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| 1000 pllar hall. Sri Ranganathar temple at Srirangam Flickr |
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| Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, South India. Navrang India |
The presiding idol of Sri Ranganathar is unique here for two reasons: a. It is believed the deities of Vishnu at 108 ''Divyadesam'' shrines get merged with Sri Ranganathar here at Srirangam at night and in the morning they get back to their respective places. Hence, this Shetram is the most revered among 108 Divyadesams. b. The idol of Sri Ranganathar is believed to have been worshiped by King Ishvaku, great grandfather of Rama in Ayodhya. Later Rama had gifted the idol to Vibishina, brother of Ravana as a token of his love. His condition was the idol should not be placed on the ground. Vibishna wanted to take the idol to Lanka. Devas and others did not like it and wanted the idol to be consecrated in the place now called Srirangam. During his sojourn in this place, Vibishna, troubled by Nature's call, asked a boy standing near by to hold the idol till his return. The boy, who happened to be Lord Ganapathy (Ucchi Pilliyar) placed the idol on the spot where the temple is now. Unable to take the idol off the ground, Vibishna left the idol right there and went to Lanka disappointed. Hence, Sri Ranganathar idol at this temple was worshiped by Sri Rama himself (in Rama avatar)! No doubt, this temple is known to have hoary tradition.
The following are some additional interesting facts which many of us may not be aware of:
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Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple Srirangam, TN deccanchronicle.com .
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02. The great devotee and poetess Sri Andal, daughter of Periyazhwar of Srivilliputhur, TN who enthralled the devotees with her ''Thirupavai'', a collection of devotional hymns on Lord Vishnu, at last merged with the lord only here on the 14th of January - on Pongal day.
03. Here, the lord is refereed to as ''Pathinmar Padiya Peruman'' because it was here the Mangalassanam of 11 Azhwar took place.
04. This temple is famous for ''Thruadhayana Utsavam'' (festival) during Vaikunda Ekadasi (December -January) and it marks the recital of Nalayira Divya Prabhdandham (Tamil Vaishnava canon) verses by Araiyars and Pandits The Tamil devotional hymns reverberate during ''Pagal Pathu'' and ''Ra Pathu'' festivities during Vaikunda Ekadasi celebrations.
05. ''Kamba Ramayanam'' in chaste Tamil, was first recited in this temple. Poet Kambar had introduced one chapter on Narasimha avatar in his Ramayana, but it is not in Valmiki Ramayana.
06. Azhagiya Manavana Munigal (1370–1450), a great Vaishnavite seer's contribution to this temple is outstanding. In the aftermath of treacherous army invasion from the Delhi Sultanate in the 14th century, a pale of gloom descended on Srirangam as the main temple and others were severely ransacked by the marauding army for treasures. The holy town was aesthetically dilapidated, sacra- mentally bare, intellectually barren and spiritually, socially and morally down to the core. It was this great saint and others who instilled discipline and bhakti among the people and slowly brought the temple back to glory and spiritual exhilaration after decades.
07. Srirangam is often referred to as Bhoologa Vaikundam (paradise on earth) because in this highly sanctified place between Cauvery and Kollidam rivers, the mystifying grace and timeless beauty of Lord Ranganatha is just overwhelming.
08. Countless festivals are celebrated here with devotion and the lord and his consorts are adorned with valuable jewels gifted by great rulers. On festival days different alangarams are done to the deity and the devotees, obviously get immersed in his various charming forms, attributes and divine grace.
9. The temple possesses rare jewelry donated by various rulers The great Pandiya ruler Sadayavarman Sundara Pandiyan (reign 1250-1284) donated plenty of gold to this temple. He conducted Gaja (Elephant) Thulaparam, weighing mounds of gold against him sitting atop his royal elephant above the Cauvery waters supported by two barges. This meant he wanted to donate gold as much as he could.
10. There were solid gold life-size statues of Serakulavalli and Thuraiyurvalli Thayars, Vishnu's consorts.
11. According Vaishnavite scholar Sri Krishnamachari, Pranavakara Divya Vimanam, Kodiyetru Mandabam and the Dwajasthambam (Flag pole) were all gold plated way back in the 12 th century
12. The benign beauty and grace of the lord had spread far and wide. So was the rumor of the treasure trove of gold, etc at this temple. Enticed by the treasures of this temple Allaudin Khalji's army invaded Srirangam in 1311. While Army Chief Malik Kaufer and his men plundered the town it was Ulugh Khan (reign 1325 to 1351) and his men went on a killing spree that resulted in the death of 12000 unarmed Vaishnavites who tried to save the main idols in the temple. In 1327 Army chief of the Delhi sultanate Kutz Khan raided this place and scooped the left-over treasures.
13. When the utchavar idol was taken to Delhi by the army led by Malik Kaufer, Sultan Khalji's daughter fell in love with the idol. The vaishnavite scholars went to Delhi to get the idol back, the sultan was impressed with them and allowed them to take the idol back to Srirangam. But, sultan's daughter, came to Srirangam in search of the idol and fell dead right before the deity. The lord in the dream asked the priest to give all the honors to the Muslim princess as they would to his consorts. The Thuluka nachiyar shrine is quite popular. There is no idol and only a sketch of the princess. The main offering is Roti. The death of Sultan's daughter here caused the later invasions mentioned above. The main deities were taken to different locations across the south and finally reinstated in 1370s.
