SriRangam-The ‘Bhooloka Vaikuntham’
Sri Rangam is a temple town, approximately 6.5 kms from Tiruchinapalli (Trichy) in the state of Tamil Nadu. The town is situated on an island formed by the two arms of the river Cauvery. The temple is dedicated to Lord Ranganatha, which is actually the name given to the reclining form of Lord Vishnu. Hundreds of people throng the place for a holy dip in the River Cauvery- which has its origin in the Sahyadri Hills- and for witnessing the Lord in His full divinity.
Facts at a Glance
Latitude and Longitude: 10 degrees 52’N , 78 degrees 41’E
Climate: Tropical
Main temple deity: Lord Ranganatha and Goddess Ranganayaki
Native Language: Tamil
RANGANATHA TEMPLE
This is the main temple in Srirangam, situated in the midst of the town. It is because of this temple that Srirangam is considered a sacred place, especially by the Vaishnavites and the followers of the spiritual guru Ramanuja.
Brief History
The temple has a glorious history which dates back to approximately about a 1000 years.
It is said that the vimana of Sri Ranga temple came out of the “parkadal” (milk of ocean) as a result of the penance of Lord Brahma. Legend has it that when Lord Rama performed pujas to this vimana, he gifted it to Vibhishana, with a condition not to place it on the earth. But, due to the Lord’s intervention, the vimana, had to be placed on the ground where it then got rooted to the spot. Vibhishana felt sad. In order to console him, the Lord himself came and said that he would be present in the place in a sleeping posture facing southwards (towards SriLanka, the kingdom of Vibhishana). Enclosures were then built around the sanctum by the emperors of various dynasties like Chola, Pandya and Hoysala.
Religious Significance
Sri Rangam is considered the first and the most important of the 108 Divyadesams- shrines where the Tamil Alvar saints were supposed to have sung verses in the praise of the Lord at the time of the Bhakti movement.
Temple architecture and Layout
The temple complex covers a total area of approximately 160 acres. As with many temples in Tamil Nadu, the Sri Rangam temple was also built using the Dravidian style of architecture, which consists of
-- Pyramid-shaped gopurams with a ‘vimana’ which contains the deity’s emblem
-- Mandapas (or porches).
There are seven ‘prahakaras’ or enclosures surrounding the temple; these are considered to denote the seven lokas (worlds). This is only temple in the world with such a distinctive feature. The prahakaras, from the outer to the inner, are named as:
- Kaliyugaraman tiruveedhi
- Trivikramam tiruveedhi
- Akalankan tiruveedhi
- Alinadan tiruveedhi
- Kulasekhram tiruveedhi
- RajaMahindran tiruveedhi
- DharmaVarnan tiruveedhi
There are a total of 21 gopurams in the temple complex, the highest one being the ‘Raja Gopuram’ at the Southern entrance of the seventh (outermost) ‘prahakara’.
The temple elephant stands near the banks of the River Cauvery.
Salient features of the Temple complex
-An Art museum, in the third enclosure, that has miscellaneous items like statues of granite ivory and bronze, old coins etc.
-A 1000-pillared mandapam in the fourth enclosure; opposite to this is the Sesharaya Mandapam which bears beautiful sculptures of horses carved from a single stone.
-A tall, magnificent, white gopuram at the Eastern entrance of the fifth enclosure.
Festivals celebrated in the temple
Eleven major festivals are celebrated in the temple. They cover practically the entire year. They are:
Jastabhishekam (Tamil month-Avani , June-July)
Pavithrotsavam (Tamil month-Aani , Aug-Sept)
Sri Jayanthi (Lord Krishna’s birthday)
Oonjal(Tamil month Aipasi, Oct-Dec)
Kaisiga Ekadasi (Before 30 days of Vaikunta Ekadasi)
Vaikuntha Ekadasi(Tamil month Margasi, Dec-Jan)
Viruppan (Tamil month-Panguni , Mar-Apr)
Chitra Poornami (Tamil month-Chaitrai, Apr-May)
Kodai Thirunal (Tamil month- Chaitrai, Apr-May)
Sri Ramnavami (Lord Rama’s birthday)
Vasanthotsavam(Tamil month Vaikasi, May-June)
However, even during the other days, there would be chanting of the Vedas and other religious scripts.
LAKSHMI NARASIMHA TEMPLE
There is also a Lakshmi Narasimham temple at SriRangam wherein Lord Narasimha is seated with Goddess Lakshmi, together facing the Sri Ranganatha temple.
How to reach Srirangam?
Srirangam has a railway station and so can be reached by rail. The nearest air port is at Trichy from where buses ply regularly to and from Srirangam.
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