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Ramanathaswamy
Temple
(Rāmanātasvāmi
Kōyil)
is
a
Hindu
temple
dedicated
to
the
god
Shiva
located
on
Rameswaram
island
in
the
state
of
Tamil
Nadu,
India.
It
is
also
one
of
the
twelve
Jyotirlinga
temples.
The
twelve
jyothirlinga
are
Somnath
in
Gujarat,
Mallikarjuna
at
Srisailam
in
Andhra
Pradesh,
Mahakaleswar
at
Ujjain
in
Madhya
Pradesh,
Omkareshwar
in
Madhya
Pradesh,
Kedarnath
in
Himalayas,
Bhimashankar
in
Maharashtra,
Viswanath
at
Varanasi
in
Uttar
Pradesh,
Triambakeshwar
in
Maharashtra,
Vaidyanath
at
Deoghar
in
Jharkhand,
Nageswar
at
Dwarka
in
Gujarat,
Rameshwar
at
Rameswaram
in
Tamil
Nadu
and
Grishneshwar
at
Aurangabad,
Maharashtra.
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.
There
are
four
abodes
in
the
Himalayas
called
Chota
Char
Dham
(Chota
meaning
small):
Badrinath,
Kedarnath,
Gangotri
and
Yamunotri
-
all
of
these
lie
at
the
foothills
of
Himalayas.
The
name
Chota
was
added
during
the
mid
of
20th
century
to
differentiate
the
original
Char
Dhams.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.
The
temple
is
the
southernmost
of
all
the
twelve
Jyothirlingas.
It
is
one
of
the
275
Paadal
Petra
Sthalams,
where
the
three
of
the
most
revered
Nayanars
(Saivite
saints),
Appar,
Sundarar
and
Tirugnana
Sambandar,
have
glorified
the
temple
with
their
songs.
The
temple
was
expanded
during
the
12th
century
by
Pandya
Dynasty,
and
its
principal
shrines
sanctum
were
renovated
by
Jeyaveera
Cinkaiariyan
and
his
successor
Gunaveera
Cinkaiariyan
of
the
Jaffna
kingdom.
The
temple
has
the
longest
corridor
among
all
Hindu
temples
in
India.
The
temple
is
located
in
Rameswaram
considered
a
holy
pilgrimage
site
for
Shaivites,
Vaishnavites
and
Smarthas.
The
presiding
deity,
the
Lingam
of
Ramanathaswamy
(Shiva),
was
established
and
worshiped
by
Rama
before
crossing
his
bridge
to
Lanka.
According
to
Hindu
ancient
texts,
Lord
Ram
had
built
a
bridge
from
here
across
the
sea
to
Lanka
to
rescue
his
wife
Sita
from
her
abductor
Ravana.
The
Temple,
dedicated
to
the
Hindu
god
Shiva,
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.
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