BY
PRAGYANSHARMA POLAVARAPU
(VRS.SOMANCHI)
(1)
After reaching Rameswaram around 5pm
and while proceeding to the hotel we could secure services of
a nice and patient temple guide. He intimated on phone that booking
of pooja tickets would be closed by 6pm and that because of the limited
day time available we should decide whether to go to the main
Ramanathaswamy temple or to the Agni Theertham (samudra snan) and other
holy wells that evening. It was a little dilemma for us because of following
reasons.
Our return flight ticket to Mumbai was
already booked. So we had to plan our further journey upto Thiruvananthapuram
to visit the most venerated Anantha Padmanabha swamy temple there (one of
our chief aims) and two or three other most famous ancient temples
and to allot time for our stay at a resort for a birthday celebration
. We have to allot time and fix visits to the various places as per a
fixed plan.All our journey after Madurai was being done by car. But we had to
complete the total trip a few hours before the time of return flight. We had
little children(two of my granddaughters) to look after in the huge rush and it
was already about 5pm. As such we had to limit our stay at Rameswaram to
one day in addition to the present day of journey .
We decided to visit the
temple that evening. We informed the guide , rushed to hotel (already
booked on line),put all our baggage and suit cases there and after freshening
up proceeded to the temple in autos travelling through busy streets full of
visitors. We saw people from distant regions of India in the
crowds. Since we came in a holy and auspicious period there were hundreds
of devotees on the streets .
We met the guide and his assistants at
the western gopuram i.e. at the Rajagopuram entrance . The first sight of
the majestic holy Rajagopuram and the other gopurams (temple towers) thrilled
me.We had to walk along the outer high protective wall of the temple for a
little distance . Everyone read of the great Rameswaram temple since
childhood . So this first visit to the most famed temple
was really enthralling and unbelievable . It was at this same place
that Lord Rama worshipped Lord Shiva . it was the place where
Lord Rama ,Goddess Seetha, Prince laxmana and Lord Hanuman walked .
Though we went late we
could satisfactorily visit the main temple and many other inner temples
thanks to assistance of the guide and his patient ways. There were
hundreds of devotees at the sanctum. The corridors and mandapams were crowded
with devotees in the evening hours. It was growing dark inside the corridors
and lights were on. Everywhere in the corridors and mantapams there were
sublime sculptures of gods. The mantaapam in the sanctum
sanctoram was lighted only by oil lamps and dull light
of distant electric bulbs. I write all this from memory and I was at that time
very tired what with joint pains and a long journey. So my descriptions may not
be entirely accurate.
(2)
The temple had become since hundreds
of years one of the most famous pilgrimage sites . The temple and the
Rameswaram island with numerous places connected to the Ramayana legend
are revered both by Shaivites and Vaishnavites.Traditional Hindus believe that a pilgrimage to Kashi(Varanasi)
is incomplete without a visit to Rameshwaram . Here we feel humbled to note
that in ancient times devotees(our forefathers and lots of poor
traditional bhakthas) would spend months in walking to visit these great
temples.
Here Goddess parvathi queen of
lord shiva has two revered names and is worshipped in two temples . she
is called Parvathavardhini when Lord Shiva is worshipped in the context
of worshipping of sand Shivalinga made by goddess Seetha. Goddess
Parvathi is called Vishalakshi when Lord Shiva is worshipped in the
context of worshipping the Shivalinga bought by Lord Hanuman from Kailas.
In india there are twelve most famous
Shiva temples .They are called Jyotirlingas and praised in the Puranas.
Ramanathaswamy temple is one among these 12 Jyotirlinga temples .Devotees
from all over India visit this jyothirlinga temple irrespective of seasons. In
south India there are only two jyothirlinga sites. One is Rameswaram and the
other is Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh.
We had a good darshan both at
the main temple and at the many other temples which we visited in the
different corridors of this vast temple complex . We felt blessed
seeing all these temples. The guides patiently explained to us in
detail facts and legends at every temple and at statue of every god
and goddess fixed on high pedestals in the corridors.
(3)
Here in this temple three sets of
corridors exist created by hundreds of giant stone pillars. They are vast
sized and bulky . They are 25 feet high and bear wonderful sculptures of
sublime gods. To walk in these corridors was like walking in the real heaven of
the beautiful gods. Here we may learn a liitle about the extreme importance of
temple corridors in Hindu culture. Throughout India in every temple —even in
small temples in rural areas— very clean walking paths (corridors) are
maintained to enable devotees to circumambulate around the central temple .
This is called doing “pradakshina” around the temple. People walk several times
in such corridors to pay obeisance to the god almighty in the sanctum
who is the emperor and protector of the universe of billion galaxies.
Let us learn a little about the
immeasurable reverence of people towards the temple ceremonies. They pour out
their woes before the gods when they stop before a god’s idols . they watch
the priests conducting lengthy poojas and abhishekams
using flowers,holy water , milk ,honey etc with great reverence and also
great pleasure. To bow before the “harathi”,to have the holy water and
holy akshatas sprinkled on them by the priests is solemn duty . Getting
their heads lightly touched by the jewel -studded “shatagopam”
gives the feeling to devotees as if god himself blessed them with his holy hand
. With reverence and pleasure they eat the holy Prasad– sweet preparation
and little pieces of fruits kept at feet of god for a few minutes and then
distributed to bhakthas after all the ceremonies. Devotees while standing
before the idol of god feel as if they are talking to the beautiful god
almighty himself.
When visiting a temple complex
each shrine is visited most carefully and most joyfully . If he
misses visiting even a single shrine the devotee feels guilty
. However we could not visit all the shrines in Rameswaram temple complex
as our movements for each day were tightly fixed because we booked the return
flight tickets. I have given in the next chapter the details of
shrines in the temple complex . We hindus believe that the one god
almighty of universe takes several outward forms for different
situations. I gathered the particulars of all these shrines after
verifying several internet sites and online encyclopedias. For this I am very
grateful to them.
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