Mukthi Rameswaram Temple, Sri Rameswaram temple

Andhra Pradesh, Kadapa, Amaravathi

Located at Proddatur town in the Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, Sri Rameswaram temple also known as Mukthi Rameswaram and Ramalingeswaram is a very famous temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. To complete the pilgrimage towards Varanasi (Kasi), one has to visit this temple. The Saikata Lingam in the temple was installed by Lord Sri Rama. The temple was built by Sri Krishan Devaraya in 16th century.

Legend

Accodring to the legends, on his way back to Ayodhya after killing Ravana, Lord Rama rested at this place. Lord Rama wants to offer prayers to Lord Shiva to get rid of the sin of killing Ravana who was a Brahmin. Lord Rama asked Hanuman to bring a Shiva Lingam from Kasi to offer the prayers. However, Lord Hanuman did not return within the pooja time. Therefore, Lord Rama made a Shiva Lingam out of sand and offered the prayers. The Shiva Lingam made by Lord Rama later came to be known as Saikatha Lingam. After returning back with the Shiva Lingam from Kasi, Hanuman felt bad that he cannot come at the pooja time. Lord Rama installed the Shiva Lingam brought by Hanuman little away and opposite to Saikatha Lingam. The temple later came to be known as Mukti Rameswaram.

Architecture

The temple Gopuram stands is a five storied with beautiful carvings of several images of gods such as Kumara Swami, Durga Devi, Ganapathi and idols of Lord Siva and Parvathi, Vishnu on his Garuda Vahanam etc. The Saikata Lingam stands 56 inches high and still has the finger prints of Lord Sri Rama on it. The Hanumath Lingam is situated few steps away standing opposite to the Saikata Lingam. Adjacent to Sri Ramalingeswaram Temple, there is a temple of Goddess Sri Raja Rajeswari Devi.

Darsan Info

Morning 06:00 AM To 08:00 PM

Darsan Dresscode

Wear neat and modest clothes and avoid shorts for men

Famous Festival

Ugadi, Dussera, Shiva ratri, Annual car festival

Culture

The rich cultural heritage of the city is on a populous display in Kadapa during its festival season. Sankranthi, the celebration of the first harvest in the state of Andhra finds a special place in the heart of the entire population of the city. In addition, Diwali, Eid, and Christmas are also celebrated on an appreciable scale. Kite flying is an important activity during Sankranthi. The locals love their spicy South Indian cuisine and a myriad of hotels serves multi cuisine dishes.