IF SETHU IS NOT SACRED, WHY WAS MAHATMA GANDHI'S ASTHI IMMERSED IN DANUSHKODI?
GP.SRINIVASAN Correspondent, Hinduvoice, from Camp. Rameswaram.
On 12.2.1948 Mahatma Gandhi's asti was immersed in Danushkodi .If Sethu is not a sacred place why should it be immersed here? There is famous saying "Mannum Sethu". The earth taken from Sethu maddhi is very important, where ashes of the dead are immersed.
Ashes of famous political leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi,Sanjay Gandhi, were immersed here. Many Presidents like VV Giri and Judges also had their last rites done and their ashes immersed in Sethu Teertham Former President APJ Abdul Kalam's family took pilgrims by boats from Danushkodi to perform the immersions and the last rituals. (See: Introduction to Wings of Fire by the author)
This place is so hallowed that one offers sraddham and pindam for not only to one's ancestors even for one's friends and unknown strangers, hence four balls of rice(pindam) are offered here,instead of the three rice balls offered in other places.Sethu maddhi is the place in the seventh island where according to sankhya karma, maha prayaschittam is done over three days.There are 108 teerthas in the `island.Two have been destroyed by the government.It is holy place for Hindu,Muslim and Christian Fishermen.
Fishermen have been performing a ritual called "neeratudhal" in the centre of the sea. The boats are taken inside the sea and made to face the ramanatha swamy temple and garlands are ofered to the boat, coconuts broken and campour lit.
Revenue Records on Raman Theedai
According to SLR (Survey Land Registration) NO 1251,Danushkodi,Patta dated 30.9.97 Danushkodi comprises an area of 5236.51.5 hectares.Raman Thittai has 12 hectares and 91 cents, equivalent to 39 acres.Before 1964 cyclone local fishermen took permission to go to Rama's island and stayed there for days togeather and did fishing.Customs and excise department know the history of the Raman Theedai.
EV Ramaswamy Naicker Parents came to Danushkodi and performed Sethu Snanam.Even Late Congress President Sitaram kesari's parents also performed Tirtha yatra to Danushkodi.
Raman Theedai (seventh island) is exactly the place which is going to be dredged. Before 1964 cyclone chatrams and temples were in Danushkoddi where sadhus lived there.
Infront of the sacred Kodanda Rama swamy temple there is two headed muniswarar temple. The wind direction changes every six months. before fishermen go for fishing they offer to the diety and before crossing over the Sethu Bridge, which is called "Neeratudhal". All fishermen including christians perform that ritual.
After the cyclone Danushkodi was abandoned.Now the population of Danushkodi is 2000, if proper trasport facilities are made, then it will increase to at least 6000.The Goverfnment have not only abandoned Danushkodi, but also demolished an Iron bridge {that was from the British period} that connected Rameswaram to Danushkodi.
One illangai muni a contractor from Pondicherry did the demolition work during the time of MP Rajeswaran (some 15 years ago).They have not done any alternative construction. The place is is now isolated and cut off.
Systematic efforts to pushing Danushkodi out of people's memory has been underway.
There has been an effort to relegate the history of Daanushkodi to back yards and disconnect it from public memory as the following acts indicate.
In the 1947 kumbabhishekam Invitation printed by the Ramanathaswamy Devasthanam, Ramasethu, and Sethu Puranam were prominently quoted .Even in the letter that accompanied the invitation solicting donations mention the above mentioned facts.
In 1975 also the same was repeated. Since 1967, when the DMK came to power the invitation for the first time in 2001 the invitation did not carry the Sethu Mahatmiyam and any mention of Rama Sethu.This is systematic distortion to make people forget Rama Sethu.
Now the guides are showing only the delapidated railway station and a damaged church as remnant of danushkodi which is far from truth.After Rama sethu issue became famous people started coming by asking for Danushkodi. Now 10 FOUR WHEEL DRIVEN VEHICLES ARE PLYING EVERY DAY. THREE OF THEM BELONG TO MEMBERS OF LOCAL DMK- THE PARTY THAT WANTS TO DESTROY RAM SETHU.
Rameswaram and Ramnad people do not use bulls to till their land. They also do not use machines to extarct oil from seeds. this shows the reverence they have for land. Kalanginathar , one of the 18 siddhas went to China from here.His samadhi is in the sea shore. Matsyendranath is also interred in jeeva samadhi. Maharishi Patanjali's Samadhi is inside the Sanctum the Ramanatha swamy temple.Panchamugha anchaneya temple is in Arichal Munai. The first theedai is called Arichal Munai.
