Ramesvaram has two facets, a tirtha centre meant to the dead and a sthala centre, sacred to Lord Siva. It has developed into one of the most interesting centres of Hinduism, or a microcosm with all the complexities of the wider cosmos called Hinduism.

Since Rama worshiped Siva here to expiate himself from the sin of killing Ravana, Ramesvaram also became the sacred place of sraddha ceremony to the departed souls. An island in the extreme south emerged as the pitr-oriented pilgrimage centre – the direction of south being connected with Yama, and the ferry for crossing Dhanuskoti suggesting the Vaitarani river.

The Ramesvaram temple complex has three prakaras accommodating majestic, big and small shrines and mandapas meant for the performance of specific rituals. The book presence a comprehensive study of this temple complex. It traces the legends, history and rituals of the temple exploring the Vedic and Pauranic legends, epic stories and Tamil literature and also the bulk of epigraphic and classical texts. It also analyses the nuances of architecture and sculptural embellishments and discusses the layout and sequence of construction of all the shrines, mandapas and gopuras. The architectural and sculptural details of each and every part of these structures are compared with the existing contemporary Chola temples in the Chola main land. Detailed account of the rites and ceremonies performed in the temple daily, monthly and annually is given. The temple administration and a prolonged conflict for right to administer are also discussed in detail.

The book presence Ramesvaram as one of the foremost centres of Saivism in particular and Hinduism in general reflecting Dravidian architectural features.

About the Author

Dr G. Sethuraman is a retired Senior Professor and Head of the Department of Art History, Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu. He has sixty-nine papers both in international and national journals in his credit. He has been invited by the Ministry of Hindu Cultural Affairs, Colombu, Sri Lanka, for the past six years continuously to present papers, chair the seminar sessions and deliver special addresses. He has been awarded by the State Government of Tamil Nadu for his book History of Buddhist Art (in Tamil) in April 2013. Some of his other books include, Facets of Indian Art and Culture (1995); Museology, Museum and its Techniques (1996); Social, Cultural and Art History of Tamil Nadu (1997); Virudhunagar District – An Archaeological Source Book (as co-author, 2000); History of Performing Arts in Tamil Nadu (2004). He was the Editor of the Proceedings of the South Indian History Congress for four consecutive years. Some of the notable responsibilities he held in the university are: Director-in-charge of Academic Staff College, Deputy Director in Distance Education, N.S.S. Coordinator and Additional Controller of examinations. At present, he is serving as Professor Emeritus, in the Madurai Kamaraj University.