According to the Valmiki Ramayana, Lord Ram stopped at this very place to worship Lord Shiva before setting out for Lanka. Ram was a devoted bhakta of Shiva and wished to seek Shiva's blessings before crossing over.
In the Yuddha Kanda of the Ramayana, it is told that Ram established a Shivalinga here. The Shivalinga was made of sand, because no stone was at hand at that moment.
This is why Shiva is enshrined here under the name Rameshwar. Rameshwar means the Lord of Ram — that is, the Shiva who was worshipped by Ram himself. This Jyotirlinga is also counted as the eleventh among the twelve Jyotirlingas.
In the 8th century CE, Adi Shankaracharya established Rameshwaram as one of the four Char Dhams. He also founded the Dakshinamnaya Sharda Peeth here, known as Sringeri Math.
According to the Valmiki Ramayana, Lord Ram himself installed the Shivalinga at this very spot.
Rameshwaram is the Southern Dham among the four Char Dhams. It is the only place among the twelve Jyotirlingas that is also counted among the Char Dhams. It sits at the southeastern tip of Tamil Nadu. Lanka lies not far from here, and it is in this area that the Ramayana describes the building of the great bridge (setu).
The Ramanathaswamy temple's architecture is in the Dravidian style. The temple's corridors (prakaram) are known for their remarkable length. The temple complex also has 22 tirtha kunds (sacred water tanks), in which devotees have traditionally bathed as part of their pilgrimage.
- The temple remains open through the year. Devotees have been coming here daily for darshan.
- The temple complex has 22 tirtha kunds — by tradition, devotees bathe in the water of these tanks during their visit.
- The temple's long corridors and their beautifully carved pillars are something pilgrims often speak of.
- At the far end of the island lies a place called Dhanushkodi, which tradition associates with the Ramayana.