Ramanathaswamy Temple

At the town's core is the Ramanathaswamy Temple, one of the most important temples in southern India. Rameswaram is on an island in the Gulf of Mannar, connected to the mainland at Mandapam by rail, and by one of India's engineering wonders, the Indira Gandhi Bridge. Ramnathswamy temple was built in the 17th century. Situated close to the sea on the eastern side of the island, this temple is famous for its 1200 gigantic granite columns. The 54 metre tall gopuram (gate-tower), 1220 metres of magnificent corridors and the flamboyant columns embellish and render fame to the temple.The great temple of Sri Ramanatha is connected by tradition with Keshi. A pilgrimage to Kasi is not considered complete without a pilgrimage to Rameswaram. In olden days groups of pilgrims, many of them quite old, walked huge distance to the two temples, taking months and years, and some failing to survive the rigours and dangers of such incredibly long journeys. Men and women know this cost might be exacted of them, but they paid it cheerfully.The Rameswaram pilgrimage has long been a tradition in South India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, and has passed into folklore. Many kings of old period themselves on having planted columns of victory in Rameswaram. Krishna III the Rashtrakuta, in the tenth century, the Hoysala, Vishnuvardhana, in the twelfth. It was a king of Sri Lanka who according to inscriptions, built the sanctum of the temple.The temple, which has over the centuries grown into its present gigantic dimensions, stands on the eastern shore of an island, which is shaped like a conch, which Lord Vishnu bears in one of His bands. No field is ploughed or oil pressed anywhere in the island. A magnificent railway bridge, over a kilometre long and constructed at the beginning of the twentieth century, connected it with the mainland. To help the pilgrims walking incredible distances, philanthropists used to construct rest houses at intervals along the way.