There are innumerable Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu in south India particularly across Tamil Nadu and Andhra. The 108 Vishnu temples across Tamil Nadu and other states that were glorified by the Tamil Vaishnavite saints Azhwars in their canonical work called Naalayera Divya Prabandam come under Divya Desam shrines. So are the Pancha Ranga shetrams that are located in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Many of them are on the banks of the Cauvery. There are three temples within the islands that are formed within the river itself. Others being at Srirangapatna and Srirangam (Tamil Nadu).
Ranganatha swamy temple, Kollegal, KAin.worldorgs.com |
There is a popular Sri Vishnu temple in Shivanasamudra Kollegal in Chamrajnagar Dist in Karnataka. Shivana Samudra, a small island town in the Mandya district is 65 km east of Mysore and 120 km from Bangalore. Situated on the banks of the River Cauvery, the serene area is surrounded by wooded hills and lush green valleys Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple here is a popular and often referred to as "Madhya Ranga".
location map Kollegal weather-forecast.com |
Built in the Dravidan style of architecture, the deity in the sanctum here is said to be in the youthful form; hence he is called 'Mohana Ranga' and 'Jaganmohana Ranga'. Renovated in the early part of 2021 a large number of devotees come here on week ends. It is one among the three Sri Ranganatha temples - Adi Ranga (Srirangapatana), Madhya Ranga and Anthya Ranga (Srirangam).
rangnatha Swamy temple, Kollegal, KA.tripadvisor |
The strong belief has been that one’s wishes will be fulfilled if one visits all the three Ranganathaswamy temples and offers intense prayer, I have heard people mention to me that at Srirangapatna one must have Vishroopa Sevai 730 am, darshan at Sathyagala at 9am and the third darshan at Srirangam in the evening. One can not do it on the same day considering the distance. But it cane be done if opportunities arise.
Ranganatha swamy, Sivasamundra, Kolligal, en.wikipedia.org |
An interesting feature of this temple is the idol in the garbagriha (sanctum/Srikovil) - Lord Ranganatha in a sleeping posture (Anantha sayanam posture) on the coiled bed of hooded Serpent Adishesha is made from a Salaigrama stone. Yet another rare feature is the presence of Garuda (Vishnu's Vahana/mount) indeed a rare thing to be seen along with a serpent. It is said all the deities in the sanctum is carved out of a single saligram stone (monolithic). For your information at Sri Ramar Kovil in Mariamman kovil, Thanja the deities in the garbagriha - Sri Rsma, Sita, Lakshmana and Anjaneya are made from single Saligrama stone donated by the Nepal king to the Thanjavur Matha ruler.
The other temple nearby here are 01. Sri Someshwara Temple where Adi Shankaracharya of Kalady installed a Sri Chakra. Adi guru Sri Shankaracharya is said to visited this place and has established a "Sri Chakra" in this place. it is said the Shiva Linga in this temple had been there prior to Perumal temple. 02. The other temple being Shakthi Devathe temple dedicated to Vanadurga Devi. This temple is just 1 km from the Shiva temple.
https://indiapl.com/karnataka/madhya-ranga-sri-ranganatha-swamy-temple-300577
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranganathaswamy_Temple,_Shivanasamudra