Place Details:
Agni teertham is one of the most visited and important pilgrim centres in the temple town of Rameswaram. It is located approximately 100 m east of the main entrance of the Ramanathswamy temple. Though there are 22 teethams inside the temple complex and 41 in and around Rameswaram, this teertham (holy body of water) is held in high regard.
ALSO READ 5 temples in Rameswaram that have that most interesting mythological stories
Rameswaram is one of the towns in India which has various connections to the Hindu mythological tale, Ramayana. it is believed that after Rama killed Ravana, he returned to Rameswaram with his wife Sita, his brother Lakshmana and his army of monkeys along with Hanumna. However, by the time they reached Rameswaram, Rama asked Sita to perform the agni-pareeksha which meant she had to walk through fire to prove her purity. Soon after, Agni, the fire god was called by Lakshmana and Sita walked through the fire without getting hurt.
At this point, though Rama was happy about Sita successfully completing the task at hand, Agni felt as if he had sinned by touching a chaste woman like Sita. So he prayed to Shiva to seek forgiveness for his deeds. Once Shiva appeared, he asked Agni to wash his sins off by taking ha dip in the ocean. ever since, this part of the India Ocean has been considered as an important pilgrimage for people who take a dip in the water here feel like they’ve washed away their sins.
Photograph courtesy: Indiawaterportal/Creative Commons
BEST TIME TO VISIT RAMESWARAM
The average minimum and maximum temperature of Rameswaram is as given below. The best time to visit Rameswaram is also specified.