Using fiberglass boats by Rameswaram fishermen has been banned by the government. This is sheer discrimination. While all other fishermen from Kanyakumari and Tuticorin are allowed to come here in the fiber glass boats and do the fishing. The international territory extends upto 200 KMs. But Indian fishermen are allowed to go upto eight KM only. These are remnants of colonial policies that our Govt is following, and this is discrimination.
Before the 1964 cyclone, there was a railway track going right upto Danushkodi, which was destroyed in the cyclone. The place has been abandoned since though it has been a place of pilgrimage and people do go there.Earth acquires importance in this Stalam.For from here Sita Devi made a Shiva lingam which is still worshipped in the Temple. From here pilgrims carry the sand and immerse it in Prayag and Kasi, and the water from prayag is brought all the way and abhshekam is performed to shiva in rameswaram.this is the practise that is going on for several yugas.Several books on theertha yatras mention this. That is the reason why you see pilgrims coming here from all over India.
Bhogar, kalanginathar, Guru Govind Singh have come here and meditated and Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj also came and made offerings. There is a very famous Sikh Gududwara in Rameswaram.
Matsyendranath one of the desicples of Dattatreya also came here. Late in the 19 century Swami Vivekanada came here. Holy mother Sarada Devi also came here and offered worship. There are mathams from all over India, having their monastries or chatrams in Rameswaram. The Kasi Sethu yatra from south traversed always from Rameswaram and ended in Kasi .There is a famous kasi lingam which was brought by Hanuman from kasi is still HOUSED in the temple.
If the stay is vacated the SSCP will use RDX to blast away a portion of Ram Sethu. The Ram Sethu must be saved at all costs. Ram Sethu for us is sacred.
Raman Theedai ( Island) is the exact place where the dredging is going to be carried out.Saints in the past have gone there to do their famous Teerth Snanam.Rameswaram is called Karma kshetram or Bhaskarakshetram.this has existed in all four yugas:Satya -Treta-Dwapara-Kali. The four mukthi stalams situated in the four corners of Bharat are- Badri , Puri, Dwaraka and Rameswaram. Mortal Judges may come and go but Immortal Rama and his Rama Sethu will remain for ever.
On 12.2.1948 Mahatma Gandhi's asti was immersed in Danushkodi .If Sethu is not a sacred place why should it be immersed here? There is famous saying "Mannum Sethu". The earth taken from Sethu maddhi is very important, where ashes of the dead are immersed.
Ashes of famous political leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi,Sanjay Gandhi, were immersed here. Many Presidents like VV Giri and Judges also had their last rites done and their ashes immersed in Sethu Teertham Former President APJ Abdul Kalam's family took pilgrims by boats from Danushkodi to perform the immersions and the last rituals. (See: Introduction to Wings of Fire by the author)
This place is so hallowed that one offers sraddham and pindam for not only to one's ancestors even for one's friends and unknown strangers, hence four balls of rice(pindam) are offered here,instead of the three rice balls offered in other places.Sethu maddhi is the place in the seventh island where according to sankhya karma, maha prayaschittam is done over three days.There are 108 teerthas in the `island.Two have been destroyed by the government.It is holy place for Hindu,Muslim and Christian Fishermen.
Fishermen have been performing a ritual called "neeratudhal" in the centre of the sea. The boats are taken inside the sea and made to face the ramanatha swamy temple and garlands are ofered to the boat, coconuts broken and campour lit.
Revenue Records on Raman Theedai
According to SLR (Survey Land Registration) NO 1251,Danushkodi,Patta dated 30.9.97 Danushkodi comprises an area of 5236.51.5 hectares.Raman Thittai has 12 hectares and 91 cents, equivalent to 39 acres.Before 1964 cyclone local fishermen took permission to go to Rama's island and stayed there for days togeather and did fishing.Customs and excise department know the history of the Raman Theedai.
EV Ramaswamy Naicker Parents came to Danushkodi and performed Sethu Snanam.Even Late Congress President Sitaram kesari's parents also performed Tirtha yatra to Danushkodi.
Raman Theedai (seventh island) is exactly the place which is going to be dredged. Before 1964 cyclone chatrams and temples were in Danushkoddi where sadhus lived there.
