ShriirAma establishes a Jyotirlinga - Rameswaram

[Anand Hudli]

sutaamraparNiijalaraashiyoge
   nibadhya setuM vishikhairasaMkhyaiH |
shriirAmachandreNa samarpitaM taM
   rAmeshvaraakhyaM niyataM namAmi ||

sutaamraparNii - the tAmraparNii (river)
jalaraashi     - the ocean
yoge -  at the union
nibadhya - having built
setuM - bridge
vishikhaiH - arrows
asaMkhyaiH - innumerable
shriirAmachandreNa - by Lord Raamachandra
samarpitaM - offered (established)
taM - that
rAmeshvaraakhyaM - named Raameshvara
niyataM - always
namAmi  - I bow

I always bow to that Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva called Raameshavara
who was established by Lord Raamachandra after building a bridge,
using innumerable arrows, at the confluence of the tAmraparNii river
 with the ocean.

Rameswaram is indeed one of those holiest or holy places in Southern
India. The place is steeped in many legends from the RaamaayaNa.
The Jyotirlinga of Shiva was established by ShriirAma Himself at the
start of the construction of the bridge to Lanka. It is said that
rAma laid the "foundation" of the bridge with His infallible arrows
and then worshipped the Jyotirlinga for success in His forthcoming
war against raavaNa. Again, rAma is said to have worshipped the
Jyotirlinga at Raameshvara to absolve Himself from the sin of killing
rAvaNa.

The adhyaatma rAmAyaNa has this to say about Raameshvara Jyotirlinga:

 setumaarabhamANastu tatra rAmeshvaraM shivaM |
 saMsthaapya puujayitvaaha rAmo lokahitAya cha ||

 When the construction of the bridge was beginning, there
 rAma established the (Jyotirlinga of) Shiva known as Raameshvara.
 After worshipping the Jyotirlinga for success in His mission and
 also for the good of the world, rAma said:

 praNametsetubandhaM yo dR^iShTvaa rAmeshvaraM shivaM |
 brahmahatyaadipApebhyo muchyate madanugrahaat.h ||

 Anyone who has a darshan of rAmeshavara Shiva and bows to this
 bridge constructed, will, by My grace, be freed from the sins of
 killing a brahmaNa, etc., ie. grave sins.

 setubandhe naraH snaatvaa dR^iShTvaa rAmeshvaraM haraM |
 saN^kalpaniyato bhuutvaa gatvaa vArANasIM naraH ||

 A man should take bath at the bridge construction and worship
 Lord Hara, rAmeshvara. Then with a firm  resolution of mind,
 he should go to vArANasii (kAshii).

 Aniiya gaN^gaasalilaM rAmeshamabhiShichya cha  |
 samudre kShiptatadbhAro brahma prApnotyasaMshayaM ||

 He should bring the water from the Gangaa (at vArANasii) and
 perform the abhiSheka (bathing ceremony) of the Jyotirlinga ,
 rAmeshvara. Then, the water container should be discarded into
 the sea. (By doing this) he attains Brahman without a doubt.

 Rameswaram, in modern Tamil Nadu, is well connected by road
 to major towns in the state, and by train to Madras (Chennai),
 Madurai, Coimbatore, Tanjavur and Trichy. The nearest airport,
  Madurai, is about 173 kms away. Notable pilgrimage sites at
 Rameswaram  are the Ramanathaswamy temple, agniteertham, Gandhamadana
 Parvatam, and Dhanushkodi. Rameswaram is an important place of
 pilgrimage for Vaishnavites and Shaivites alike. It has been
 called the VaaraaNasii (Kaashii) of the South.

 For more information on Rameswaram and nearby pilgrimage sites,
  please see:

 http://www.meadev.gov.in/tourism/temples/rameshwar.htm


Anand

PS: Ravi and others who are from Madurai may have something to say
about Rameswaram. Their comments are welcome.









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