Srirangam
Srirangam is one of the foremost among the 108 Vaishnava temples. It is situated 10kms from Tiruchirapalli district in Tamil Nadu. Here, Vishnu in the form of Sri Ranganatha is seen reclining on the coils of Adisesha. A temple in tamil is called 'koil'. However, among the Vaishnavas, the common noun koil is an invariable reference to the temple of Srirangam. Such is the vital position occupied by this temple within the tradition of Vaishnavism. This temple is also one of the Pancha Ranga kshetras, the other four being, Adirangam (Mysore), Appalarangam (Thiruper), Chaturtharangam (Kumbakonam) and Pancharangam of Indalur/ Mayavaram.
Introduction
Deities in the Indian culture are eulogized by various names. Mahavishnu in each of the temples dedicated to Him, is attributed a specific name and so, is his consort Mahalakshmi given a unique name in each kshetra. Not just the deities, even the gopurams (vimanas) ie. the conical structure that is erected towards the sky are also called by specific names. Each temple also has its own pushkarini (pond). And it is mostly, geographically, situated in the vicinity of a river.
The Alwars or saint-poets of the Vaishnava tradition are known to have sung hymns in praise of Vishnu residing in each of these 108 temples. That is also what makes these 108 temples very pivotal and sacred in the Vaishnava tradition.
Srirangam at a glance
| Vishnu is referred to as | Sri Ranganatha, Peria Perumal, Nam Perumal |
| Lakshmi is referred to as | Sri Ranga Nacchiar, Peria Piratti |
| Kshetra is referred to as | Pancharanga Kshetra |
| Vimana is referred to as | Pranavakara Vimana |
| Pushkarini is referred to as | Chandra Pushkarini |
| Vrksha is referred to as | Punnai |
| River in the vicinity | Kaveri, Kollidam and Vedashrngam |
| Hymns by Alwars | 247 |
| Location of the temple | 10kms from Tiruchirapalli |
Location
Srirangam is an island where two rivers Kaveri and Kollidam encircle like a garland. It is about 31 kms long and 13 kms. broad and the Ranganatha temple stands on the western part of this island.
The holy shrine of Srirangam also called antyarangam lies encircled by the river Cauvery. It is located in the picturesque island of palm and plantain trees and acres and acres of fertile land thus making it a terrestrial paradise.
Structure
Talking of the grandeur of this temple, Sri S. Narayanan in his book 108 Temples of Azhvars says, This stupendous six mile structure, a great architectural marvel noted in the skyline, famous for its pranava viman, embellished with gold, fills the beholder with wonder and admiration. Dressed in stone and lime this is the biggest temple in South India and the whole world.
The sthala known as Sapta Prakara Sthala. The seven prakaras are linked with the seven worlds. The Garuda image at the entrance is the biggest one of its kind and rightly hailed as Periya Thiruvadi. There used to exist nine holy theerthas (holy ponds) and 34 Nandavanams. The flowers and garlands that adorn the deities of the Srirangam temple are special. At one time this temple had as many as 34 nandavanams, thanks to the bountiful Cauvery and the Coleroon girdling the island town. The garlands made from the flowers of the nandavanam alone adorn the presiding deity Sri Ranganatha and his consort. The garlands are made of white, red and green flowers and leaves, thus making it a colourful spectacl truly a vanarnala, a favourite of the Lord. Pierced by 21 lofty towers forming as entrances it is encircled by high walls. 21 towers 156 acres and seven walls, rank first amongst the 108 divya desas. Of the 21 towers, 7 are on the southern side, 6 are on the north side, four are on the east and three on the west. The twenty-first tower is the sanctum of Goddess Ranganayaki. The towers are full of myriad sculptures, figures, processions, musicians playing different instruments, beasts and demons, couples in fond embrace, elephants, horses, acrobat dancers, devotees and brave warriors. The ceilings and pillars are also lavishly decorated with superb carvings.
The Ranga vimana stands as pranava encircled by saptha prakaras. The four vedas and shastras are the sthupis. The 24 pillars represent Gayatri mantra. The four sides of the sanctum are guarded by Narayana, Napinalina, Nagasayana and Narasimha. The vimana is gold capped. In addition the temple has 7 prakaras symbolic of 7 worlds. In fact there are in all 21 towers in the temple. The walls are ornamented with gold paintings depicting 108 divya desas. As they are labelled in Telugu it is inferred that they have been presented by the Nayak kings of Tanjore. Ranga Viman is supported by the hood of Seshnag. The sanctum sanctorum of the Srirangam temple has a golden dome for its roof called the Ranga Viman shaped like the first primordial sound Aum of the Vedas, called Pranava. The origin of the Ranga Viman can be traced back to the beginning of creation when Lord Vishnu first created Brahma and initiated him into the Pranava and asked him to meditate on that along with the word Hari. Brahma started meditating on the pranava and as a result the four Vedas, the Gayatri mantra and several living beinfr., appeared. Thereafter, Lord Narayaria appeared before him and initiated him into Ash takshara mantra Om Name Narayana. Subsequently owing to Brahma's tapas, there arose from the Milky Ocean the divine Ra riga Vimanam shining with the celestial effulgence in which Lord Ranganatha in yoganidra was reclining on the serpent Adisesha. Also the inmates of Sri Vaikunta, Lord Vishnu's heavenly abode, were present. Brahma prayed to Lord Ranganatha to remain in the Vimana forever. Ranga viman is the name given to a special chariot for Vishnu carried by Veda Murthis on their heads.
