram is an industrially backward town – there has been no demarcation for industrial land due to the pilgrim sanctity and ecological fragile geography. Being an island town, the traditional occupation was fishing, but due to poor returns, the people in fishing community have gradually shifted to other professions. Banks such as
State Bank of India
State Bank of India (SBI) is an Indian multinational public sector bank and financial services statutory body headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. SBI is the 49th largest bank in the world by total assets and ranked 221st in the '' Fort ...
,
Indian Bank
Indian Bank is an Indian public sector bank, established in 1907 and headquartered in Chennai. It serves over 100 million customers with 39,734 employees, 5,721 branches with 5,428 ATMs and Cash deposit machines. Total business of the bank has ...
and RDCC Bank have their branches in Rameswaram.
Transport and Communication
Pamban Bridge is a
cantilever
A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...
bridge on the Palk Strait that connects Rameswaram to mainland India. The railway bridge is and was opened to traffic in 1914. The railroad bridge is a double-leaf
bascule bridge section that can be raised to let ships pass under it . The railway bridge historically carried metre-gauge trains on it, but
Indian Railways
Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...
upgraded the bridge to carry broad-gauge trains in a project that finished on 12 August 2007. Historically, the two leaves of the bridge were opened manually using levers by workers. About 10 ships – cargo carriers, coast guard ships, fishing vessels and oil tankers pass through the bridge every month. After completion of bridge, metre-gauge lines were laid from
Mandapam up to Pamban Station, from where the railway lines bifurcated into two directions, one towards Rameswaram about up and another branch line of terminating at
Dhanushkodi. The noted
Boat Mail ran on this track between 1915 and 1964 from
Chennai Egmore up to Dhanushkodi, from where the passengers were ferried to
Talaimannar in
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. The metre-gauge branch line from Pamban Junction to Dhanushkodi was abandoned after it was destroyed in a
cyclone in 1964.
There are daily express trains connecting major cities in Tamil Nadu like Chennai, Madurai,
Trichy
Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bei ...
and
Coimbatore. There are express and passenger trains connecting to major destinations. The Ramanathapuram – Rameswaram National Highway is the main connecting link from Rameswaram to the mainland. Before the 1914 train service linked the mainland with Rameswaram, boats were the only mode of transport to Rameswaram island.
The Rameswaram municipality covers a total road length of 52 km and 20 km of national highway covering about 80 percent of the town. The
Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation
Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Ltd. - (TNSTC) is a Government owned public transport bus operator in Tamil Nadu, India. It operates Intercity bus services to cities within Tamil Nadu, and from Tamil Nadu to its neighbouring states. It al ...
runs daily services connecting various cities to Rameswaram and operates a computerised reservation centre in the municipal bus stand of Rameswaram.
Rameswaram is the important port among all the ports in the district, having a ferry service to Talaimannar of Sri Lanka, though not operational throughout the year. Limited foreign trade is conducted with
Jaffna
Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th mos ...
, Kaits, Talaimannar and
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
.
The
Rameswaram TV Tower is the tallest tower in India. The tower is a 323m tall circular concrete tower with a square steel mast of 45m height, diameter of 24m at the bottom tapering to 6.5m at top. The tower has been designed for a wind velocity of 160 km/h. There are two lighthouses in Rameswaram, the
Pamban lighthouse and
Rameswaram lighthouse
Rameswaram (; also transliterated as Ramesvaram, Rameshwaram) is a municipality in the Ramanathapuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel and is about 40 ki ...
.
Education and utility services
Ramanathapuram district has one of the lowest literacy rates in the state of Tamil Nadu and Rameswaram, following the district statistics has a lower literacy rate. There are a couple of Government high schools, one each for boys and girls. There are seven other schools namely, Swami. Vivekananda vidyalaya Matriculation School( which provide excellent education in the island and secure district and state level ranks in board exams frequently), St. Joseph Higher Secondary School, Mandapam Panchayat Union 9 – School, Micro Matriculation School, Sri Sankara Vidhyalaya, Holy Island Little Flower School and Kendriya Vidhyalaya School.
Alagappa University Evening College is the only college present in the town and all the nearest colleges are located in
Ramanathapuram and
Paramakudi.
