Rameshwaram is one of the holiest place in India for the Hindus. It is an island located in Tamil Nadu off the east coast, it is one of the 12 Jyotir Lingams - the most sacred spots for Shiva worshipers. This illustrated history of the holy city of Rameshwaram - taken from the epic Ramayana - recounts the legend of Lord Rama, Lakshmana, Sita and Hanuman, who worshiped the Shiva Lingam on the southeastern coast of India to rid themselves of the sin of killing Ravana - the King of Lanka. After forging a friendship with Sugriva through the mediation of the mighty apes, Lord Rama sends Hanuman in search of his abducted wife Sita.
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Hanuman goes to Sri Lanka, locates Sita and delivers the message of Rama and brings back as a token her head ornament chudamani to Rama. Having learned about the whereabouts of Sita, Lord Rama decides to proceed to Lanka. He sits in meditation praying to the Ocean God Samudraraja to make way for him and his army. Annoyed with the delay, he takes the bow and gets ready to dart the arrow against Samudraraja. The lord of the oceans surrenders and shows the way for the construction of a bridge across the sea. While Lord Rama is busy supervising the construction of the bridge, he noticed a squirrel wetting its body. Then rolling in the sand and taking the sticking sand to be added to the bridge under construction.
While Hanuman and his ape associates are engaged in the building of the bridge, the squirrel contributes its share to the construction work. A grateful Lord Rama blesses the squirrel by caressing its back thereby forming three streaks. This gave rise to the story about how the squirrel got those white lines on its back! After the bridge was constructed, Lord Rama, Lakshmana, and Hanuman reached Sri Lanka. Seated in the chariot of Indra and armored by the Aditya Hridaya Mantra of sage Aghasthya, Rama and succeeds in killing Ravana with his Brahmastra weapon.
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