Chennai: If the Ram Sethu glorifies the architectural marvel of Lord Ram and also his marine exploits to bring back his Sita after annihilating the demon Ravana, the nondescript Thiruvadanai town, located near Rameshwaram, abounds in numerous incidents associated with the Ramayanam.
It was at the ancient Sri Rathneshwar temple in the town, that Lord Ram, traversing the coastal hamlets, reaches to meet sages Markandeya and Agasthiya before the battle against Ravana. The ancient Sri Adhi Rathneshwar temple which majestically graces the town is said to have been first worshipped by Surya, the foremost among the nine planets.
Over the years, the places assumed various names before finally being coming to know as Thiruvadanai. Though access to this temple is only by road, there is an increasing demand among the locals to popularise this temple and also the town as part of the Ramayana circuit, taken up by the Union Tourism Ministry. Good accommodation and restaurants would also go a long way in fostering religious tourism at Tiruvadanai.
“This place was once a dense garden of Parijata (Sanskrit name for the Indian coral tree – a night-flowering coral jasmine) and Surya Bhagwan who lost his luminosity due to ego arrives here to worship Lord Siva in blue diamonds and re gains his brillance. Hence the name Adhi Rathneshwar for the Lord here. The place was then known as Adhi Rathnapuram,” explains S. Chandra Sekhara Gurukkal, Sthanikar, of the temple which is among the 107 temples under the administrative control of Ramanathapuram Samasthanam Devasthanam.
“This was about the time when Sage Agasthya lived. Then Sun god established the Surya Theertham (tank). Abhishekam to the Lord is done to this day with the water from this tank. The water from the tanks is known to cure one of various skin ailments,” Chandra Sekhara Gurukkal explains.
