Swami Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Kanyakumari

One of the three must-do things when visiting Kanyakumari is to visit the Swami Vivekananda Rock Memorial, built atop a small island half a kilometer out into the sea. The other two things are to watch the sunrise, the sunset, and to visit Thiruvalluvar's statue.

The island also has a small temple dedicated to an incarnation of Goddess Parvati, Kanya.

Vivekananda Rock Memorial

Vivekananda Rock Memorial is a sacred monument and popular tourist attraction in Kanyakumari, India. The memorial stands on one of two rocks located about 500 meters off mainland India's southernmost tip. It was built in 1970 by the Vivekananda Rock Memorial Committee in honour of the visit of the great spiritual teacher Swami Vivekananda to Shripada Parai during the month of December 1892 for deep meditation and enlightenment. He swam to this rock and meditated about the past, present and future of India. It is said that he attained enlightenment on the rock, and henceforth became a reformer and philosopher.

© 2009, Abhinav Agarwal. All rights reserved.