Devipattinam Navapashanam (Navabashanam) & Thilakeswarar Temple

On the Palk Bay coast of Ramanathapuram district, roughly 70 km north-west of Rameswaram and a short drive east-north-east of Ramanathapuram town, the small fishing settlement of Devipattinam guards one of the most unusual shrines on the Ramayana setu-trail.

• Pilgrims know the place by a second name — Navapashanam, commonly written locally as Navabashanam, "the nine stones" — for the ring of nine short stone pillars that stands in the shallow tidal water just off the beach.
• Each is venerated as one of the Navagraha, the nine celestial bodies of Hindu tradition, and at low tide worshippers wade a short way out to circle them and offer prayers where they break the surface.
• Anchoring the shore behind is the Thilakeswarar Temple, a modest and long-established shrine where Shiva is worshipped as Thilakeswarar with the goddess as Soundaryanayaki; its gopuram rises quietly over a hamlet of drawn-up boats and drying nets.
• By tradition, this is the shore where Rama is believed to have consecrated and worshipped the nine planets, seeking an auspicious start before crossing to Lanka — a devotional legend woven, like so much of this coast, into the story of the setu.
• The town's name is tied to the Devi: local belief holds that the Goddess, in her form as Mahishasuramardini, subdued the buffalo-demon Mahishasura here, and the shore temple keeps that memory alive alongside the Navagraha worship.
• Both associations are matters of faith and folk tradition rather than dated history, and are best received in that devotional spirit.
• The experience is simple and elemental, and it is governed by two different clocks.
• The temple itself keeps ordinary Tamil shrine hours, closing through the middle of the day; the sea stones are open shore, gated only by the tide.
• Come in the cool early morning at low water, when the sea is calm and the light is soft over the flat Palk Bay horizon, and a priest will often help pilgrims perform a brief Navagraha puja for planetary remedies (parihara).
• At high tide the ring is largely submerged and the prayers are offered from the beach instead — still meaningful, but far less atmospheric.
• Wear clothes you can wet, mind the tide timings, and treat it as an active place of worship rather than a photo stop.
• Between Ramanathapuram, Thiruppullani and Rameswaram it makes a quiet, uncrowded halt on the lesser-known links of the setu chain.
• For food, Devipattinam is a small coastal village with limited choices, so plan meals in Ramanathapuram town, roughly 15 km inland, where pure-vegetarian South Indian "meals" hotels near the bus stand and main bazaar serve idli, dosai, vadai and unlimited banana-leaf rice plates with sambar, rasam, poriyal and filter coffee.
• Near the shrine you will find only a few small tea and tiffin stalls along the shore lane — confirm they are pure-veg before ordering, as this is a working fishing hamlet and the coast is seafood-heavy.
• Strict vegetarians are safest looking for an explicitly pure-veg board, asking plainly before ordering, or carrying simple snacks from the temple towns of Ramanathapuram or Rameswaram.