Ranganathaswamy Temple, Karamadai – The Temple
This
Temple is facing towards east with seven tiered
Rajagopuram. The Rajagopuram has seven kalasam at the top. There is a
pillared Mandapam in front of Rajagopuram. The
temple covers an area of about 1 acre and is enclosed within granite
walls. Dhwaja Sthambam, Balipeedam, Deepa Sthambam and Garudalwar Shrine can be
seen immediately after the Rajagopuram.
The Sanctum Sanctorum consists of Sanctum, Ardha
Mandapam, Maha Mandapam and Mukha Mandapam. Idols of Vedanta Desikar, Venugopala
with his consorts Rukmini & Satyabhama, Nammalvar, Manavala Mamunigal, Azhwars,
Acharyas and Ramanuja can be seen in the Maha Mandapam. The Ardha
mandapa is guarded by two Dvarapalas on either sides. Presiding Deity
is called as Ranganathaswamy and is facing east.
Unlike the sanctum houses the image of Ranganathaswamy,
where the image is depicted in standing, sitting and reclining posture, only
the face of Ranganathar is seen in the temple. It is said that the body of Lord
Vishnu is below the ground. Lord is a Swayambhu Moorthy (self-manifested). Here,
Lord Vishnu is worshipped in the form of a cubical Lingam.
Utsava idol is Venkatesa Perumal. Generally, the
procession deity (Utsava deity) is kept near the presiding deity in the sanctum
but here, the procession deity is kept in a separate shrine in front of the
sanctum. The presiding deity being small in size, he could not be directly
worshipped by the devotees if the procession deity is also kept near him due to
his big size and would hide the presiding deity.
While blessing the
devotees, in Vishnu temples, Sadari (having the feet of the Lord Vishnu) is
placed on the head of the devotee. In this
temple, instead of Sadari, Ramabana is placed on the heads of
devotees. It is believed that the Ramabana has in itself, the discus
(Chakrayudha) and Adisesha his snake bed. Sadari blessing is offered in the
shrine of procession deity. Puja is performed to the Ramabana once in a year.
During the Masi festival, on the fifth day, it is taken
in procession around the temple streets. This is the only occasion
when the Ramabana is taken out of the temple. Lord Vishnu here is gracing the devotees in three
forms namely Venkatesa Achudan, Ranganatha Swamy and Venkatesa Perumal. Mother
is called as Ranganayaki Thayar / Bettathu Amman. She is housed in a separate
east facing shrine.
Her shrine consists of Sanctum, Ardha Mandapam and Mukha
Mandapam. It is said that her shrine was originally situated in a nearby hill.
Hence, she is called as Bettathu Amman (Amman on Hill in Kannada). Later, this
shrine was constructed in the temple premises. In Tirupathy, Lord Srinivasa is on the hills while the Mother is in
the foot of hill.
In Karamadai, the Lord is in the floor place while the mother has her
shrine above him. There is a separate shine for Anjaneya on the left side facing
the Lord. The idol is differently sculpted in a square stone. There are shrines
for Santhana Krishna, Paravasudeva, Andal, Rama with Sita, Lakshmana & Hanuman
and Nagar in the outer prakaram.
There is also a Kalyana mandapam in the outer prakaram.
There are idols kept at the back side of the temple. Sthala Vriksham is Karai Tree. It is considered very
sacred as this is said to grant the wish of marriage and children. Theerthams
associated with the temple are Brahma,
Garuda and Ashta Theertham (where there are eight idols in front of these eight
Theerthams).