The third day in Madurai was relaxing and a shopping sphere. We bought a few famous Madurai Sungundi cotton sarees, a fabric which is made in the city of Madurai. That night we packed our bags and went to sleep early the next day journey was to one of my favorite destinations which cannot be missed en route Rameshwaram. Which has great mythological facts and history. Dhanushkodi, which is located at the southeastern tip of Pamban Island. It is located around 20km away from Rameshwaram. The name "Dhanush" literally means ' end of bow', which denotes the legend of Lord Rama and the Hindu sacred text Ramayana. One of the smallest towns in the world, with a length of just 50 yards, Dhanushkodi is the land border between Sri Lanka and India. It is around 15km away from Sri Lanka. The town has a vast stretch of beach, running up to 15km, which is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean on the other side. Dhanushkodi is also called the 'Last land of India'.
According to legend, Dhanushkodi is the place where Lord Rama, Lord Lakshmana Hanuman, and his vanara army had built a bridge to Lanka to rescue Goddess Sita who was under the captivity of the demon Ravana. This bridge was known as Ram Setu. After winning the war, Lord Rama won the battle and crowned Vibhishana, brother of Ravana, as the king of Lanka. Vibhshana later told Rama to destroy the bridge of Ram Setu, upon his request Lord Rama broke the bridge with the end of his bow. This is the reason why the place has been named Dhanushkodi, which means 'end of bow'. We enjoyed the drive watching the ocean on both sides while reaching the tip of Dhanushkodi. It was 5 pm, and we witnessed the mesmerizing sunset. One can see the TV tower of Sri Lanka which is only 15 km from Dhanushkodi. R was very happy to see the beauty of the ocean and was eager to play in the water. We were dropped off by the driver at a certain point where one needed to walk to reach the tip of the land. In that zone, there was no network and our phones were out of reach.
Witnessing the vast huge never-ending ocean, there were no boundaries for my happiness. It made me feel tiny, humble and inspired. At sea, I learned how little a person needs. Not how much. After spending a nice time near the ocean, we all started towards KothandaramaSwamy temple, which is believed to be 500-1000 years old. This is where Lord Rama did the Pattabhishekam of Vibhashana after Ravana was killed in the war by Rama. This story is depicted in paintings across the walls inside the shrine. After blissful darshan, we walked 30-40 steps towards the sea which was connected to the Indian Ocean, opposite this temple, where one can see the stone which is kept in front of Shivling, which was once used by Hanuman and his vanara army to built Ram Setu. Even to this day these huge stones are preserved by the Government of Tamil Nadu and are kept for darshan. To our amazement even to this day, the stone floats in water. We all took darshan of this stone which was kept on our head for blessings. Isn't amazing. Later we visited our famous "Missile Man of India, Dr. APJ Kalam sir at, the central residence, which is a 10-minute walk from Rameshwaram. This house has been converted into a small museum with the photos and memorabilia of Kalam sir.
Later we reached our hotel which was a beautiful resort, and spent a relaxed evening, as the next day we got to visit the Rameshwaram temple. This temple is considered a holy pilgrimage for Hindus. Mythological accounts depict the presiding deity the Lingam of Ramanathaswamy (Shiva), as having been established and worshipped by Lord Ram before he crossed his bridge to the island of Sri Lanka, it is one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites comprising Badrinath, Puri, Dwarka, and Rameshwaram. According to the Hindu epic - Ramayana, Rama was the 7th avatar of the god Vishnu prayed to Shiva here to absolve any sins that he might have committed during his war against the demon-king Ravana in Lanka. As per Shiva Purana, the jyothirlinga shrines are believed to be the places where Shiva is said to have appeared as a fiery column of light. Originally there were 64 jyothirlingas, of which 12 are considered sacred to Lord Shiva. Each of the 12 jyothirlingas sites is a different manifestation of Shiva. This was our 5th Jyothirling darshan. We wanted to have the best darshan of lord Mahadev, hence we opted for a VIP darshan, which includes MahaRudra Abhishek, along with the entire family. My parents, sis, and my family. My family R, myself, and N this was our 5th Jyothirling darshan. And this was one of the most mesmerizing darshan we ever had.
The next morning we all got up and were ready by 3.30 am. Yes, early morning. One of the temple people who helped us and was in charge of our darshan. We started towards the temple at 4.15 am. We opted for two darshans, one the "Spatika Mani" darshan which was a lifetime experience and should not be missed. In Rameshwaram temple, this Mani darshan is held in the early morning every day. This"Mani" is made of 'spatik', which is a precious crystal in the form of " Holy Shivling". According to legend, this is "Mani" of "Sheshnag" ( The snake on which Lord Vishnu rests). As part of the ritual, before the main darshan one has to do 22 kund (Wells) snanam (bath). This starts with Samudra snanam at Agri Theertham. It is believed that the first kund/theertham lies submerged under the sea. So we all reached this Agri Theertham at 4.30 am and took the holy dip. later entered inside the main temple to have an entranced darshan of 'Spatik' mani. Once we entered the main sanctum there were thousands of devotees to have this once-in-a-lifetime darshan. We entered the VIP darshan lane, and upon taking the ''Spatik'' mani darshan there were no boundaries to my happiness. I felt like a small feather in front of that glaze, the brightness of that mani darshan. Felt blessed.
