Rameshwaram

Ramayana is one of the two major epics of Hindu Mythology. It narrates the tale of Rama, the Prince of Ayodhya. The climax of the tale is his holy war against the evil demon king Ravana who has abducted his wife, Sita.

Ravana was the ruler of the kingdom of Lanka. This is believed to be situated on the northern part of the island of modern day Srilanka off the southern coast of India. The point from where Rama and his army of monkeys left the mainland has come to be known as Rameshwaram. Today Rameshwaram is one of the four holiest places of pilgrimage for Hindus and has a lot of folklore associated with it.

Having decided to launch an attack on Lanka to save his wife, Rama faced the problem of carrying his "monkey army" across the waters. He prayed to Varuna the Sea-God to part the waters and give him way but Varuna refused to oblige. At this Laxmana, Rama's hot-tempered younger brother threatened to dry up the ocean using his divine powers. Varuna appeared and begged for mercy. He said that if he parted the waters all the creatures living in the sea would perish and this would not be a seemly thing to do. He suggested that a bridge of boulders be built over the sea. He asked for the boulders to be inscribed with the word "Rama". This would ensure that the boulders would not sink but would float on the waters. And thus the monkeys wrote "Rama" on pebbles, stones, boulders and rocks and the bridge to Lanka was built. The architect of the bridge was Nala, the son of Vishvakarma who is the demi-God of architecture. There are several interesting stories connected with the building of the bridge. Squirrels contributed by plugging the gaps in the stones with sand. To record his appreciation of their efforts, Rama lovingly ran his fingers down the back of a squirrel and left the marks of his fingers. This is how squirrels got their stripes. To this day there exists a chain of underwater shoals known as Adam's Bridge in the strait separating India and Srilanka which is believed to be the remnant of the bridge that Rama built thousands of years ago.

According to Hindu mythology the Goddess Shakti is the embodiment and arbiter of power. She is the consort of Lord Shiva and is worshipped in various incarnations. Her blessings are always sought before embarking to the battlefield. Rama too did the same at Rameshwaram by worshipping her in her incarnation of Durga. While most of India celebrates the ten-day holy war culminating in the victory of good over evil, as Dassera, by enacting the legend of Rama, the people of Bengal celebrate this period as Durga Puja. Elaborate images of Durga are built in every street corner, work comes to a standstill, while the masses sing and dance in celebration of the Goddess who granted her blessings to Rama in his quest for victory.

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