{"id":124260,"date":"2026-09-13T11:03:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T05:33:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=124260"},"modified":"2026-09-13T14:10:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T08:40:22","slug":"ramanathaswamy-temple-corridor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/ramanathaswamy-temple-corridor\/","title":{"rendered":"Ramanathaswamy Temple Corridor: Heritage Behind the Modi-Xi Handshake"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Ramanathaswamy Temple Corridor Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Day 1 of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping shook hands at Bharat Mandapam in front of a high-quality projection of the <\/span><b>1,212-pillar corridor<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the <\/span><b><i>Ramanathaswamy temple<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in Tamil Nadu&#8217;s Ramanathapuram district.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tamil Nadu is also where the two leaders last met in India, in October 2019. While the reason for choosing this backdrop is unclear, the temple and its corridor carry deep historical, religious and architectural significance.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Location and Religious Importance<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Ramanathaswamy temple stands in the town of <\/span><b>Rameswaram<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on Pamban Island.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is one of India&#8217;s most important religious sites and is counted among the <\/span><b>12 Jyotirlingas<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the shrines across the country dedicated to Lord Shiva.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to tradition, Lord Ram worshipped Lord Shiva at this site on his return from Lanka. This dual association with Rama and Shiva gives the temple its sacred importance.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Historical Evolution<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The temple began as a simple brick and thatch structure and evolved over centuries into its present grandeur. Key stages:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>12th century<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The Chola kings built the first stone temple.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Later additions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Kings of the Pandya dynasty and rulers of Vijayanagar expanded it.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1<\/span><b>513<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Krishna Deva Raya of Vijayanagar visited after conquering Lanka and made magnificent gifts to the temple.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Nayaka period<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The Sethupati kings of Ramnad became guardians of the temple and finally completed it.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Sethupathi rulers<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of Ramanathapuram played a key role in shaping its present form.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Henry Hardy Cole<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (1843\u20131916), a superintendent of the Archaeological Survey of India, noted in an 1885 report that the temple in its current form was <\/span><b>rebuilt<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the 17th century after repeated sackings in earlier centuries.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The temple&#8217;s third and outermost corridor, the one with over a thousand pillars, was added much later to the original structure.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Key Architectural Features<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, is a masterwork of <\/span><b>Dravidian architecture<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It is celebrated globally for having the longest pillared corridor in the world.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>The Grand Corridors<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; The outer corridor stretches over 1,200 metres. It contains 1,212 massive, intricately carved sandstone pillars.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Lofty Gopurams<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Massive gateway towers (gopurams) stand on the eastern and western sides of the temple. The eastern Rajagopuram is the tallest, rising 126 feet across nine levels.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>High Compound Walls<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Massive stone walls, known as madil, enclose the complex. The complex spans about 15 acres, measuring roughly 865 feet by 657 feet.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Sacred Water Tanks<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; The complex reflects sophisticated ancient hydraulic planning. It has 36 distinct water bodies in total. Of these, 22 are sacred wells (theerthams) located inside the temple.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>The Corridor at Scale<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The famous outer corridor is largely credited to the 18th-century ruler <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Muthuramalinga Sethupathi<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the <\/span><b>zamindar of the Ramnad estate<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0Its key features:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1,212 pillars, each rising to approximately 6.9 metres.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The combined length of the temple&#8217;s corridors is commonly cited as about 3,850 feet, or roughly 1.17 km.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is regarded as the longest temple corridor in the world.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why exactly 1,212 pillars were chosen remains unknown.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Structure and Ornamentation<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The corridor is built as a sequence of stone columns standing on raised platforms. These platforms support the beams and the continuous roof.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the pillars are more than functional supports:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each pillar is individually carved and ornamented.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sculptural detailing includes floral motifs and figures of mythical creatures.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The columns, capitals, brackets and beams fit into a carefully organised grid, working together structurally while maintaining the temple&#8217;s visual language.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The intricate carvings are a fine example of <\/span><b>Dravidian architecture<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>The Visual Effect<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The rows of pillars create a striking visual as they <\/span><b>appear to recede towards a single point<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the distance.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The parallel lines converge, and each successive pillar seems progressively smaller. Though the individual units are repetitive, together they produce a constantly changing spatial view.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The corridor was designed to be walked through rather than admired from afar.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is why the image works so well as a backdrop: the <\/span><b>repeated columns create immediate depth on a screen<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, while the enormous scale and distinctive Dravidian style make it instantly recognisable.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The choice of the Ramanathaswamy corridor as the summit backdrop projects India&#8217;s civilisational heritage onto the global diplomatic stage.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beyond its symbolism, the temple is a valuable study in Dravidian architecture, regional patronage under the Sethupathis and the evolution of sacred space into monumental design.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b><strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-history\/ramanathaswamy-temple-1212-pillars-corridor-explained-10875275\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 1,212-pillared Ramanathaswamy Temple corridor showcased India\u2019s Dravidian heritage during the Modi-Xi handshake at BRICS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":124305,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,10217,22,59],"class_list":["post-124260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","tag-mains-articles","tag-ramanathaswamy-temple-corridor","tag-upsc-current-affairs","tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124260"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124304,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124260\/revisions\/124304"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}