Shri Ramnath Panchista
Shri Ramnath
Ages ago, when Shree Rama returned from Lanka, victorious in battle, he crossed the straits and set foot on the soil of Bharat Varsha.
Amidst the jubilations, the Rishies noticed Shree Ram strangely quiet and pensive. To their concerned query, Shree Ram expressed his unhappiness over having had to kill Ravana. After all Ravana was a Pulastya Brahmin and in his killing, Shree Rama was weighed down by the sin of Brahma-Hatya’.
The one solution for the erasing of this Great sin was to worship Lord Shiva. Only the great God’s blessings could help expiate this sin. Shree Rama, without wasting a moment, requested Shree Hanuman to travel to Mount Kailash to get a Shivling for the worship.
On Mount Kailash, Shree Hanuman saw Shree Shiva in deep conversation with Shree Parvati. Being unable to interrupt, he sat there in Tapascharya. In the meanwhile the Shubhmuhurth for the Puja was fast approaching. As there was no sign of Shree Hanuman’s return, Lord Ram asked Shree Sitamai to fashion a Shiv Ling out of the sand on the edge of the sea.
This Ling so fashioned was installed and Shree Rama offered puja and seva to the linga in total devotion, meditating on Shree Shiva in his mind. Shree Mahadev was pleased with the devotion of Shree Ram and granted Shree Rama’s wish of Atonement.
Thus the Ling came into being. The assembled Rishis named it Shree Rameshwar or Shri Ramnath and declared that the worship of this Ling will bring peace, even forgiving sins like Brahma-Hatya.
In the meanwhile Shree Hanuman returned with a Shiv Ling from Kailash.Upon seeing that he was late, he was crestfallen. But Shree Ram installed this Ling near the Shri Ramnath Ling and named it Shree Hanumanteshwar. Even today, Shree Hanumanteshwar Darshan is necessarily taken before the Darshan of Shree Rameshwar at Tamilnadu.The late Shri. Narayan Bhaskar Nayak in his Itihas gives the following account of how the Temple started in Lotli.
“The ancient people who inhabited Lotli, had with them an Image of Shri Ramnath. Everyday, this image was worshipped with Puja and Naivedya. This image would be carried around with them on their travels and now that they had settled in Lotli, they desired to establish the image in a temple. In their “devaro” they had an image of Shri Ramnath on a Horse, and a crystal ling. When the temple was established, a Ling of black stone on a pindi, was installed and the crystal Ling was
placed before it. The silver image of Shri Ramnath on a horse was used as a “Utsav Murti”. This smaller silver image was used as a Utsav Murti in the Palkhi Procession for a long time till a bigger Utsav Murti could be made.”
Shri. Mitragotri in his book on Goan history opines that the Ling of Shri Ramnath was brought in ancient times to Lotli from Rameshwaram.
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