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Har Har Mahadev

11 / 12 · Eleventh Jyotirlinga

रामनाथस्वामी

The longest corridorin India.

📍 Ramanathaswamy · Rameswaram, Pamban Island, Tamil Nadu

On an island in the Gulf of Mannar, where Rama built his bridge to Lanka, stands the temple he consecrated on his return. Its third corridor runs nearly 1,200 metres — the longest of any temple in India — and twenty-two sacred wells wait inside it.

Darshan & timings Read the legend

Third corridor~1,200 m — the longest in India

Wells22 theerthams inside the temple

AlsoOne of the Char Dham

Photo: Ssriram mt · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Checking…Timings Booking Before you go Reach Photos FAQ

He killed a king who was a brahmin.To be free of it, he needed Shiva.So Shiva came to the shore.

The legend

Why Shiva is here, and not somewhere else — as the Shiva Purana and local tradition tell it.

The sin of the victory

Rama won the war and killed Ravana — who was a brahmin and a scholar of the Vedas. Brahmahatya, the killing of a brahmin, followed him home. The sages told him only Shiva could release him, and that he must worship a lingam here on the shore.

Hanuman sent north

Hanuman was sent to Kailash to bring a lingam. The auspicious hour approached and he had not returned. So Sita made one from the sand beside her — and that lingam, Ramalingam, is the one that was consecrated.

Both are worshipped

Hanuman arrived afterwards with his lingam and was heartbroken. Rama installed it too, as Vishwalingam, and ordered that it be worshipped first — before his own. That order is still followed every single day, several thousand years later.

Third corridor

~1,200 m — the longest in India

Wells

22 theerthams inside the temple

Also

One of the Char Dham

Order of worship

Hanuman's lingam first, always

Darshan

Timings & the daily aartis

Times shown in IST. The status above is live against the temple's published hours.

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Now in India--:--

Morning5:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Evening3:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Closed 1:00 to 3:00 PM. The 22-well bath runs in the morning hours and is best started early — by 5:30 AM the queues at the wells are almost nonexistent.

Aarti & ritual schedule

5:00 AM – 5:10 AMPalliyarai Deepa AradhanaWaking the deity
5:10 AM – 5:45 AMSpadigalinga Deepa AradhanaThe crystal lingam — a rare darshan
5:45 AM – 6:30 AMThiruvananthal Deepa Aradhana
7:00 AM – 7:30 AMVila Pooja
10:00 AM – 10:30 AMKalasanthi Pooja
12:00 PM – 12:30 PMUchikala PoojaMidday
6:00 PM – 6:30 PMSayaratcha Pooja
8:30 PM – 9:00 PMArthajama PoojaThe last of the day

ⓘTimings change on festival days, during Shravan and at short notice. Verified 13 August 2026 — confirm against the official temple portal before you travel.

Booking

Darshan, aarti & registration

What can be booked, what is free, and where the official channel actually is.

General & special darshan

General darshan is free with a one-to-three hour wait at busy times. A special darshan ticket of around ₹200 reduces it to fifteen or thirty minutes.

TNHRCE ↗

22 Theertham bath

A ticket of about ₹25 covers the ritual bath at all twenty-two wells, water drawn over you by temple staff. Carry a change of clothes — you will be thoroughly soaked.

Spadigalinga darshan

The crystal lingam is shown only in the early morning aradhana around 5:10 AM, on a separate ticket. It is worth the alarm.

Before you go

Dress code, rules & what it costs

Dress code

Men

Traditional dress is expected — dhoti or veshti. Men are required to be bare-chested inside the sanctum, as at most Tamil Nadu temples.

Women

Saree or salwar-kameez. Western clothing is not appropriate here.

