SATVIDHYA

Where Rama Washed His Sin

Where Rama
Washed
His Sin
P Venkatesh
The car can go only so far. You have to walk through the forest to reach. Nobody goes there, our driver
Ganesh told us when I shared my plans to see Jada Theertham, one of the many holy tanks near the town
of Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, South India.
Familiarity is good. When you visit places others have visited before, there are no surprises. You can read
online reviews, ask the local people, and generally know what to expect.
But, the drivers words were enough to make my parents anxious. Spirituality is like venturing into the
unknown, and the unknown can be uneasy. There is a thin line between sacred and scared , and to my
parents dismay I was about to cross that.
Anticipating this, I started preparing them during our car journey from Rameswaram. I regaled them with
a story about the glory of Jada Theertham. Rama, the hero of the epic Ramayana, had visited this place
after killing the demon king Ravana.
Karma does not spare you, even if you happen to be the 7th Avatar of Vishnu, the Preserver God in Hinduism. Even though Ravanas act of abducting Ramas wife was unpardonable, Rama was tainted with the sin
of killing a great devotee of Shiva such as Ravana.
To purify himself, Rama washed his Jada or hair here, hence the name Jada Theertham. Only after that he
proceeded to install the main Shiva Linga at Rameswaram. Tamil Siddhas, the enlightened beings from
South India, prescribe that a mere bath here can spiritually evolve you faster than countless hours of

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SATVIDHYA

Where Rama Washed His Sin

meditation. Such is the power of the water in Jada Theertham.

On the road to Dhanushkodi, our car made a detour where the
signboard read Jada Theertham. By now, the driver Ganesha
had got the condence to drive through dense, thorny thrubs
on a stony path leading to our destination.
Very soon, we were greeted by a vast ocean of sand. I got out of
the car and hurriedly plodded through the sand to reach the
holy water tank of Jada Theertham. I sprinkled some water from
the tank over my head three times, a sort of quick substitute for
bathing.
I was delighted by the rare sight of several eagles sitting near
the tank. It was perhaps a blessing from Jatayu, the king of
birds, who had valiantly given up his life here while ghting
Ravana in order to free Sita.
My parents, who seemed annoyed at my rushing ahead without them, joined me. There was a small shrine
close to the water tank, with a statue of the elephant god Ganesha and two Shiva Lingas. Though the shrine
was locked, we could see the deities through the Iron gate. There was no sign of any human settlement
around. But, there were some owers strewn near both the Shiva Lingas which meant that someone had
visited earlier.
As per the Siddhas from the Agasthia lineage, one of the Shiva Lingas was worshipped by the planetary
deity Rahu and has the power to remove ignorance. The other
Shiva Linga was worshipped by the planetary deity Ketu and has
the power to grant wisdom. The Ganesha statue itself can bless
one with rapid progress on the spiritual path.
All I was carrying were two tiny copper cups lled with the holy
Ganges water from North India, which I oered to these two
Shiva Lingas that are said to be in existence for thousands of
years and more. I felt utterly mortal and totally blessed to be on
this revered ground.

Who on earth would know that right at the tail end of the Indian subcontinent is such a power-packed

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SATVIDHYA

Where Rama Washed His Sin

vortex? Obscured in time and hidden

from public imagination, Jada
Theertham promises to do the
undoable the sacred water here
can spring the fountain of wisdom
within you.
Our feet and eyes will perhaps
remember the sojourn. But, nobody
else would ever know that we had
visited Jada Theertham that day, for
sands leave no trail. Hopefully, we
pray that we had left behind all trails
of our karma too.

Author Bio

As a communications expert and creative consultant, Venkatesh has designed and executed
web campaigns, organized transformational seminars, andproduced radio documentaries
for global audiences.
He has consulted respected NGOs on national-level projects on community radio,climate
change and education. He has written over 50 articles ondiverse subjects for leading
publications.

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