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).
