Rameshvar

Manifestation of the god Shiva, in his
form as “Rama’s Lord” at Rameshvaram
in the state of Tamil Nadu. The image of
Rameshvar at this site is a linga, a pillarshaped object said to represent Shiva’s
symbolic form. The Rameshvar linga is
one of the twelve jyotirlingas, a network
of twelve lingas deemed especially holy
and powerful, and at which Shiva is
thought to be uniquely present. The
site’s mythic charter is drawn from the
Ramayana, the earlier of the two
Sanskrit epics. According to tradition,
Shiva is worshiped here by the god
Rama, the epic’s protagonist, although
there are differing accounts of when this
happened. In some stories, it is to gain
Shiva’s blessing immediately before
559
Rameshvar
Rama’s attack on the demon kingdom of
Lanka. In other accounts the worship
comes after the conquest of Lanka, as a
rite of thanksgiving. In either case, both
sets of stories portray Rama as a devotee
(bhakta) of Shiva and thus buttress
Shiva’s status as the greatest god of all.