14. Yet another acharya Sri Pillailokacharya (1205-1311 CE), despite his old age, managed to secretly move the deity of Lord Ranganatha (NumperumaL) to an unknown place in the south (he died near Madurai) prior to the Muslim invasion. The Thayyar idols were moved over to another destination. Sri Desika (1268–1369) and his sons, during the invasion at Srirangam. protected rare manuscripts like the Sruti-prakasha, a commentary on the Sri Bhashya of Ramanuja by taking them to Karnataka. Before the invasion, Vedanta Desika was in charge of saving the deities He had a brick wall built to hide the garbagriha that had a duplicate deity and roughly 6o years later when Nampermal returned to his abode, the same Vedanta Desika broke open the brick wall. While between 1321 and 1373, the main deity- Namperumal was in exile at Gopurapatti village near Tiruchi, at Sri Adhinayaka Perumal temple the puja protocol for Sri Ranganathar had been
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| Sultan Alauddin Khalji Alchetron |
15. Azhagiya Manavana Munigal, a great Vaishnavite seer's contribution is outstanding. In the aftermath of treacherous army invasion from the Delhi Sultanate in the 14th century, a pale of gloom descended on Srirangam as the main temple and others were severely ransacked by the marauding army for treasures. It was this great saint and others brought the temple back to glory after decades.
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| Uichavar. Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple Srirangam anudinam.org |
16. Within the hallowed prescient of this huge temple complex that is stepped in history there lie huge historic and architecturally rich mandabams that are venues for certain important festivals. Among them the popular one is 1000 (actually 953 pillars) pillar Mandabam built by the Vijayanagara rulers. Nayaks of Thanjavur built Sesharaya mandabam, yet another masterpiece of nicely stone carved sculptures and highly decorative pillars.
17. Nayak's yet another contribution is the Garuda mandabam with huge ornate pillars and elegant statues. The other attractions are Kili mandabam, Santhanu mandabam and the Gayatri mandabam close to the Garbagriha.
18. The idol of Garudan made of black hard stone, is perhaps the largest one in India, according to many experts
19, The Ranga Vilas Mandabam before entering the shrine is an independent mandabam, a sort of community hall where one can relax.
20. The processional deity is often referred to in Tamil as Azhgya Manavalan (handsome bridegroom).
21. One important and interesting festival is called ''Serthi Uttsavam''- the union of the lord with his consorts - Raganayaki Thayyar, Kamavalli Nachiyar (daughter of Chola King; her temple is at Woraiyur) and Princess Cherakulavalli. Exception being Sri Andal.
22. The ''Serthi'' festivities with lord's consorts are held on different days.
23. Serthi Mandabam comes alive on the occasion of lord's divine union with Ranganayagi (an interesting tradition is the lord has to cajole her to accept him as she does not like his escapades to Woraiyur). On the 6 th day of Panguni Uttiram Lord Ranganathar visits Woraiyur where the ''Serthi Uttsavam'' is held with Kamalavalli Nachiyar. Soon, the lord secretly gets back to Srirangam scross the Cauvery. Here, ''Serthi uttsavam'' with Cherakula Valli (daughter of Chera ruler Kulasekara Azhwar) is held on the Sri Rama Navami day.
24. The interesting fact is though the ''Serthi'' celebrations of the lord's first three consort are celebrated with great joy and bhakti every year, the union of the lord with that of poetess Andal is not celebrated here. It is said in the last 700 years, it has not been observed. It is a simple affair whereby Sri Ranganathar exchanges the garlands with Andal to mark the divine union.
25. Only at Srirangam Vaikunda Ekadasi festival is celebrated on a grand scale, attracting roughly 400000 devotees.
26. Except Sri Ranganathar temple, Srirangam Andal temple, Srivilliputhur and Perumal temple at Azhwar Thirunagari, TN no other Vishnu temple in India celebrates Araiyar Sevai. - recitation of pasurams/ Nalayira Divya Prabandham by Araiyars and Pandits.
27. Many devotees may not be aware that the main deity of Srirangam Sri Ranganatha swami is called Periya Perumal refering to his huge stone image in reclining posture in the sanctum. Thirupati Balaji swami is called Venkateswara Perumal and in Kanchipuram Vishnu is called Varadaraja Perumal..
Never in the sanctified divine precincts of Sri Ranganathar temple, Srirangam is there a dull or gloomy moment for the ardent devotees who are charmed by the divine beauty of the deities whose grace never fails to rejuvenate them and helps them attain the ecstasy of devotion to god.
https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-amazing-facts-or-stories-surrounding-the-Srirangam-Sri-Ranganathaswamy-Temple
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranganathaswamy_Temple,_Srirangam
The Hindu Suppliment,'' Ranga Mangalam'' - December 18, 2018
Never in the sanctified divine precincts of Sri Ranganathar temple, Srirangam is there a dull or gloomy moment for the ardent devotees who are charmed by the divine beauty of the deities whose grace never fails to rejuvenate them and helps them attain the ecstasy of devotion to god.
https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-amazing-facts-or-stories-surrounding-the-Srirangam-Sri-Ranganathaswamy-Temple
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranganathaswamy_Temple,_Srirangam
The Hindu Suppliment,'' Ranga Mangalam'' - December 18, 2018
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