PM Modi ends south India spiritual trip after praying at TN Ram shrine

Rameswaram (TN), Jan 21 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday completed his spiritual journey to temples with a Ramayana link in southern parts of the country by worshipping at a Lord Ram shrine near Arichal Munai, where he prayed and paid floral tributes at seashore.

Marking completion of his visits to temples ahead of the consecration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22, Modi performed pooja and had darshan at the Sri Kothandaramaswamy temple, which is on the way towards Dhanushkodi and Arichal Munai, from where Sri Lanka is a stone's throw away.

Kothandaramaswamy in Tamil denotes Lord Ram with bow and arrow. The PM laid flowers on the Arichal Munai beachfront and also paid floral tributes at a pillar with the national emblem.

Arichal Munai is on the southern tip of Rameswaram island in Ramanathapuram district in southern Tamil Nadu.

The Prime Minister performed 'pranayama' (breathing exercise) at the beach and offered prayers using the sea water.

Earlier this week, he prayed in temples in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala that have a Ramayana relevance.

Modi, who stayed at Rameswaram on Saturday night, drove to Arichalmunai, which is said to be the place from where the Ram Setu was built.

Ram Setu, also known as Adam's Bridge, is said to have been constructed by Lord Ram with the help of the 'Vaanara sena' to travel to Lanka to wage war against Ravana.

Following his visit to the Kothandaramaswamy temple and Arichal Munai, the Prime Minister reached Madurai and boarded an aircraft to New Delhi. Temple priests said Modi carried with him 'kalash' of holy waters from Tamil Nadu.

Modi arrived in Chennai on January 19 and inaugurated the Khelo India Games 2023. On Saturday, he visited the Sri Ranganathaswamy and Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy temples in Srirangam and Rameswaram, respectively. PTI