A group of of five Vishnu temples located on the banks of river Cauvery in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu is referred to as Pancharanga Kshetrams (meaning five pilgrim centers). At some of these temples the primary deity Sri Vishnu is in the nitra / sayana pose lying on the coiled bed of 5 headed Adishesha with his consorts Sri Devi and Bhumi Devi.
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| Srirangapatna temple, Madya dist. KA. pinakinapp.com |
The foremost among them is Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangapatna ( Adi Ranga - first temple among the five located up-stream of the Cauvery river) and the last one being Ranganathaswamy Temple of Srirangam, in Tamil Nadu ( Kasthuri Rangam or Anthya Rangam).
The following are the five Pancharanga kshetrams:
01. Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangapatna, Mandya district, Kanataka, 02 Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple, Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, 03. Sri Appakkudathan Temple, Koviladi near Trichy and Thiruvaiyaru(TN), 04. Sri Sarangapani Temple, Kumbakonam (TN) and 05. Parimala Ranganatha Perumal Temple, Indalur, Mayiladuthurai(Mayavaram), Tamil Nadu.
01. The Ranganatha Swamy temple, in Srirangapatna
Since this Vishnu temple is the first one upstream of the Cauvery it is known as Adiranga, a temple of great antiquity.
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| Sri Ranganatha temple, Srirangapatna, KAgo2india.in |
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| Srirangapatna Ranganatha swamy temple, KA relief work.en.wikipedia.org |
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| Ranganatha temple, Srirangapatna, inner hall, KA.upload.wikimedia.org/ |
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| Srirangapatna ranganathar temple tower. upload.wikimedia.org |
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| Srirangapatna, Karnataka. mysore.ind.in |
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| Fine sculptures of Sri Ranganatha Swamy, Srirangapatna, ,flicker.com |
There are other small small shrines in the temple deicated to There are other smaller shrines within the complex dedicated to Narasimha (an avatar of Vishnu), Gopalakrishna, Srinivasa (manifestation of Vishnu), Hanuman, Garuda and the Azhwar saints
It was Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana (r.1108-1152) who granted the village of Srirangapatna to the Vaishnava saint Ramanujacharya to build an agraharam for the purpose of settling Pundits to impart knowledge and taking care of temples.
https://www.nativeplanet.com/travel-guide/pancharangams-in-south-india-003071.html?story=1
https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienman/32589968343/in/photostream/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranganathaswamy_Temple,_Srirangapatna
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| 1000 pillar hall, Srirangam temple (Vijanagara period),TN.upload.wikimedia.org |
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| 240ft tall Raja gopuram, Srirangam temple, TN en.wikipedia.org |
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| Srirangam Ranganathar temple, TNupload.wikimedia.org |
The main outer tower - 13- tiered Rajagopuram, a recent addition Mmarch 1987). It was Ahobila Mutt jeer who raised the existing tower to a height of 240 feet- tallest in India. The tower work stopped in the middle after the fall of Vijayangara rule. The Cholas of various periods, Pandyas, Viyanagar rulers, the nayak rulers of Thanjavur and Madurai contributed to the construction of this temple at various period.
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| stone idol of Ranganathar, in sayana posture.Srirangam, TN flicker.com |
Here, the main deity Sri Ranganathar is in the Nithra posture with serpent Adishesha's 5- headed hood forming the canopy. The stone image is a huge one about 20 feet long. Absent in the sanctum are the idols of consorts of the lord - Sri Devi and Bhumi Devi. Brahma is also absent. The processional idols (Utchava murthis) include the lord and his consorts.
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| Location map. Srirangam, TN Weather-Forecast.com |
The sanctum/garbagriha is being guarded by Dwarabalas Jaya and Vijayaon either side. The access to the sanctum is through the Gayatri mantapa or mukhamandapam.
The legend has it the divine idol came into the possession of Ikshvaku dynasty of Ayodhya (UP) and it was passed on to Sri Rama (God-incarnate). Sri Rama gifted the divine idol of Ranganatha to Vibishna, brother of demon king Ravana as an expression of gratitude when Vibishna helped Rama kill the demon king. With an intention to consecrate the idol in Lanka Vibishna was on the way to his place and stopped at the Cauvery bank in Srirangam to bathe. The celestial and demigods did not like the idol leaving the Indian soil. With the help of God Ganapathy and Narada, they played a trick on Vibishna.