Infront of the sacred Kodanda Rama swamy temple there is two headed muniswarar temple. The wind direction changes every six months. before fishermen go for fishing they offer to the diety and before crossing over the Sethu Bridge, which is called "Neeratudhal". All fishermen including christians perform that ritual.
After the cyclone Danushkodi was abandoned.Now the population of Danushkodi is 2000, if proper trasport facilities are made, then it will increase to at least 6000.The Goverfnment have not only abandoned Danushkodi, but also demolished an Iron bridge {that was from the British period} that connected Rameswaram to Danushkodi.
One illangai muni a contractor from Pondicherry did the demolition work during the time of MP Rajeswaran (some 15 years ago).They have not done any alternative construction. The place is is now isolated and cut off.
Systematic efforts to pushing Danushkodi out of people's memory has been underway.
There has been an effort to relegate the history of Daanushkodi to back yards and disconnect it from public memory as the following acts indicate.
In the 1947 kumbabhishekam Invitation printed by the Ramanathaswamy Devasthanam, Ramasethu, and Sethu Puranam were prominently quoted .Even in the letter that accompanied the invitation solicting donations mention the above mentioned facts.
In 1975 also the same was repeated. Since 1967, when the DMK came to power the invitation for the first time in 2001 the invitation did not carry the Sethu Mahatmiyam and any mention of Rama Sethu.This is systematic distortion to make people forget Rama Sethu.
Now the guides are showing only the delapidated railway station and a damaged church as remnant of danushkodi which is far from truth.After Rama sethu issue became famous people started coming by asking for Danushkodi. Now 10 FOUR WHEEL DRIVEN VEHICLES ARE PLYING EVERY DAY. THREE OF THEM BELONG TO MEMBERS OF LOCAL DMK- THE PARTY THAT WANTS TO DESTROY RAM SETHU.
Rameswaram and Ramnad people do not use bulls to till their land. They also do not use machines to extarct oil from seeds. this shows the reverence they have for land. Kalanginathar , one of the 18 siddhas went to China from here.His samadhi is in the sea shore. Matsyendranath is also interred in jeeva samadhi. Maharishi Patanjali's Samadhi is inside the Sanctum the Ramanatha swamy temple.Panchamugha anchaneya temple is in Arichal Munai. The first theedai is called Arichal Munai.
Using fiberglass boats by Rameswaram fishermen has been banned by the government. This is sheer discrimination. While all other fishermen from Kanyakumari and Tuticorin are allowed to come here in the fiber glass boats and do the fishing. The international territory extends upto 200 KMs. But Indian fishermen are allowed to go upto eight KM only. These are remnants of colonial policies that our Govt is following, and this is discrimination.
Before the 1964 cyclone, there was a railway track going right upto Danushkodi, which was destroyed in the cyclone. The place has been abandoned since though it has been a place of pilgrimage and people do go there.Earth acquires importance in this Stalam.For from here Sita Devi made a Shiva lingam which is still worshipped in the Temple. From here pilgrims carry the sand and immerse it in Prayag and Kasi, and the water from prayag is brought all the way and abhshekam is performed to shiva in rameswaram.this is the practise that is going on for several yugas.Several books on theertha yatras mention this. That is the reason why you see pilgrims coming here from all over India.
Bhogar, kalanginathar, Guru Govind Singh have come here and meditated and Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj also came and made offerings. There is a very famous Sikh Gududwara in Rameswaram.
Matsyendranath one of the desicples of Dattatreya also came here. Late in the 19 century Swami Vivekanada came here. Holy mother Sarada Devi also came here and offered worship. There are mathams from all over India, having their monastries or chatrams in Rameswaram. The Kasi Sethu yatra from south traversed always from Rameswaram and ended in Kasi .There is a famous kasi lingam which was brought by Hanuman from kasi is still HOUSED in the temple.
If the stay is vacated the SSCP will use RDX to blast away a portion of Ram Sethu. The Ram Sethu must be saved at all costs. Ram Sethu for us is sacred.
Raman Theedai ( Island) is the exact place where the dredging is going to be carried out.Saints in the past have gone there to do their famous Teerth Snanam.Rameswaram is called Karma kshetram or Bhaskarakshetram.this has existed in all four yugas:Satya -Treta-Dwapara-Kali. The four mukthi stalams situated in the four corners of Bharat are- Badri , Puri, Dwaraka and Rameswaram. Mortal Judges may come and go but Immortal Rama and his Rama Sethu will remain for ever.
