Rameshwaram is an important place of pilgrimage in India. According to Hindu legends, this is a place from which Lord Rama built the Sethu Bridge to travel to Lanka (now, Sri Lanka) to bring back his consort Sita. The bridge begins in this island, moves across Dhanushkodi and then on to Talaimannar in Sri Lanka.

After the successful victory over Ravana and return from Lanka, Sita made a linga (a symbolic representation of God Shiva) of sand as a penance for killing Ravana. Lord Hanuman was asked by Lord Rama to bring a linga from Mount Kailash, but this Linga did not come on time and hence Sita made one herself. However, to appease Hanuman, the linga brought from Mount Kailash is also worshipped.

This legend surrounds the origins of the famous Sri Ramanatha Swamy Temple, which is an important pilgrimage spot among the twelve Jyotirlingas of India.