The temple is referred by-several names. Koil, Peria Koil, Tiruvarangam, Bhooloka Vaikuntam, Bhogamantapa and Namarangam.
According to tradition Lord Ranganatha has five consorts - Ranganayaki, Andal, Chozhakulavalli, Cherakulavalli and Biwi Nachiyar. Acharya Ramanuja is said to have spent nearly seventy years of his life serving Ranga. The thousand pillared hall of the temple is supported with 951 monolithic pillars. This hall was erected by Dandanayaka and Perumal Devan during Vijayanagar rule. During construction of this mandapa the place was attacked by an enemy. Therefore the mandapam is left incomplete.
The Rajagopuram is 236 feet high, the tallest one in the whole of Asia and the tallest temple tower in the world.
At the northern entrance in the third circuit is the paramapada vasal or Vaikunta Vasal, a most sacred spot. Every year on the Vaikunta Ekadasi day this entrance assumes special importance and devotees who pass through this channel are believed to enter the portals of heaven.
Sriranga Nachiar is known as Padithanda pathni (the chaste lady who never steps beyond the threshold). Therefore all the festivals are conducted at the Nachiar sannidhi adjacent to Vasant Mandapam. To the right of Thayar sannidhi is the shrine of Metter Azhagiya Singar. Here Lord Narasimha is seen pulling out the entrails of Hiranya and wearing it as garland.
The temple with 56 sanadhis is so big that a devotee without a proper guide will get lost at some point.
Legends
According to Brahmanda puran, aeons ago the deity of the Lord along with the Ranga Viman emerged out of Ksheerabdhi. This was in response to a severe penance of Brahma for thousand long years and more. From Brahma subsequently the idol was passed on to Ikshvaku, the son of Manu. Years rolled by, then came the turn of Vibushana who brought the idol and the viman to the river bank. Vibishana intended to take the Lord and the Viman to his kingdom Lanka. Vibishana kept it on the banks of river Cauvery while he did his evening prayers. The deity forged the earth and was immovable, settling permanently to the ground. Much to his dismay the Viman could not be lifted. Both the Lord and the Viman were to remain ever on the banks of river Cauvery. Vibishana was crest fallen. The Lord assured him that he would always look southward towards Sri Lanka lying on his serpent couch. This event is believed to have occurred in the month of Panguni and this is celebrated in all grandeur as Adi Brahmotsava in Panguni.
Sri Ramanuja spent his last twenty years at Srirangam. His Brindavanam is inside the temple on the east. Just as a king rules his country, Ramanuja controlled this temple and hence was rightly called Yathiraja-king of ascetics. Ramanuja is so inseparably linked with this temple that he is enshrined in Vasanta mandapa. His image has been sculpted and kept for all to admire and worship at Udayavar sannidhi. The town contains many monasteries.
The well in the east is deemed to be the Viraja river of Vaikunta. According to a legend, a huge flood devastated the country side and the idol of Ranga got submerged. In course of time Sriranga temple on the river bank was forgotten and got buried under the sands of time. Thus the hallowed shrine along with the deity did not have adequate patrons in course of time. Consequently, the shrine and the deity were buried beneath the earth. At this place a devotee regularly used to sing hymns of Ranga and a parrot used to listen regularly. Even after the temple was engulfed, the parrot, true to its nature used to recite the hymns daily. A descendant of Dharma Verma, again a Chola King accidentally reached the spot at the riverbank during one of his hunting sojourn. He was astonished at what he heard and saw. The parrot recited the following hymn "What Vraja is to Vaikunta, is Cauvery to Sriranga, Srirangam is Vaikuntam itself, Ranga is Vasudeva, the Vimana is Pranava and it is Ranga who propounds the Pranava." That was what the parrot sang. The same night the wonderful supreme Lord Ranganatha appeared in his dream and informed him of the Viman buried under the sand dune. Like a true devotee the King excavated the divine treasure and also renovated the temple. A shrine rose into being. Srirangam flourished and the Chola became Killi Cholan. Even in sangam classics we can find the name of Killi. Silambu relates that Ranga reclined in a thousand headed serpent couch. Therefore it is clear that Srirangam existed when Silappadikaram was composed.
