Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam – Ranganathar Shrine
(Garba Griha)
The
deity of Sri Ranganatha was first worshiped by Lord Brahma. The deity was later
given to King Ikshvaku to worship, and he brought the deity to his capital,
Ayodhya. Eventually Lord Rama worshiped Sri Ranganatha. When Vibhishana, the
brother of Ravana, came to Ayodhya, he requested permission to take Sri
Ranganatha to his capital in Lanka to worship. He was allowed to do so on the
condition that if he placed the deity on the ground, he would not be able to
move the deity from that spot. Vibhishana agreed and proceeded to carry the
deity south to Sri Lanka. On his way he placed the deity on the ground at
Srirangam, on the bank of the Chandra Pushkarani tank.
Since
that time Sri Ranganatha has stayed at Srirangam. It is said that the deity
faces south, instead of the traditional east, so as to face Vibhishana in Sri
Lanka, to grace him and his kingdom. The sanctum (altar) faces south and the
main entrance is also from the south (normally it is from the east). It is
believed that Vibhishana goes to Srirangam every 12 years to worship the Lord.
The
innermost enclosure is the sanctum of Sri Ranganatha. It is square inside, but
circular outside. The steps of the sanctum are named after Kulasekhara Alwar.
On the upper parts of the walls are paintings that are about three centuries
old. They depict the 108 important Vaishnava Divya Desam temples.
This
temple enshrines Ranganathar in the central sanctum, crowned with gold plated
Pranava Vimanam or Paravasudeva Vimanam. A total of 7 concentric prakarams
surround this shrine, housing several mandapams, tanks and shrines.
The
presiding deity Sri Ranganathar is seen reclining on Adisesha, the holy
serpent. The Moolavar is seen facing southwards towards Lanka. Images of
Vibhishana, Brahma, Hanuman, Garuda, symbols of Vishnu – conch and discus are
seen inside the sanctum.
The main
deity is Lord Ranganatha, or Lord Vishnu, reclining on Sesa Naga. He is
6.4 m (21 ft.) long. Lord Ranganatha is in a recumbent pose with his right
shoulder facing south. He is on a couch provided by the coils of the celestial
serpent Adi Sesa, who has five raised and wide-open hoods. Near his feet are
seated his two consorts, Sri Bhu and Sri Neela.
In front
of Lord Ranganatha is the Utsava-murti of Lord Vishnu, called Sri Manavala
Perumal. This deity is taken out of the temple for processions. Alongside Lord
Ranganatha is Thiruvaranga, who was worshiped as a substitute during the Muslim
period, when the original could not be found. At the feet of the Lord is
Vibhishana, the brother of Ravana.
Above
the main altar is the Sriranga-vimana (golden tower). The Ranga
Vimana over the sanctum sanctorum is shaped in the form of an Om symbol and is
plated in gold. On the four sides of the Ranga vimana are carvings of four
forms of Lord Vishnu. On the south side is Para-Vasudeva; on the west is
Acyuta, on the north Ananda, and on the east Govinda.
Ranganatha also
known as Aranganathar, Ranga & Thenarangathan is
a Hindu deity, better
known in South India & the chief
deity of the Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam. The deity is a resting
form of Lord Vishnu, recumbent on the great form of the serpent god Adisesha, one of the foremost of Hindu Gods. His consort is Goddess Lakshmi, also known as Ranganayaki Thayar (mother
in Tamil). His two other consorts seen next to his recumbent
figure are Bhudevi and Nila
Devi. Most of the deities portray a 'smiling' lord in a
reclining position over the celestial serpent Adisesha in the sea of cosmic dissolution (pralaya). This is the form in which he is open to listening to
all of his devotee's woes, and blesses them.
Apart
from being worshipped by all Hindus, this form is of particular importance to
the Vaishnava community. His name in Tamil means "leader of the place of assembly",
coined from two Tamil words 'Arangam' and 'Nathan'. This temple is of
particular interest for scholars in the south because of the vast history
attached to it in shaping the religion in the south. However, the lack of
proper mention about this temple or Lord Vishnu as "resting on a bed of
snake in an ocean of milk" in the "Puranas", the Vishnu Sahasranama or other Sanskrit texts pertaining to North India
makes it a center of lesser importance in the north.
Symbolic
representation of Ranganatha and Nataraja has been compared as the meaning of
both is the same except for their locations. In Ranganatha, ‘Ranga’ means
"stage" and which in the broadest sense refers to "the world,
the cosmos or better still of the body and the senses". Nataraja also
means the "Lord of the Stage" and in this case his stage is in ‘Chidambaram’ meaning the "sphere of wisdom", while
Ranganatha rests on the milky
way, which is a metaphysical or esoteric concept which is
not easy to interpret as it is perceived in different ways by different people.
The
Pancharanga Kshetrams are the five most sacred Ranganatha temples which are
located on the banks of the Kaveri
River, also spelled as Cauvery. The five Pancharanga Kshetrams in the order of their
successive locations, on the banks of the Kaveri River are: The Srirangapatnam (Karnataka) called the Adi Ranga, the first temple on the banks
of the Kaveri River from the upstream side; the Srirangam, Trichy in Tamil
Nadu known as Adya Ranga (the last temple),
Appalarangam or Koviladi at Tiurppernagar in Tamilnadu, & Vatarangam at Sirkazhi. Sarangapani temple, Kumbakonam is mentioned in place of Vatarangam in some
references.
Parasara
Bhattar, well known poet of the times who has written a commentary on "Vishnu Sahasranama" (thousand names of Lord Vishnu) has noted the
beautiful image of Ranganatha at Srirangam temple as ornamented with basil (Tulsi) garland on the chest (favorite of
Vishnu), Kaustubha, Vaijayanthi hara (a necklace) and a few other
ornaments, which once formed the divine jewelry of Krishna, the avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu, are also
decorating the image of Ranganatha.
The
Ranganatha temple is also the religious center of Sri
Vaishnavism propagated by Saint Ramanuja from Srirangam. The temple worship at the Ranganatha Swamy temples is
done traditionally in the Tamil and Sanskrit scriptures written by the 12 Alvars and Ramanuja.