" This temple, spread over an area of 15 acres , has lofty gopurams,
massive walls and a collossal Nandi. Rameswaram also boasts of a 4000
feet long pillared corridor with over 4000 pillars, supposedly the
longest in the world. The carved granite pillars are mounted on a raised
platform. What is unique about this corridor is that the rock is not
indigenous to the island and it was brought in from elsewhere in
Tamilnadu across the sea. The eastern Rajagopuram towers to a height of
126 feet and it has nine levels. The Western Rajagopuram, though
impressive is not as tall as the Eastern one. The stuccoed image of
Nandi is about 18 feet tall and 22 feet in length.
It is believed that the ancient shrine was housed in a thatched hut
until the 12th century and that the 1st ever masonry structure was built
by Parakrama Bahu of Sri Lanka. The Setupathy rulers of Ramanathapuram
completed the rest of the temple. Some of the temple vimaanams resemble
the Vimaanams of the Pallava period. Much of the additions were carried
out between the 12th and the 16th centuries. The long corridor (3rd
prakaram) dates back only to the 18th century. The Gandhamadhana
Parvatam (hill) provides a good view of the temple. This temple has
received royal patronage from several kingdoms such as Travancore,
Ramanathapuram, Mysore and Pudukkottai. "
