Ramanathaswamy Temple - Rameswaram

This is a well known temple but I have included it here as it is one of the most important temples in the region.

This vast temple is well known and one of the most important Shivasthalams in all of India. It is one of the 12 Jyothirlinga Sthalams and one of the four Char Dhams. It is a Paadal Petra Sthalam and has been praised in song by all three of the Moovar - Sampanthar, Naavukkarasar and Suntharar. It is revered both by Saivites and Vaishnavites and is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in India.

The origins are shrouded in the mists of time. When Lord Rama returned after retrieving Sita, he wanted to thank Lord Siva for his blessings and to seek forgiveness for killing Ravana, the great Siva bhakthan. Hanuman went to Kailash to bring a lingam for Rama to worship but was delayed. Sita became impatient and fashioned a lingam out of sand on the Rameswaram sea shore and it solidified. When Hanuman returned with his lingam he threw a tantrum. Both lingams are in the sanctum - Ramalingam ( Sita's creation) and Hanuman's Visvalingam. It is traditional to worship Hanuman's lingam first by Lord Rama's decree. It is believed that Hanuman's tail made a mark on the main lingam when he was angry and it is still there. 

Many dynasties have contributed to building this temple. Originally built in the 10th century by Pandian kings, it has contributions from Chola, Sri Lankan (the great king Parakramabahu), Jaffna Kings (Singai Ariyan), Vijayanagar and Nayakkan. But the greatest contributions have been by the Sethupathy kings of Ramanathapuram in the early 18th century. What we see today is the culmination of a thousand years of temple building. It is large ( 15 acres in area) and boasts the longest temple corridor and many gopurams.

The only problem with the famous temples is that thousands of people converge here from all over India and the world on a daily basis. The sites lack the infrastructure to handle these crowds which leads to congestion and a somewhat messy environment. Add to it the tight but necessary security, it is difficult to fully appreciate this temple. No cell phones were allowed inside the premises and I do not have enough pictures to show you. If you go - go in the late afternoon when it is less crowded.

Road to Rameswaram

After leaving Madurai our next stop was Rameswaram, the pilgrimage site on Pamban island. The drive was a smooth and pleasant 3 hours along the brand new NH87 four-laned highway. With the network of NH highways, traveling by motor vehicle has become a breeze in these parts. We stayed at the Hyatt - comfortable, clean and modern hotel belonging to the international chain. A few years ago there were not many nice options for quality accommodation, but this is rapidly changing.

Rameswaram is home to the famous Ramanathaswamy Sivan temple. We will dedicate another post to it.

The island has many interesting sites and a storied past. At Dhanushkodi, the very tip of the island you can see the ruins of the ghost town of Dhanushkodi devastated and abandoned by the cyclone of December 1964 that took many lives in Northern Sri Lanka and Rameswaram. The ferry to Mannar used to leave from here. 

The island has many sites intimately connected to the Ramayanam.

The Pamban bridge to the island is one the longest sea bridges in India. 

As you enter the island you will also encounter the memorial to APJ Abdul Kalam, scientist, statesman and former president of India. This newly built modern monument is well designed and worth a visit.

Gandhi Museum Madurai

Before we leave Madurai and explore another set of temples, I thought I will highlight this historical building. Called the Thamukkam Palace, it was built in 1670 in the early Indo-Saracenic style as a palace for the Nayakkan royal family. The powerful and able Nayakan queen Rani Mangammal, lived here whenever she was in Madurai. It served as the British administrative headquarters during colonial times. Today, it houses the Gandhi Memorial Museum which is a nice exhibit of the Mahatma's life. Wonder how many people know that the young and dapper lawyer returning from South Africa shed his Western clothes for the Khadhar garment that he wore afterwards, right here in Madurai. The museum houses a part of the blood-stained garment that he wore on the day of his death. Admission is free.

Visited August 2019.

Thiruchuli Thirumeninathar or Bhoominathar temple

Ready for another jewel of a temple? This large temple to Siva is situated 45 kms to the southeast of Madurai. Solidly built granite temple with wide prakarams, it is a nice quiet temple to experience without the crowds you will encounter in more well known temples. It is a Paadal Petra Sthalam - 12th of the 14 in the Pandian country. Suntharar composed the Pathikam in the 8th century. As usual it has been added on to by many dynasties but has a very solid Pandian foundation as evident by the many fish symbols on the ceilings of the inner prakarams. It has a seven tier rajagopuram, likely of Nayakkan or later origin but not very tall. Pay attention to the inner walls built of granite blocks without mortar or other binders that have withstood the test of time for a thousand years. Its is a Katrali or granite temple. I loved this temple and will highly recommend it to anyone. It is only about an hour's drive from Madurai

Visited August 2019 Base Madurai

Srivilliputhur

82 km to the southwest of Madurai, about a 90 minutes drive, lies this vast and beautiful twin temple complex. It is a Divya Desam Vishnu temple. One part of the temple is dedicated to the woman Alvaar saint Andaal, who was born here in the 8th century. The main deity Vatapatrasayi is a reclining form of the Lord Vishnu. The idol is large and there are three entrances to the sanctum, one for the head, one for the body and one for the feet. Again it is an ancient temple built over the ages with original Pandian construction with later contributions from Chola, Vijayanagar, Nayakkan and other dynasties. Well worth the trip to those of you who want to go there. Many believe that the Tamil Nadu state government emblem is designed after the rajagopuram here. The last picture is that of the ceiling in one of the inner precincts and has an engraving of a fish, the royal stamp of the Pandian kings.

Visited August 2019

Vandiyur Mariamman Theppakulam - Madurai

This man made tank with a beautiful mandapam in the middle was built in 1645 by King Thirumalai Nayakkan. It is believed that the soil excavated from this site was used to build the Thirumalai Nayakkan Palace. During the rainy season it brims with water but for most of the year it is dry. It is famous for the Float Festival in the Tamil month of Thai (Jan/ Feb).

Visited Aug 2019

Thirupuvanam - Thirupushpavanesvarar

Not to be confused with Thirubhuvanam, the Chola temple on the Kaveri, this Sivan temple is located 20 km or a 30 minute drive east of Madurai on the banks of the Vaigai River.

Originally built in the 7th century, the outer structures existing today are of more recent origin. The pretty rajagopuram looks like it has been built in the last 200 years. But the granite inner core has all the markings of an ancient Pandian temple with plenty of fish symbols. Many dynasties including the Nayakkar contributed to this temple. The muhamandapam has a statue of King Thirumalai Nayakkar. This is the 10th of the 14 Paadal Petra Sthalams in the Pandya Naadu and has pathikams from Gnasampanthar, Thirunaauvukkarasar and Sundarar. Lots of divine stories about this temple. The 36th Thiruvilaiyaadal, that of the dancing girl is supposed to have occurred here. Many inscriptions here with the earliest belonging to the 10th century reign of Pandian Sadayan Maran. Although not architecturally as impressive as some of the other temples we visited, it has a lot of history and legends.

Visited Aug 2019. Base Madurai