Srirangam – Sri Ranganathaswamy Koil

Srirangam – a temple town nestled between 2 rivers, the mighty Kaveri and her tributary Kollidam. The very name Srirangam evokes images of tall, colourful, majestic gopurams, bedecked temple elephants, roads lined with shops selling fragrant garlands, coconuts and incense sticks, crowds of devotees queuing up from the wee hours of the morning to get a glimpse of the presiding deity – Lord Ranganatha

There are a lot of legends associated with this holy town. I will share one such with you here:

The Ikshavaku dynasty worshipped the Ranga Vimaanam – reclining form of Lord Vishnu along with his consorts. This murthi or idol was given to the Ikshavakus by Lord Brahma himself. Lord Rama was the descendant of this dynasty. After his battle with Ravana, Lord Rama crowned Vibheeshana as the King of Lanka and gifted him this Idol under the condition that the idol should not be placed on the ground for any reason. Vibheeshana was overjoyed and took the Lord with him to Lanka. On his way, he stopped to bathe after entrusting the idol to a boy who was strictly instructed not to place the idol on the ground. The boy, who was Lord Ganesha in disguise, grew impatient and placing the idol on the sandy bank of the Kaveri, disappeared.

Vibheeshana returned and to his horror found that he could not pick up the idol again. It seemed as if the Lord had decided to stay there on the river bank.

Saddened and disappointed, Vibheeshana prayed to Lord Narayana. The Lord, in turn, blessed him saying that although He would stay in that spot He would always lie facing south, bestowing his benevolent gaze on Lanka.

Years passed and nature took over that spot. The Ranga Vimaanam was lost covered in grass, bushes and trees. After many years, a young Chola prince hunting near the river, heard a parrot reciting a shloka in Sanskrit about a temple buried in the sands. Curious, the prince started excavating but couldn’t find anything. Lord Narayana appeared in his dreams and directed him to dig at a particular spot and the Ranga Vimaanam was unearthed once again.

The chola prince built a grand temple there which stands till date and is known as Srirangam – Ranganathaswamy Koil

There are many legends and anecdotes connected with this temple, which I shall share in my subsequent posts.

In the present day, whenever the word Koil (temple) is mentioned, it is taken to signify this particular temple. Srirangam is well connected to TiruchiraappaLLi (Trichy) by road and rail.

Uthsavams :

Vaikuntha Ekadasi, Vasanthotsavam, Pavitrotsavam, Raama Navami