THE JOURNEY TOWARDS SOUTHERN TIP OF INDIA

 

My journey towards the southern tip of India

My journey towards the southern tip of India

Welcome to this blog of journey towards the southern tip of india.

I covered most of north India, but India’s south is still untouched by me. It is not like I don’t want to Visit the mesmerising seashores, fabolous temples and try the finger-licking Food. Still, somehow each time I planned for the trip, things didn’t go because of unavoidable circumstances.

This December, I finally made a five-day trip to Rameshwaram and Kanyakumari to tick these two places off my bucket list.

So here is my Journey to the southern part of our beautiful country. I will also mention the must-go places, Which tourists usually miss on their trip to this amazing part. So, Tighten your seat belts and pack your bags as we are going on a journey.

My flight was early morning from Delhi airport to Madurai air terminal.

Introduction to the journey towards the southern tip of India-Meenakshi Amman temple

It took about 3 hours to reach one of the oldest inhabited cities of India, “Madurai.” Madurai is well known for its “Meenakshi Amman temple.”

As I reached the city in the morning itself and reserved a car for the next three days, I sought the opportunity to visit the temple.

The Minakshi-Sundareshwara Temple is one of India’s oldest and most important temples. Located in the city of Madurai, the temple has great mythological and historical significance. It is believed that Lord Shiva assumed the form of Sundareswarar (the handsome one) and married Parvati (Meenakshi) at the site where the temple is currently located.

Meenakshi Amman Tem

Renowned for its astonishing architecture, Meenakshi Temple was nominated as one of the wonders of the world, but couldn’t make it into the list of ‘Seven Wonders of the World’.

Every year the ‘Tirukalyanam Festival’ takes place over a period of 10 days; as the marriage ceremony of Meenakshi Amman and Lord, Sundareshwar is believed to happen at this time, the temple attracts Lakhs of devotees. Although thousands of people visit this temple every day, the temple is well-maintained and was named the ‘Best Swachh Iconic Place’ (cleanest iconic place) in India. I was fortunate enough to witness the Aarti in the tempe, which happens early in the morning and got the “Prasadam” from the temple/

After visiting this beautiful site it’s time to move to Rameshwaram.

Rameshwaram-second spot in my journey towards the southern tip of India

Pamban Bridge:-  

 

 

Because it is India’s first sea bridge built in the Pamban bridge, India’s first sea bridge was built on 24 Feb 1914; yes, you get it correct it is more than 106 years old, and yes, it was the longest sea bridge in India until the opening of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in 2010.

This mesmerizing rail bridge is more than 2 Km long, and it connects mainland India to the religious and historic town of “Rameshwaram.”

Ramanathaswamy Temple:-third spot in my journey towards the southern tip of India

Hinduism believes that if a person wants salvation, he needs to visit Char Dhams, which are situated in four directions of India. In the southern part of India, Ramnarathaswamy of Rameshwar Dham is one of them.

Besides being one of the Dhams, it is also a Jyotirling among the 12 divine adobes of Lord shiva.

‘Ramayana’ mentions God Ram’s presence in this land after his 14-year exile.

The legend behind this iconic temple makes it one of the most important shrines in India. After coming victorious from Lanka, after defeating the demon king Ravana, Lord Rama came with his brother, his wife Seeta, and a band of thousands of monkeys.

After reaching Rameshwaram, Lord Ram told his wish to worship Shiva and asked Hanuman to bring Shivling from the city of Kashi.

Rama and Seeta were waiting for Hanuman, but time is kept passing. Seeta decided to make a Shivling with her hands so she made a Shivling from sand and Lord Rama worshipped that, hence the Shivling worshipped by Rama was known as “Rameshwaram” but in the meantime, Hanuman came with Shivling from Varanasi and felt bad as the Shivling he bought is of no use. Lord Rama, consoled him and established the Shivling Hanuman bought near to Rameshwar saving and worshipped it too which is known as “Vishweshwar”

This temple marks the unique confluence and merger of Shaivism and Vaishnavism. This temple is revered by both Shaivites and Vaishnavites alike.