Electricity supply to the town is regulated and distributed by the Ramanathapuram circle of
Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB). Water supply is provided by the Rameswaram Municipality – the head works is located at Nambunayaki Amman Kovil, Meyyambuli, Semmamadam & Natarajapuram and distributed through four over head tanks having a total capacity of 1430,000 litres. About 6 metric tonnes of solid waste are collected from the town every day in the four zones covering the whole of the town. Rameswaram does not have a sewerage system for disposal of sullage and the disposal system consists of septic tanks and public conveniences. Roadside drains carry untreated sewage out of the town to let out raw into the sea or accumulates in low-lying area.
Rameswaram comes under the Karaikudi Telecom circle of the
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), India's state-owned telecom and internet services provider. Apart from telecom, BSNL also provides
broadband internet
In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...
service along with other major internet service provider like
Reliance
Reliance may refer to:
Companies
* Reliance Controls, an American electrical products company founded in 1909 in Wisconsin
* Reliance Home Comfort, a Canadian water heater rental and HVAC service company
* Reliance Industries, an Indian co ...
.
Religion
Being a
Hindu pilgrimage center, Hindus form the visitor base of the city. There is a minority of Christians belonging to the fishing community. C. S. I. Mission Church and St Antony's Church at Oriyur on the eastern shore of the island are prominent churches in the island.
Ramanathaswamy Temple
The Ramanathaswamy Temple is the most notable historic landmark of the town. Located in the centre of town,
Ramanathaswamy Temple is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to the god Shiva. The temple is one of the 12 ''
Jyotirlinga
A Jyotirlinga () or Jyotirlingam, is a devotional representation of the Hindu god Shiva. The word is a Sanskrit compound of ('radiance') and ('sign'). The Śiva Mahāpurāṇam (also ''Shiva Purana'') mentions 64 original ''jyotirlinga'' ...
'' shrines, where Shiva is worshipped in the form of a ''Jyotirlinga'' meaning "pillar of light". It is also one of the 275 ''
Paadal Petra Sthalam'' temples and is glorified in hymns by the three of the most revered
Nayanar saints (7th century
Saivite
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the God, Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates ...
saints),
Appar,
Sundarar and
Tirugnana Sambandar. The temple in its current structure was built during the 12th century by
Pandya Dynasty. The temple has the longest corridor among all Hindu temples in India. The breadth of these columned corridors varies from 17 to 21 feet with a height of 25 feet. Each pillar is sculpted in
Nayak style as in
Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple. The contribution of the kings of the
Sethupathy dynasty (17th century) to the temple was considerable. Large amount of money was spent during the tenure of
Pradani Muthirulappa Pillai towards the restoration of the pagodas which were falling into ruins – the Chockattan Mantapam or the cloistered precincts of the temple was reconstructed by him. The rulers of Sri Lanka contributed to the temple –
Parakrama Bahu (1153–1186 CE) was involved in the construction of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. The eastern tower and shrine of Nataraja were built by Dalavai Sethupathy in 1649 CE. The second enclosure is ascribed to Chinna Udayar Sethupathy and his son Ragunatha Thirumalai (1500–1540 CE). The third enclosure was constructed by Muthu Ramalinga Sethupathy (1725–1771 CE) – his statue is located in the entrance of the corridor.
Temple Tanks
There are
sixty-four ''
Tīrthas'' or ''Theertham''s (holy water bodies) in and around Rameswaram. According to the ''
Skanda Purana'', twenty-four of them are important. Of the 24, 14 are in the form of tanks and wells within the precincts of the temple. Bathing in these tanks is a major aspect of the pilgrimage to Rameswaram and is considered equivalent to penance. Twenty-two of the tanks are within the Ramanathaswamy Temple. The foremost one is called Agni Theertham, the sea (
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line bet ...
).
Jatayu
Jatayu ( sa, जटायुः, IAST: ) is a demigod in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'', who has the form of either an eagle or a vulture. He is the younger son of Aruṇa and his wife Shyeni, the brother of Sampati, as well as the nephew of Garud ...
, King of the Birds, who fought in vain with the demon-king Ravana to save Sita, is said to have fallen down at Jadayu Theertham as his wings were severed. Villoondi Theertham literally translates to 'buried bow', is located around 7 kilometres from the main temple on the way to Pamban. It is believed to be the place where Rama quenched the thirst of Sita by dipping the bow into the sea water. Other major holy bodies are Hanuman Theertham, Sugreeva Theertham and Lakshmana Theertham.
