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| Ranganathaswamy temple in Karamadai, Wikipedia |
Ranganathaswamy temple, Karamadai, in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to god Vishnu; his consort Lakshmi is known here as Ranganayagi. This temple that follows Thenkalai tradition of Pancharathra aagama is quite popular in this region.
The place where the temple stands now was once a wooded area with karai trees inhabited by Kottarirar tribes whose profession was herding cattle. One day a herdsman found that his cow was not giving him any milk and emptied all its milk in an anthill. upon investigation, he found blood oozing from that place where there was an image of god. Priest named Vedavyasabhattar suspected divinity in that place and, upon his advice, a temple was erected around the anthill. When confusion arouse as to which god to be worshiped, Vishnu appeared in the dream of a local inhabitant. When under the colonial rule, a railway line was proposed near the temple and lord Vishnu appeared in the dream of the British official. He not only stopped the work, but also gifted a festive (Utchavar) idol of the god for use during festival times.
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| Ranganathaswamy temple in Karamadai/en.wikipedia.org |
Raja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar (1940–1950) of Mysore kingdom took special interest and built a set of other halls in the temple. Ramanuja (1017–1137 CE), the expounder of Vaishnadvaita philosophy is said to have visited the temple on his way to Melkote (now in karnataka) from Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple. In 1944, north tower came up, whereas the east tower is of recent origin built in 2013. In the same year, some old halls were renovated.
Ranganathaswamy temple, also known as Karamadai Temple, is not a big one, covering just one acre of land and is surrounded by a granite walls. Here, in the garbagraha the main deity Ranganathar is represented by his face only, a unique feature of this temple. At other temples, you can see the entire body of the lord either in standing posture or in reclaining pose.
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| Car festival, Karamadai Perumal temple. YouTube |
The Ardha mandapa, as in other temples, is guarded by two Dwarapalas on either sides. The shrine of Soundaravalli (Lord's consort) is near the east gate. There are shrines dedicated to Rama Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman. Also installed are the images of Vedanta Desikar, Manavala Maamunigal, Azhwars and Ramanuja. in the Mahamandapa.
The puja protocol includes four daily rituals for the presiding deity, The temple celebrates several festivals of which fifteen-day annual Brahmotsavam during the Tamil month of Maasi (February - March), Vaikunta Ekadasi and Ramanuja Jayanti are conducted with devotion. During the Brahmotsavam, the temple car festival attracts lots of devotees.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranganathaswamy_temple,_Karamadai
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