Rameswaram

D1

Rameswaram (Tamil: இராமேஸ்வரம் Irāmēsvaram [( ɨ ) ɾa ː me ː sʋəɾʌm ], and Rameshwaram, Ramesvaram ) is a city in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is situated in Ramanathapuram district on the mainland barrier island Pamban in the Straits between India and Sri Lanka. As a place where Rama is said to have worshiped Lord Shiva after his return from Lanka, Rameswaram is considered as one of the holiest places of Hinduism and is therefore one of the most important places of pilgrimage in India.

Geography and population

Rameswaram is located in the south of Tamil Nadu on the mainland barrier island Pamban ( Rameswaram also Iceland ) in the Straits between India and Sri Lanka only 50 kilometers away from Sri Lanka. The city is located on the eastern shore of the Palkbucht facing the island. At the tip of Pamban Island in Dhanushkodi, 20 kilometers southeast of Rameswaram, the Adam's Bridge, a chain of sandbanks and islands between India and Sri Lanka begins.

Rameswaram is part of Ramanathapuram district and is the center of the eponymous taluks ( sub-district ). The Ramanathapuram district capital lies some 50 kilometers to the west on the mainland. After Madurai, the most important city in southern Tamil Nadu, there are about 170 km, Chennai (Madras ), the capital of the state is located around 550 kilometers north.

The population is around 45,000 Rameswarams ( 2011 census ).

Religious significance

Rameswaram is considered Hindus as a sacred place. The Adam's Bridge (or Rama bridge) is identified with the bridge that Lord Rama had built ( an incarnation of Vishnu ) According to the epic Ramayana to Lanka to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana kidnapping by the. After his victory over Ravana Rama is said to have made ​​in Rameswaram just to thank Shiva for his help. The name is derived from the Rameswaram Shiva shrine at this point. He comes from Sanskrit and means " [ place of ] the Lord of Rama ".

Rameswaram one of the few places that Vaishnavites and Shivaites is equally sacred. Because of its mythological meaning Rameswaram is one of the most important Hindu pilgrimage sites. In addition to Badrinath in the north, Dwarka in the West and Puri in the east Rameswaram at the southern end as one of the four holy places of the cardinal points of India (Char Dham ). At the same time is the temple of Rameswaram one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines.

Rameswaram attracts pilgrims from all parts of India, to a lesser extent foreign tourists. In 2011, Rameswaram recorded 9.8 million visitors and was therefore one of the most important tourist destinations of Tamil Nadu.

Transport and Infrastructure

With the Indian mainland Rameswaram is connected by the Pamban Bridge. It consists of a separate road and railway bridge (the latter is a vertical lift bridge built in 1914 ) and is 2,065 meters, the longest sea bridge in India. Rameswaram is the terminus of the coming of Kochi National Highway 49 and a railway line from Chennai via Madurai. Earlier, the railway line continues to Dhanushkodi at the end of the island, from where perverted passenger ferries to Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. The place Dhanushkodi and the railway line but were destroyed by a devastating cyclone in 1964 and never rebuilt. Since then, the station of Rameswaram is a railhead. After the destruction Dhanushkodis a ferry service from Rameswaram to Sri Lanka was established. Because of the civil war in Sri Lanka, the ferry service was abandoned in the 1980s. Currently, there are at the end of the civil war plans to take the ferry back.

In Rameswaram is the tallest building in India, the 323 -meter high TV Tower Rameswaram.