Not permitted inside

Mobile phones insideCamerasLeather itemsFootwear — the sand outside gets very hot

What it costs

General darshanFree
Special darshan≈ ₹200
22 Theertham bath≈ ₹25
Spadigalinga darshanSeparate ticket

Practical advice

Arrive by 4:30 AM on a weekday for the shortest queue and the crystal lingam darshan at 5:10.
Start the 22 wells by 5:30 AM. The water is cold and the queues are empty; by nine it is the reverse.
Carry two changes of clothes and a towel. The bath is not symbolic — buckets are emptied over your head at every well.
Take an Agnitheertham dip in the sea before entering the temple, as tradition prescribes.

Getting there

How to reach Ramanathaswamy

Rameswaram, Pamban Island, Tamil Nadu — 9.2881°N, 79.3174°E

✈

By air

Madurai

~170 km

The nearest airport, about four hours by road across the Pamban bridge. Tuticorin (~140 km) is closer but has fewer flights.

🚉

By rail

Rameswaram (RMM)

~1 km

The station is walking distance from the temple. Trains from Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore and Trichy cross the Pamban rail bridge — one of the great rail approaches in India.

🚌

By road

By bus or car

Direct

Madurai ~170 km, Chennai ~570 km, Trichy ~250 km. The road crosses the Pamban bridge onto the island; TNSTC buses run frequently.

🗺️ Open in Google Maps ↗

When to come

Best time to visit

October to March is the comfortable season on the island. April to June is very hot and humid. The northeast monsoon (Oct–Dec) brings rain and occasional cyclone warnings in the Gulf of Mannar.

Maha ShivaratriFeb / MarA ten-day festival; the temple stays open through the night.
Thai AmavasyaJan / FebMass ancestral rites at Agnitheertham on the shore.
Rama NavamiMar / AprEspecially significant at the temple Rama consecrated.
VasanthotsavamApr / MayThe spring festival, ten days long.

Around the shrine

What else is here

Agnitheertham

~100 m

The sea directly behind the temple. Pilgrims bathe here before darshan.

Dhanushkodi

~18 km

The ghost town at the island's tip, destroyed by the 1964 cyclone. Where the Bay of Bengal meets the Indian Ocean.

Pamban Bridge

~10 km

India's first sea bridge, and the new vertical-lift rail bridge beside it.

Gandhamadhana Parvatham

~3 km

The highest point on the island, with Rama's footprint and a view over the whole of Pamban.

Photographs

Ramanathaswamy in pictures

Freely-licensed photographs from Wikimedia Commons. Each is credited to its photographer.

Ramanathaswamy Temple Shore 02 — Photo: M.Mutta · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Ramanathaswamy Temple Shore 05 — Photo: M.Mutta · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Kothandaramar temple — Photo: Shajinss · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

⚖Images are reused under their Creative Commons licences. Follow any photograph to its Commons page for the full licence terms.

Questions

What pilgrims ask

What are the 22 theerthams?

Twenty-two sacred wells inside the temple, said to correspond to the twenty-two arrows in Rama's quiver. For about ₹25 temple staff draw water from each and pour it over you in sequence.

Do I need to carry a change of clothes?

Yes, and a towel. The 22-well bath soaks you completely — this is not a symbolic sprinkling.

What is the dress code at Rameswaram?

Traditional dress. Men wear a dhoti or veshti and must be bare-chested in the sanctum; women wear a saree or salwar-kameez. Western clothing is not appropriate.

How long is the temple corridor?

The third corridor runs close to 1,200 metres, the longest of any temple in India, with over a thousand carved granite pillars.

Why is Hanuman's lingam worshipped before Rama's?

Rama ordered it, to console Hanuman for arriving too late with the lingam from Kailash. The order has been kept ever since.

What is the best time of day to visit?

Reach by 4:30 AM. You catch the Spadigalinga darshan at 5:10, finish the 22 wells before the queues form, and get darshan before the morning rush.

Have you had darshan here?

Light a lamp for Ramanathaswamy and it stays lit across the site — your progress towards all twelve is remembered on this device.

Page last updated 13 August 2026 · All twelve jyotirlingas