Pallikonda Ranganatha Swamy Temple, Idigarai – Legends
Ramanuja
visit to this place during his exile:
As per legend, the Chola King developed hatred against Vaishnavism
and caused many injustices to followers under the influence of certain groups. He
planned to kill Sri Ramanuja and ordered Sri Ramanujacharya to be brought to his court.
Coming to know this, Koorathazhwar immediately rushed back to the mutt in Srirangam
and requested Sri Ramanujacharya and the others to move away to some safer
place. Though not interested in moving, Sri Ramanujacharya had to oblige to his
adamant disciples.
When the soldiers came to the
mutt, Koorathazhwar was dressed up as Ramanujacharya. Mistaken they took him
along with Sri Mahapurna (Periya Nambi) to the royal court in Gangaikonda
Cholapuram. At the court the King thrust a written declaration which read:
"Nothing higher than Shiva exists” and commanded them both to affix their
signatures to it without protest. But both of them refused and argued the
supremacy of Lord Vishnu, quoting from
the Vedas, Upanishads and various other holy texts.
At a stage, the king got furious
and ordered their eyes to be pulled out. On hearing the statement,
Koorathazhwar replied that he doesn't need the eyes which have seen a sinner
like the king and he pulled away his eyes himself. The eyes of Mahapurna were
also gorged by the soldiers and they were sent away from the court. The
ripe-aged Mahapurna died on the way to Srirangam.
Ramanujacharya meanwhile travelled
in the Kongu region covering Palamalai, Guru Adi Malai, Karamadai,
Sathyamangalam and other places.
He left his disciples in these places to spread
Vaishnavism. Finally, he
moved to Melkote in Karnataka along with his disciples and established
Vaishnavism there with the support of the Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana. His disciples settled in Idigarai
seeing the natural beauty and the hospitality of the people. They installed
Ranganatha and established Vaishnava cult. Later, a
temple was built by the Pandya Kings during 14th century CE.
Guru Adi
Malai:
As per legend, Acharya Ramanuja passed through this
place during his exile to Karnataka. Hence, the nearby hill came to be
called as Guru
Adi Malai (the hill with the footsteps of Ramanuja).
Irukarai:
The streams from Palamalai and nearby areas join together at this place to form a single river. An embankment was built on both the banks (Iru Karai) of the river for safety during flash floods. Thus, the place came to be called as Irukarai and later got corrupted to Idigarai.