Here the Lord is ravishingly beautiful As his charm attracts all, he got the name Azhagiya Manavala. According to tradition, this utsava deity of the Lord known as Azhagiamanavaian is one of enchanting beauty. During the invasion of Mallikafur's army the deity was taken round the entire southern districts - to Azhagar koil near Madurai and from there to Kanyakumari and then to Kerala on its way to Satyamangalam, Gingee, Tirupati and Melkote before it was redeemed back to his Srirangam.
He is fondly referred to as Namperumal, our friend, philosopher and guide. Thus the Lord's universal compassion is denoted. The two rivers, Cauvery and Coleroon girdle the temple like a queen's necklace. The temple, a swayam vyaktha kshetra covers an area of 156 acres, the biggest in the whole of India.
The shrine of Dhanvantri is a special feature not found in any other temple. Dhanvantri is the celestial physician. Once when Lord Ranga was afflicted with severe cold and cough after consuming Jambu fruits with curds, it was the physician Dhanvantri who prepared a mixture and cured the Lord. Naturally a shrine was built for him.
Unable to bear the pangs of separation from the deity, a Muslim princess is believed to have breathed her last at Srirangam. Till date she is worshipped as Bibi Nacchiar or Tulukacchi Nacchiar. Everyday she is offered roti and butter as prasada seva. It was at this temple that the Bibi attained salvation and merged with the Lord.
Chola Kula Valli, daughter of Chola King Dharma Verma and Chera Kula Valli, daughter of Chera King Kulasekara attained eternal bliss at this temple. Another interesting incident is recorded during the period of Nanda Chola. He once found in his lily pond a heavenly female child floating on a lotus. He took it as a gift from God Almighty. Because he found the child on the petals of a lotus flower she was named Kamalavalli. When she came of age she met Lord Ranganatha. She immediately fell in love with him. The king Nanda Chola consummated her marriage to Ranganatha with great pomp when the heaven born daughter was taken inside the sanctum she merged with the Lord in a blaze of light. In commemoration of his daughter's marriage, Nanda Chola constructed two temples, one for Karnalavalli and the other for vyi,„ Ma_navala at Uraiyur
A staunch devotee, a Lady at Karambanoor would not touch ford without worshipping Martavaia Perumal. During Muslim invasion. when the deity was taken away from Srirangam she followed the camp soldiers and became their camp follower. She reached Delhi with the Moghul soldiers and managed to locate the deity in the bedroom of the princess. She returned to Srirangam and narrated to the chief priest the whereabouts of the Manavala Perumai. She was rightly named Pinsendravalli (the lady who followed the idol). Kodavar's son who brought back the idol to Srirangam was named as Thiruttazhvarai Dasar. The troupe of dancers who helped in reverting the deity were named as Isai Ariyum Perumal Kootattar (the troupe which brought back the idol with music).
Azhwars
The temple is sanctified by eleven Always including Andal. The only exception is Madurakavi Alwar for whom there was no other god other than Nammalwar, his acharya.
Andal would not think of any other mortal to wed. It was her childhood desire and dream to marry the Lord only. She could not imagine anyone other than the unchallenged Master of the Cosmos. She wanted to marry the only Purushottama exalted in the Purusha Suktha. The Lord, the Paratatva, the root cause of the universe, answered her prayers. It was at this temple that she merged with Lord Ranganatha in the sanctum sanctorum.
In honour of the devotion of Sri Kulasekhara Alwar, there is a step in front of the Moola Vigraha. This is called Kulasekhara Padi. It was here that Nammalwar's magnum opus, the Tiruvaymoli attained the status one more exalted than the Vedas.
It is true that at this temple Thirumangai Alwar recited the Tamil Prabhandams to God's satisfaction and immense joy. It was his earnest desire and cherished wish that Prabhandam should be recited along with the Vedas on Ekadashi day during bright Margazhi. The Lord who is the nectarine essence of all Vedas immediately obliged and established the practice of reciting both the Tamil and the Sanskrit Vedas. This is followed till this date during Adhyayanan Utsav, preceding and following Vaikunta Ekadasi.
It was at this temple that Lord Ranganatha asked Manavala Mamuni to chant Thiruvazhmozhi. It is said that the Divine Couple regularly enjoyed the recital. It was again at this Divya desa that Lord Ranganatha as a young boy stood before Manavala Mamuni with folded hands engrossed in his poetic recital. It is believed here that the Tulasi-wreathed Lord himself performs the rituals of Manavala Mamuni every year.
