Rameshwaram is situated in the Gulf of Munnar, surrounded by the Bay of Bengal on one side and Indian Ocean on the other. The island of Rameshwaram is 52 square kms. in area, represented in the form of the Panchajanya (the conch of Vishnu). In the epics, Rameshwaram is described as Gadamadana Hill. Sri Rama is believed to have installed the Jyotirlinga of Shiva at this place. He named it after himself as Ramanatheshwara. Goddess Parvati is known here as Parvata Vardhini. Varanasi in the north and Rameshwaram in the south are the two most venerated places of pilgrimage in our country.
The temple has a majestic appearance and is quite extensive. It is the practice of all devotees to bring the water from Holy Ganga in the north and perform Abhisekha with the Ganga water to Ramanatheshwara here. The devotees again bathe at Dhanushkodi and collect the sand from the sea at that place and immerse it in the holy waters of Ganga either at Varanasi or Hardwar. Devotees first bathe in the sea at Rameshwaram and then again at the various sacred Tirthas which are inside the main temple. This pilgrim centre is held sacred by both Shaivites and Vaishnavites.