Sri Kalyana Jagannatha Perumal Temple (Dharbasayanam)

Temple tradition holds that this is the very spot where Rama, preparing to cross the sea to rescue Sita from Ravana in Lanka, lay down in penance on a bed of dharba (kusa) grass to seek the blessing of Samudraraja, the god of the ocean, for safe passage. The Sanskrit term for this act (lying upon dharba grass in penance) is Dharbasayanam, which gave the temple its enduring second name, distinct from Thiruppullani, the Tamil place-name built from pul (grass) and aNai (bed/mat).

The temple's identity is therefore inseparable from the Setubandhanam episode of the Ramayana (the construction of the causeway (Rama Setu) to Lanka) making it one of only a small number of Divya Desams tied to a specific, nameable turning point in the epic rather than a more general association with Vishnu's presence.

The temple is believed to date to the late 8th century CE, with later contributions recorded across several dynasties: the Medieval Cholas, the later Pandyas, the Madurai Nayak kings, and the Sethupathi rulers of Ramnad, whose territory this coastal region fell within. This layered patronage history, spanning close to a millennium of continuous royal support, reflects the site's sustained importance along the pilgrimage route toward Rameswaram.

The temple is built in the Chola architectural style, and is glorified in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham by the Alvars of the 6th to 9th centuries CE, placing its devotional recognition considerably earlier than much of its surviving physical structure, which reflects later-period reconstruction and expansion typical of long-lived Tamil temple sites.

The temple observes two separate Brahmotsavams each year, one in the Tamil month of Panguni (March/April) dedicated to Adi Jagannatha Perumal, and a second in Chithirai (April/May) dedicated specifically to Rama, reflecting the temple's dual identity as both a Divya Desam and a site of direct Ramayana memory. Rama Navami, marking Rama's birth, and Vaikunta Ekadasi are also celebrated in grand style, with the temple's Vaikunta Vasal (the north-facing gateway said to open a direct path to Vaikuntam) specially opened for the day and drawing thousands of pilgrims.

The temple observes the customary schedule of daily poojas, with darshan typically taking 15–20 minutes on weekdays and stretching to 30–40 minutes on weekends; during Vaikunta Ekadasi, Rama Navami and the two annual Brahmotsavams, waiting times can extend to one or two hours given the scale of pilgrim traffic passing through on the Rameswaram road.