Nampillai, a great Vaishnavite scholar and seer, discoursed on religious themes to groups of devotees at Srirangam. It is believed that the Lord regularly attended all his lectures. An intimate temple servant ordered him to go back to his rightful place, the sanctum sanctorum. Till today this incident is narrated to all the devotees.
This were Swami Desikan composed his Paduka Sahasram, the high watermark of his genius. Facing the Thayar Sannidhi is a special shrine for Swami Vedanta Desika under the control of Sri Ahobila Math.
The great Tamil poet, Kamban chose this temple to inaugurate his lyrical masterpiece famously acclaimed as the Kamba Ramayanam. Kamba Ramayanam was read out by Kamban before a panel of scholars and Lord Narasimha gave his approval with a big roar of joy.
When there was confusion with the identity of the original idol of the Lord, it was left to the washerman engaged in temple services to identify the right deity. Water after ablution of the two idols was given separately to the washerman. He on tasting, in great joy went on uttering this is our Perumal, this is our Perumal by the smell of butter sticking on the butter thief and rightly identified the original deity. The washerman who could distinguish the deity was named as Iramkolli meaning water taster.
Likewise, a farmer, after his first successful crop, offers the grains first to the Lord of Srirangarn with the words, Tiruvarangam Periya Koil. They believe that their offering will be returned multifold by the Lords grace.
Araiyar Seva at this temple is very famous and a specialty. There is an interesting tradition about the procession of the idols known for its captivating and bewitching gait. As per tradition, a group of devotees known as Sri Padam Thangis are only permitted to render Suprabhata to the Lord and it is their prerogative.
Festivals
Here, Sri Ramanuja sampradaya is followed in every letter. Vaikuntha Ekadasi day reaches the apex of its glory.
Srirangam is one of the few temples in South India that has festivals to honour its Lord and his consorts throughout the year. A grand total of, approximately, three hundred and twenty two festivals take place annually at the Srirangam temple. To enjoy all festivals of this renowned temple one has to sojourn at least one whole year.
Once, the king of Vijaynagara, his spouse, his son and daughter-in-law arrived late to witness a festival. When the king wanted the festival to be reenacted, he was asked to come next year. That was the famous Padi Etra Sevai, the Lord's enchanting return to the sanctum climbing the steps A festival in the month of Panguni, on full moon day when the Moon is in conjunction with the star Uthara is of a special significance as far as Srirangam is concerned. On this day both the Lord and the Consort are seen on the same throne. This rare sight of the heavenly couple sent our guru Sri Ramanuja into emotional raptures who immediately composed and presented Saranagati Gadhya. The very next moment he also performed Saranagati and took refuge at the lotus feet of Divine Couple.
History
Situated 7 kms away from Trichinapalli, a nerve-centre of Sri Vaishnava philosophy, the temple is foremost among the eight self-manifested God-heads. The actual shrine is supposed to have risen out of the ocean. The temple has a traceable history which is quite awesome and is mentioned in Silappadigaram and in Kovil Ozhugu, a chronicle written in the 11th Century.
Srirangam is considered as a heaven on earth viz., Bhooloka Vaikunta. It is foremost among the 108 divya desas, the last one being Vaikunta itself. From the well preserved inscriptions it can be deduced that this temple enjoyed the patronage of almost all the famous ruling dynasties of South India. Rich endowments were made to the temple by the Cholas, Pandyas, Hoysalas, Vijayanagar Nayaks, Pallavas and Marathas. Itihasas like Ramayana and many puranas like Padma purana and Bhagavada purana embody refer to the glory of this kshetra. It was during the Vijayanagara rule that the temple attained its pinnacle of glory.
13th Century was a time of glory to the temple. During the Muslim invasion in 1327, Swami Vedanta Desika, the greatest of the acharyas removed the deity to Melkote and then to Tirumala. Finally, two Vijayanagar generals brought the Lord back to Srirangam. Vedanta Desika's praise of them is engraved on the walls of the temple.
Very few temples in the country have so much religious, architectural and historical splendour as Srirangam temple. The architectural features of the temple demonstrate that the present temple was not the work of one dynasty but has gone through the centuries from modest beginnings. The handiwork of several dynasties must be seen to be enjoyed. They collectively constitute a massive temple complex.Originally the Mottai gopuram had just two tiers left incomplete by Nayaks of Vijayanagar dynasty. The construction commenced in May 1979 at the instance of 44th jeer of Ahobila Matt who was then a 87 year old young seer and completed the stupendous gopura in 1987 in a record time of eight years. Despite his advanced age the sanyasi went up the temple tower block almost daily to supervise personally the work in progress.
Srirangam and Vaikuntham
It is believed that river Cauvery is the very same river Viraja that eternally flows in Vaikunta.