Gandhamathana Parvatham
Gandhamathan Parvatham, a hillock situated 3 km to the north of the temple is the highest point in the island. There is a two storeyed hall, where Rama's feet is found as an imprint on a ''
chakra
Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...
'' (wheel). The Ramarpatham Temple is located on the hillock.
Dhanushkodi
Dhanushkodi is the southernmost tip of the island and houses the
Kothandaramaswamy Temple dedicated to Rama. Though Dhanushkodi was washed away during the
1964 cyclone, the temple alone remained intact. It is 18 km way from the centre of the town and can be reached by road. A popular belief is that, Dhanushkodi is where
Vibishana, a brother of Ravana surrendered before Rama in the epic ''Ramayana''.
Hindu Pilgrimage
Rameswaram is significant for many Hindus as a pilgrimage to Varanasi is considered to be incomplete without a pilgrimage to Rameswaram. It is also said that The Shivling present at Rameshwaram temple was brought here by Ravana from Kailash Parbat. And it was worshipped by Lord Rama before rescuing Sita from Lanka. The town along with the Ramanathaswamy temple is one of the holiest Hindu ''Char Dham'' (four divine sites) sites comprising
Badrinath,
Puri
Puri () is a coastal city and a municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is also known as ''S ...
and
Dwarka. Though the origins are not clearly known, the
Advaita
''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' ( ...
school of Hinduism established by
Sankaracharya, attributes the origin of Char Dham to the seer. The four monasteries are located 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
The Dwarkadhish temple, also known as the Jagat Mandir and occasionally spelled Dwarakadheesh, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Krishna, who is worshiped here by the name ''Dwarkadhish'', or 'King of Dwarka'. The temple is located at Dwarka ci ...
at Dwarka in the West and Ramanathaswamy Temple at Rameswaram in the South. Though ideologically the temples are divided between the sects of Hinduism, namely
Saivism and
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
, 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 circuambulation in Hindu temples. The temple is one of the famous pilgrimage sites historically – the
Maratha kings who ruled
Thanjavur
Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the ...
established ''chatrams'' or rest houses all through
Mayiladuthurai
Mayiladuthurai (formerly known as Mayavaram or Mayuram) is a town and district headquarter of Mayiladuthurai district in Tamil Nadu, India. The town is located at a distance of from the state capital, Chennai.
Mayiladuthurai was ruled by Medi ...
and Rameswaram between 1745 and 1837 CE and donated them to the temple.
Interaction with Sri Lanka
Rameswaram is frequently in headlines over fishermen issues like attack, arrest and alleged harassment by Sri Lankan navy for alleged cross border activities, Sethusamudram canal project, Kachchatheevu, Sri Lankan Tamil refugees and also on intercountry smuggling between India and Sri Lanka. As an initial step to curb enhanced smuggling, the Tamil Nadu government has set up 30 more marine police stations to bring the state's entire coastal belt under close vigil.
Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees
During the intense civil war of Sri Lanka, post 1980, Rameswaram acted as one of the focal points of smuggling and intense patrolling was carried out during the period. There are a total of 65,940 registered destitute Sri Lankan refugees dwelling in 129 Refugee camps situated in different parts of Tamil Nadu as of Apr 2000 and a majority of them enter via Rameswaram. There are an additional 20,667 non-camp refugees who entered via Rameswaram, registered in Mandapam transit camp and opted to reside outside the camps in various parts of Tamil Nadu. On 11 March 1990, a record number of 2,337 refugees in 38 boats arrived from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka to Rameswaram – this was the largest number of refugees arriving in a single day since the ethnic violence from July 1983. As of October 2006, an estimated 200,000 refugees have been reported in
Mandapam Camp
Mandapam Camp was built in the early 1900s by the British Government to house migrant plantation workers coming to India from Sri Lanka. The Camp is located in South India, 700 km South of Chennai (formerly known as Madras), the capital of th ...
. Sivarasan, one of the mastermind behind the Assassination of
Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to bec ...
, the ex-prime minister of India registered as refugee in Rameswaram camp on 12 September 1990.