After bathing in the river Vibishna wanted to resume his journey to Lanka, but he could not proceed. The idol of Vishnu was very much stuck there permanently. So he retuned to Lanka without the idol. Since then the idol of Vishnu has been worshiped in the place where it was stuck. Here the God Vishnu is facing south to please Vibishna.
It was at this kshetram Goddess Andal (an avatar of Lakshmi) of Srivilliputhur adopted daughter of Periazhwar, married Sri Ranganatha (symbolically his idol) and finally merged with him
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| Srirangam temple towers with sanctum in the middle.anudinam.org |
No other temples have played a stellar role in the growth and propagation of Sri Vaishnavism than this temple starting with the 11th century as it is confirmed by its association with great acharyas like Sri Ramanujar, his predecessors Nathamuni and Yamunacharya in Srirangam, Vedanta Desikan, Thondaradi Podi Azhwar (Vipranarayana), Namazhwar, et al.
There is a separate shrine for Sri Ramanujar whose body in sitting posture is preserved using various herbs, etc. Except Madurakavi Azhwar almost all Azhwars have contributed to Mangalastham (praise of lord) in this temple.
Foremost among the 108 Divya Desam shrine, Vaikunta Ekadasi and Soorgavasal Tjhiruppu are great events lasting 20 days. During this festival - Pagal pathu (ten days) and Rapathu (10 nights) Ariyar sevai is an interesting event. This is done by hereditary Ariyars reciting devotional hymns from Divaya Prabandam with rhythmic dance movement. This sevai is held at Sri Andal temple, Srivilliputhur and also at Azhwar Thrunagari Perumal temple. Saint Nathamuni was the one who established this special sevai at Srirangam to the lord way back in the 10th century CE.
Yet another great event on the final day of Vaikunta Ekadasi is Nammazhwar Moksham ( attaining salvation from birth and death cycles). Note in the pat two years all temple festivals here were held with strict restrictions on account of COVID -19 threats.
After two historically recorded raid from the Delhi sultanate in the 14th century, there was no puja performed at the main shrine as it was closed. The plundering by the Sultanate army caused heavy loss, deaths, destruction and pain among the people. However, Puja to Sri Vishnu was conducted at a Perumal temple in near-by Gopurapatti village. The main idol was saved from the raiders by a group of Vaishnavites led by Acharaya Pillai Lokacharyar. The worship to the main shine commenced after more than 50 years when the Vijayanagara rulers took over the control.
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| Gold-plated vimana above sanctum. Ranganathar temple, Srirangam, wikipedia |
The main shrine for Ranganatha is in the innermost courtyard and the vimana over it is gold-plated. It is shaped like the Tamil omkara (om symbol), showing anthropomorphic form of Paravasudeva on its gable. Also present is an etched image of Ramanuja on it,
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| Thayyar(goddess) shrine, Srirangam, TN en.wikipedia.org |
There is a separate shrine for goddess /thayyar Ranganayaki. It was in front of the mantab, 12th century famous Tamil poet Kambar for the first time recited his Kamba Ramayanam (translation from Valmiki Ramayanam in Sanskrit). Kambar was equally well -vershed in Sanskrit. The tradition here has been that Goddess Ranganayaki does not visit the lord. Instead God Ranganathar visits here during Panguni Uttiram. In the sanctum, there are three images of Goddess Ranganayaki.
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| Large lord Garuda in Srirangam temple,,TN pinrest.com |
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| Garuda mantap, Srirangam temple, TN en.wikipedia.org |
The Garuda image (eagle mount- vahana of Sri Vishnu) in the Garuda mantap is a large one. Devotees accessing the main shrine have to go past this huge enclosed shrine in the hall and pray to him before moving on. This temple is also called Madhyarangam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranganathaswamy_Temple,_Srirangam
https://navrangindia.blogspot.com/2015/03/srirangam-ranganathar-templetamil-nadu.html
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