Ramanathaswamy Temple: This is the main temple at Rameshwaram. Facing the sea, the temple stands on an elevated ground. The huge towers on the eastern and western sides are 42 metres and 26 metres in height respectively, profusely decorated with various deities and sculptures of mythological figures. The workmanship is massive and architecture is Dravidian. Originally this land was in the custody of the Sethupathis of Ramnad, who built this temple little by little from the 17th century. It took them 300 years to complete. The most interesting and arresting feature of the temple is the vast corridor six metres broad running round between the huge colonnade on a platform, to a length of 1220 metres. The third enclosure has all the important shrines and the holy 22 Thirthams, where pilgrims bathe and perform rituals. The entire architectural arrangement gives an impression of a well defined unity of design and structure. In the shrine is the huge Jyothirlinga of Shiva along with the famous Sphatika Linga installed by Adi Shankaracharya. Worship to this Linga is done daily at 4 a.m. There are several shrines around the corridor dedicated to Vishwanatha, Vishalakshi, Sethu Madhava and many others. A huge Nandi built of brick and mortar is found in front of the main temple.