Explore the pillars and corridors in Ramanathaswamy Temple

The Ramanatha Swamy temple, the largest in the town of Rameshwaram is spread over a whopping 15 acres and is ornate, large and awe inspiring all at once. An important pilgrimage center, this temple houses one of the twelve jyotirlingas in the country. Steeped in mythology, there is literally a story behind every idol and place here. This apart, the temple is renowned for its extremely long corridors. There are three huge corridors in all here. The first corridor is the oldest and dates back to the 12th century, but has been renovated over various time periods and houses the main deity. The second corridor has 108 shiva lingas as well as a statue of Ganapathi. The third corridor is the show stopper with a whopping 1212 pillars set on an elevated platform and has a height of close to 23 feet and is naturally said to be the longest pillared corridor in the world. Interestingly, these carved granite pillars are not available locally and are believed to have been brought in from some other part of Tamil Nadu. The carvings on these pillars are quite mind boggling and have been painted in bright colours as part of the regular maintenance and make for a compelling visual – one that will stay will you even after you leave this place.