Rameswaram — 11th of the 12 Jyotirlingas + Char Dham
Hindu / Shaiva / Vaishnava
Rameswaram — 11th of the 12 Jyotirlingas AND one of the 4 Char Dhams of India — commemorates where Rama installed a Shiva-liṅga before crossing to Lanka to rescue Sita. Two liṅgas: Rāmalinga (brought from Kailash by Hanuman, small) and Viśvalinga (crafted from sand by Sita). Temple corridor is the longest of any Hindu temple (205m). 22 tīrthas (sacred wells) must be bathed in before darshan. Pilgrims collect Rāmeśvaram sand (Dhanuṣkoṭi, at the edge of the island) — believed to be Rama's bow-mark.
India's sacred landscape embraces all faith-traditions — Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Jewish, Zoroastrian, tribal, regional-folk — each with its own cosmology. This entry honors Hindu on its own terms.
