Sarangapani Temple, Kumbakonam
– The Temple
Sarangapani
Temple is the largest Vishnu Temple in Kumbakonam and
has the tallest temple tower in the town. The Rajagopuram (the
main gateway) has eleven tiers and has a height of 173 ft (53 m).
The Rajagopuram has figures depicting stories from Hindu mythology. There
are sculptures depicting the Bharata Natya Karanas, as enunciated in the Natya
Sastra, on the first tier of the Gopuram. The
Temple has the third tallest temple gopuram (173 ft) among the Divya
Desams next to Srirangam
(236ft) and Srivilliputhur
(192 ft).
There are five other
smaller gopurams in the
temple. The
temple is enshrined within a huge wall and the complex enshrines all
the water bodies of the
temple except the Potramarai tank. There is a four pillared Mandapa
in front of the
Temple. The
Temple is facing towards east. The central shrine (sanctum) of the
temple is in the form of a chariot drawn by horses and elephants,
with openings on either side, showing the descent of Sarangapani from heaven in
the chariot to marry Komalavalli. The wheels of the chariot are of giant size.
The Sanctum is conceived of, as
a chariot with wheels drawn by horses and elephants, in a scale grander than
that of the Melakadambur temple
built by Kulottunga I (early 12th century CE). It is classified as
Karakkoil, a temple fashioned after temple chariots which are taken in
procession around the temple during festivals. The sanctum is approached via a
100-pillared hall. The inner sanctum in the form of a chariot is guarded by
Dwarapalakas facing the outer entrance. From the outer entrance, there is a
perforated window axial to the sanctum.
Presiding
Deity is called as Sarangapani / Pallikondaar / Aravamudhan / Abayaryaapthamiruthan / Utthanasayi.
The Sanctum houses the image of Sarangapani in Pallikonda posture,
with his head resting on his right hand. He is facing east. He is in Udhyoga
Sayana posture i.e. he appears as if he is getting up from sleeping
position. Lord Brahma is above his naval and Sun on the head
side. The sculptures of Narasimha Avatar are beautifully set around the
sanctum sanctorum. Also, idol of sage Hema Rishi, Lakshmi and festival
images enshrined within the sanctum.
Vimana over the sanctum is
called as Vaideeka Vimana. The Vaideeka Vimanam of this temple is considered to
be an offshoot of the Srirangam
Pranava Vimana, which is a replica of the Pushpaka Vimanam (flying chariot from
the Ramayana) presented to Vibhishana of Sri Lanka by Rama after Ravana was
killed. Hence, this
temple is considered second only to Srirangam
among the Divya
Desams. There are two stepped entrances to the sanctum named
as Uttharayana Vaasal and Dakshinayana Vaasal, each open for a six-month
period, similar to Thiruvellarai
Temple.
Uttharayana Vaasal opens for
six months on Makara Sankranti and Dakshinaya Vaasal opens for six months on
Aadi Perukku, the 18th day of the Tamil month of Aadi. Lord Vishnu
usually appears with his discus and conch. Here, the presiding deity and
the procession deity of the temple are holding a bow known as Sarangam, Hence,
the Lord came to be called as Sarangapani. The bow in the hands of the
presiding deity is not visible.
The Utsava Idol, Sarangapani is
regarded with the same importance as the presiding deity. In most Divyadesam
temples, the presiding deity occupies the highest prominence. All
pujas and Alankaras are offered to presiding deity alone. In this
temple, such respects are offered to the procession deity as he acts
on behalf of the presiding deity. Hence, this
temple is revered as Upaya Pradhana Divyadesam
with due respect to the procession deity.
There is a beautifully carved
out 12 pillared mandapa called Tirumamani mandapam in the Sanctum reminiscent
of the similar Mandapa at Sri Vaikuntha and hence it is axiomatic to call this
kshetra a Bhuloka Vaikuntha like Sri
Rangam. Mother is called as Komalavalli Thayar / Padi Thanda Pathini
(Mother would never (leave out) or leave away from her chamber). She is housed
in a separate shrine. A set of padukas (footprints) in the outside prakaram
(enclosure) are worshipped by the devotees as representative of
Vishnu. The shrine for Patala Srinivasa Perumal can be reached by climbing
down a few steps.
108 karanas form
the basic movements of Bharata Natyam, famous south Indian dance. Some of
these karanas are sculpted around the walls of the
temple. Similar sculptures are found in the Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur and Nataraja
Temple in Chidambaram. There is a sculptural
representation of the sage Hema Rishi in the western part of the
temple. The unique aspect of Sarangapani
Temple is that it does not have a Paramapathavasal, (the entrance to
Lord Vishnu’s abode, Vaikuntha) which is opened on Vaikuntha Ekadasi, the 11th
day after the New Moon in Margazhi (December-January).
Theertham associated with this
Temple are Hema Pushkarini (Potramarai Tank), Cauvery River and Arasalaru.
The Potramarai tank, the temple tank, is located opposite to the western
entrance of the
temple. The Potramarai tank has a central hall called Hema Rishi
Mandapam. Taking a dip in the Hema Pushkarini Tank next to the
temple is considered very auspicious. The
temple has two processional chariots carved out of wood stationed
outside the Rajagopuram.
The twin temple chariots weigh
300 tones (660,000 lb) each and have been renovated in 2007. The
chariots were not drawn for some years during the preceding period. The chariots
are next only in size to the ones in Thyagaraja
temple in Thiruvarur and Andal
Temple in Srivilliputhur. The chariots are pulled by
hundreds of devotees across the streets around the
temple twice a year, once during the Brahmotsavam during
April–May and other during Rathasaptami in January–February.
The festival idols of
Sarangapani and Komalavalli are brought to the thermutti (chariot station)
after performing the religious rituals. Thirumangai Azhwar's Thiruvezhukootrirukkai,
a single verse in 46 lines, when seen in numerical order, makes the image of a
temple chariot. The painting depicting the verse in the chariot form is seen in
the
temple. It is believed that the first temple chariot of the temple
was instituted by Thirumangai Azhwar himself.