Rameswaram Fishery
Being an island, a significant population is involved in fishery traditionally. There have been incremental cases of Rameswaram fishermen allegedly killed or arrested by Sri Lankan navy along the maritime borders of India and Sri Lanka from the time of Sri Lankan civil war during 1983. In the face of simmering tension after the 1985 January Colombo bound Yaldevi train attack in which 22 Sri Lankan soldiers and 16 civilians were killed, Rameswaram fishermen dared to venture to seas spelling acute hardship for the 10,000 fishermen family. An estimated 381 fishermen have been killed in the sea due to shoot outs from 1983 to 2009. The Sri Lankan army attributed the killings to the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
(LTTE), but the casualty continues even after the end of LTTE in the region. The Tamil Nadu state government has increased the compensation of casualty from the original 100,000 to 500,000 (US$1,800 to $9,000). There has not been a single prosecution in any of the 381 killings committed so far from the Indian judiciary. The cases not being filed is attributed to the fact that people killed beyond the maritime boundary of India are not eligible for compensation and not many file complaints against the Sri Lankan navy. Though the Indian judiciary has provisions to prosecute foreigners, there is little progress due to the diplomatic overheads involved. Indian government has also ventured into the use of technology like use of Global positioning system (GPS) by the fishermen and enabling cellphone blips to alert their mobile phones whenever they are crossing into Sri Lankan waters. The Sri Lankan navy has confirmed reports on Indian fishermen risking the international boundary due to depleted catch in Indian waters.
There is a yearly 45-day ban on fishery with motorboats in the region. The fishing ban for the year 2012 was effective during the months of April–May. The jetty at Rameswaram is the largest landing centre for fishing boats in the region and it usually comes alive after the ban, with the arrival of fishermen, boat captains, shore workers and others from their native places.
Sea World Aquarium is a natural habitat lying opposite to the Rameswaram Bus Stand, having an assortment of underwater creatures – it is the only one of its kind in the state, filled with such varied marine life forms including exotic species.
Kachchatheevu
Another focal point on the simmering tension between Indian and Sri Lankan governments is over the use of
Kachchatheevu
Katchatheevu ( ta, கச்சத்தீவு, translit=Kaccattīvu, si, කච්චතීවු, translit=kaccatīvu) is a 163-acre uninhabited island administered by Sri Lanka and was a disputed territory claimed by India until 1976. ...
, an uninhabited island 15 km north of Rameswaram, belonging to Sri Lanka. The accord of 1974 allows fishermen of both the countries for resting and soaking the nets in the island. Repeated allegations on attacks by the Lankan navy, which on many occasions killed Indian fishermen, prevented them from making it to the island. The annual two-day Saint Anthony fest at the island draws huge number of people from the fishermen community of both the countries. The number of pilgrims for the 2012 function crossed 4,000, the largest attendance in the past two decades. The feast also provides an opportunity for the Indian fishermen to meet their Sri Lankan counterparts and exchange views on their mutual problems. The event served as a meeting point to find brides and grooms from both countries, but this practice has now been stopped from the 90s due to political constraint of fishermen family living in different countries.
Sethusamudram Canal Project
Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project
Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project () is a proposed project to create a shipping route in the shallow straits between India and Sri Lanka. This would provide a continuously navigable sea route around the Indian Peninsula. The channel would b ...
proposes linking the
Palk Bay and the
Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka by creating a shipping canal through the shallow sea sometimes called
Setu Samudram
Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project () is a proposed project to create a shipping route in the shallow straits between India and Sri Lanka. This would provide a continuously navigable sea route around the Indian Peninsula. The channel would b ...
, and through the chain of islands variously known as
Ram Sethu or the Rama's Bridge. A few organisations are opposing the dredging of Ramasethu on religious, environmental and economical grounds. Many of these parties and organisations support implementation of this project using one of the five alternative alignments considered earlier without damaging the structure considered sacred by Hindus. With of dredging remaining, the project is held from March 2010 by a
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
order seeking the
Central Government
A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or del ...
to clarify the status of the bridge as a national monument.
Notable people
*
A.P.J Abdul Kalam
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (; 15 October 193127 July 2015) was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied phy ...
, Former
President of the Republic of India
The president of India (IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
Footnotes
See also
*
Coral reefs in India
References
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External links
Rameswaram Municipality*
{{Authority control
Hindu holy cities
Hindu pilgrimage sites in India
Palk Strait
Gulf of Mannar
Cities and towns in Ramanathapuram district
Places in the Ramayana
Hinduism
Religious tourism in India
Rama temples
Pilgrimage in India
Char Dham temples
Ancient Indian cities