There are several historic places and temples which bear testimony to lord Ram’s journey from Panchavati forest to Rameshwaram in search of Sita. Subhadra Sengupta explains a few of those monuments
On the night of Dussehra, when the three images of Ravan, Kumbhakarna and Indrajeet go up in flames, we celebrate lord Ram’s victory in lanka. On Deepavali we welcome him back at Ayodhya. The memory of Ram’s epic journey is still stamped on the Indian landscape. Pilgrims are still walking in the footsteps of Ram.
People visit the temples of Ayodhya and take a dip in the sacred waters of the Sarayu River. They stand on the beaches of Rameswaram and think of the magical bridge that was built by Ram’s energetic Vanar Sena. In places famous and obscure, there are innumerable temples scattered across the country where they claim the presence of our favourite epic hero. From Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh to Maihar in Madhya Pradesh, at Panchavati in Nasik to Chitradurg in Karnataka, temples are dedicated to him.
Some of these sites have stories meshed intricately into the legend. A temple in Belgaon, Karnataka is said to be the site of Shabari’s ashram and there are berry trees growing in a forest nearby. Hampi, the site of the medieval kingdom of Vijayanagar, is believed to be the ancient Vanar kingdom of Kishkindha and nearby they even have a tiny village called Hanuman Halli where they say Hanuman first met Ram. As you wander around Krishna Deva Raya’s exquisite Vitthala temple, the tourist guides will point to a remote cave on a nearby hill and say that when Ravan was flying over Kishkindha in his chariot after kidnapping Sita, she threw her jewellery there. Hanuman gathered them and kept them in that cave.
The last stop of Ram before the battle was at Rameswaram and his presence permeates the land. Ram and lakshman came here to launch their assault on lanka and then returned after their victory. For instance, they will tell you at the Shiva Temple at Teert and Dhanam that Ram worshiped his ancestors at that site. At the Tapanashan Vinayak Temple at Uppur the brothers were exhausted by the heat and took a bath and worshiped Ganesha.
At Devipattinam, as its name suggests, a centre of the worship of the Mother Goddess, Rama prayed to Durga and to the nine planets for victory. He set up nine stones, the navapashanam, in the water of the bay, and the stones till stand. His final prayer was to Varuna, the god of the oceans begging him to move away so that Ram could cross to lanka. So for three days, Ram lay on a bed ofdarbha grass at the Dharbashayanam Temple in Tirupullani.
An attempt was made to build a bridge at Setu in Chhedukarai and the remains can still be seen there. The final bridge came up in Dhanushkodi. At Vilundi Teertha at Tanga Chimadam Rama used an arrow to start a natural spring. The Gandhamadan Parvatam in Rameswaram is from where Hanuman is said to have leaped to lanka. Vibhishan came and met Rama at the site of the Kodandarama Temple and after the battle was he was crowned the king of lanka there.
Rameswaram’s greatest shrine is the Ramanatha Swamy temple where Ram and Sita performed ayagna to Shiva after his victory. Also he performed the last rites, the antyeshti, of Ravana and ayagna of atonement, a prayaschitta for killed Ravan who was a Brahmin.
There are two Shiva lingams in the garbha griha of this majestic temple - one made by Sita with sand and the other a crystal lingam brought from Kailash by Hanuman. Devotees bathe in the sea by the temple called Agni Teertham and then worship at the temple that is famous for its architecture.
What makes Valmiki’s Ram so inspiring is that he is both heroic and also very human. He does his best to follow his dharma, being a dutiful son and a king and he pays a personal price for this sense of duty. His superhuman courage inspires people as they struggle with the adversities in their lives and so even as he is worshiped as a god he is also a compassionate deity.
In all the talk of dharma, one message in the Ramayana that we often do not think about is of courage. Ram and laxman venture into the unknown knowing Sita had been abducted by a powerful king. It was two young warriors and their tribal army against the might of golden lanka. The temples of Rameswaram remember the struggle of a brave and determined man battling against impossible odds.
One can imagine him sitting at the beach at Agniteertha and wondering how he would cross the sea. It was the months after the monsoons and the waves would have been dangerously high and tumultuous. He still went ahead; neither did he lose heart nor did her turn back.
Ram’s immortal story is a template of how to live with courage and integrity and the willingness to accept our flaws. That is why we still walk in the footsteps of lord Ram.
(The author is a renowned historian and onboard content specialist of Daiwik Hotels, the pioneers of pilgrim hotels in India)