The architecture of Rameshwaram temple is a delight for every tourist. This temple has long corridors “longest in the Country” The length of those are 197-meter from East to West and a 133-meter span from South to North and aesthetically carved and decorated pillars.

The temple premise is adorned with a towering 38-meter ‘Gopuram’.

Around this corridor there 22 Theertahams are situated, it is a strong belief that bathing in the 22 ‘Theerthams’ is a step forward in enlightenment.

I was fortunate to witness the beauty of this temple and take blessing at the temple but there is one place, which is believed to be the bridge made by the Vanar Sena or the “ Monkey’s army” known as Ram Setu.

It is believed that until some hundreds of years ago we could reach Sri Lanka with the help of that bridge, but because of Tsunami, the bridge broke.

But the part which is escaped is till Dhanushkodi

Dhanushkodi :-

Dhanushkodi is the southernmost tip of the Rameswaram island. This is the last place where a person can go at one time it was a beautiful and prosperous town, and Rameshwaram is only famous for the temple but due to the cyclon in 1964 whole of the town washed away.

Now a beautiful beach is here, where the visitor enjoys the mesmerizing sunset.

Although most of the part of this town washed away, one temple which is known as  Kothandaramasamy Temple remains intact.

Kothandaramasamy Temple :- fourth spot in my journey towards the southern tip of India

Kothandaramasamy Temple is 18 KMs away from Rameswaram town on the way to the last point in Dhanushkodi. It is believed that it is the same place where Vibishana a brother of Ravana surrendered before Rama and ask for shelter.

Kanyakumari-most famous in my journey towards the southern tip of India

After Rameshwaram, I was on my way to Kanyakumari. This is the southern most point of the Indian subcontinent

I was desperate to visit the Vivekananda Rock memorial, so I headed toward the seashores as soon as I reached the southernmost part of India.

Vivekanand Rock Memorial  

The music which the sea waves are creating by continuously striking the big rocks is giving me goosebumps, while the mesmerizing view of the enormous Indian ocean was worth witnessing. 

Surrounded by the vast sea a memorial was built in the 1970s to remember the visit of Swami Vivekananda and adjacent to the memorial a very big statue of Thiruvalluvar is situated. Thiruvalluvar was a famous ancient saint and this place provided me the opportunity to learn more about his contributions.

I reached the Rock memorial via a ferry and remembered the dual of great saints. From this place the views of Kanyakumari and oceans were mesmerizing 

Kumari Amman temple

During British rule, Kanyakumari is known as Cape Comorin, but the name later changed to the name of the presiding deity of the city “ Goddess Kanyakumari ”.

The history of this temple can be traced back to many ancient Indian scriptures. Sangam litratures such as Manimekalai and Purananooru mentions this temple in great details.

There is a legend behind the Kanyakumari Temple demon Banasura that had captured all demigods. No one is able to defeat him because, As per a boon, Banasura could be killed only by a virgin girl. Hence, upon devas prayers, Goddess Parasakthi took the form of Kumari, the virgin girl, to kill the demon.

But due to her mesmerizing beauty, Lord Shiva falls in love with her, but to kill Banasur, Devi must remain a virgin, so with a lot of effort by Brahma and Vishnu, the marriage is postponed, and Devi killed Banasur.

As the auspicious time of the wedding passed, the marriage never happened, and Goddess decided to remain unmarried. Devas worshipped her and asked her to establish herself.

The Temple of Kanyakumari is a mixture of various styles of ancient architecture.

Sunset Point

Kanyakumari is one of the unique location which is on the confluence of three waters, Indian ocean, Bay of Bengal and Arabian sea, surrounded by waters from three sides and from this place the sunrise and sunset looks ethereal. The changing colors of horizon and sky, the slowly disappearing sun in the deep sea is mesmerizing.

Tamilnadu is perfect combination of Culture and Nature, History and modernization. Which place is your favorite do let us know in comment section.