After mani darshan, there comes the 22 kund/well snanam or bath. A medium-sized bucket of water is poured on the devotee's head before entering the main sanctum. All these kunds/theertham are inside the premises of the main temple. With my hands folded, head down, eyes closed and I continuously chanted" Om Namaha Shivay" and "Om Namo Narayanaya". Took the 22 Kund bath. I was worried after taking 22 kund snanam, R should not catch a cold or cough. I was in the middle of my anticipation when the man poured a bucket full of water over me, in the early morning hours, my clothes got wet and heavy and my body felt light. I didn't feel the water was cold. There was so much energy through my head to toe, that I was getting goosebumps all over my body. This phenomenon is to be repeated 21 more times to complete the 22 kund snanam. R was jumping in joy holding an empty bottle on his head which I had carried to collect all those 22 kund water back home. Every time the water was poured bottle was filled. Holding my dad who is in his late 70s, and a great Mahadev bhakt. He had tears in his eyes and chanting Har Har Mahadev. My sis was holding my mom, who was on a race to reach the kund/well. Since we had taken VIP darshan there were hardly any people in Kund Snanam.
We all followed the directions of the person who was heading us through our darshan. The 22 kund water goes in this direction - firstly, Mahalakshmi theertham the one submerged in the ocean, followed by Gayathri, Savitri, Saraswati, Gavya, Gavyaksha, Nala, Neela, Sethumadhava, Gandhamadhava, Brahmahatya, Vimochana, Shanku, Surya, Chandra, Chakra, Shiva, Sarva, Satyamrita, Gaya, Ganga, Yamuna and finally Kodi. It is believed that sprinkles from Kodi theertham are equivalent to taking a dip in the holy Ganges. As I moved from one Kund to another, I had an observation that the temperature and salinity of the water kept changing. While the water was mostly warm, the taste varied from neutral to sweet. Every Kund has a green board that shares anecdotes from the epic Ramayana which talks about sins washing off your body. The Kund has been arranged in such a way that by the time you come to the 22nd Kund, you are absolved of all the sins. After taking 22 Kund baths we all were drenched from head to toe. We were told especially not to take tap water baths at least for that day. And then let the body soak in the holy water and all its healing properties.
After 22 Kund snanam, we all changed our clothes and started towards the main Sanctum where arrangements were made for our MahaRudra Abhishek. Verses from the Rudram Chamkam were chanted by two pandits. We all sat and did pooja and started towards the main scantum holding Kalash in hand filled with milk. I had taken Ganges water which was bought from Gomuk, which is in UtarKashi of Gangotri glacier by my BIL. It is believed that lord Mahadev will be pleased with whoever gets the Ganges from Gomuk the starting point of the Ganga in the the Himalayas. After 22 Kund snanam, we all felt calm and peaceful and felt light and more conscious in the present moment. One has to witness this once in a lifetime. We along with my entire family watched the Abhishek to Lord Ramanathswamy from Ganges water and milk, all chanting Har Har Mahadev, my heart was pounding nonstop with the energy looking at lord Ramanathswamy. Every person under the roof was chanting some or the other verses. In that chaos, I felt so much peace in my heart. I found myself standing alone in front of the gleaming Shiv ling, As I got a nudge to move forward I saw Shiv ling and closed my eyes to capture it. Thank the lord for making this life clear from all the sins that we did knowingly or unknowingly and for starting a fresh life with a lot of positivity, contentment, love, and belongingness with my entire family.
After having a blissful darshan we were handed over the flower mala and prasad by the pandit who was with us on this entire journey and walked towards the exit of the temple. It was 7.30 am and we were out of the temple witnessing the best darshan of our lifetime. While walking towards exit we used to halt every 2 minutes to admire the architecture of the temple with 1000 colorful pillars and ceilings adorned with depictions from epic Ramayana. Time to start towards our hotel as we had 3 hour's drive to Madurai where we had to catch our train to back home to Bengaluru. I thanked and prayed for all his blessings which go far beyond anything we could ever dream of. I thanked god for protecting me from what I thought I wanted and blessing me with what I didn't know I needed. One should stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey because Life is a journey. Travel it well."
Concluding my Temple Diaries. Until I travel to a next expedition......
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