Sri Ranganathaswami Temple
Srirangam is located 2km north of Tiruchirappalli. The main deity is Lord Ranganatha, or Lord Vishnu, reclining on Sesa Naga. This temple is the foremost of the eight self-manifested shrines of Lord Vishnu (Swayam Vyakta Ksetras). It is also considered the most important of the 108 main Vishnu temples (Divya Desams). This temple is a highly recommended place to visit. It was sung about by all the Alwars (the Tamil Vaishnava saints), except Madhurakavi.

Sri Ramanujacarya made the Srirangam Temple his headquarters. His samadhi (tomb) is within the premises of the Srirangam Temple. Sri Chaitanya, Sri Vallabha-carya, and the Dalai Lama visited this temple.

The Srirangam Temple is the largest temple in India. The temple complex covers 2½ sq km or 155 acres. It is on a 600 acre island surrounded by the rivers Kaveri and Kolladam (Coleroon). After Tirupati, this is the second most visited Vaishnava temple in South India. Over the roof is the Sriranga vimana, which is gold-plated. The temple has a great collection of jewelry.

Each morning at 6.45 am, a cow with her head facing away from Lord Ranganatha and an elephant facing the cow are brought before the altar. Thus when the deity’s doors are opened the first thing that Lord Ranganatha sees is the rear end of a cow and the head of an elephant, which are both considered very auspicious. I was told that instead of a conch-shell being blown, the elephant blows his trunk. This is the most auspicious time to see Lord Ranganatha.

The puja (worship) of the temple is done according to the regulations of the Ramanuja-sampradaya. It is a traditional belief that Adi Sankara installed the Janakarsana Yatra at Srirangam and Dhanakarsana Yatra at Tirupati to attract pilgrims.

The main festival in this temple is on Vaikuntha Ekadasi in December. At that time Lord Ranganatha is brought into the “Thousand Pillar Hall” under a golden dome.

Information
The maha-prasada booth is next to the Garuda Mandapa Hall, near the entrance of the fourth enclosure. There is very nice maha-prasada lemon rice and sweets. There is a Rs 20 camera fee. It is a good idea to engage a guide, as the temple is very large and there are many temples in the complex. The temple is open from 6.15 am to 1 pm and 3.15 to 8.45 pm.

There are many temples and places to see here beside the main shrine dedicated to Sri Ranganatha. Non-Hindus are not allowed in any of these temples, but converted Vaishnavas may be allowed to enter to see the Deities. Non-Hindus can enter many of the halls and view the outside of the temples, which are very interesting. It is a huge place and it can easily take four hours to see everything.

On a normal day there is a wait of about a half hour to see Lord Ranganatha. There are shrines in the temple for Sri Rama, Narasimha, Chakrathalwar, Garuda, etc. There are also shrines dedicated to Vedanta Desika and all the Alwars.

Temple Design
There are seven walls (prakaras) around the temple. The temple has 21 gopurams (towers). The main southern entrance 13- storey gopuram, called Raja-gopuram, is the largest in India. It was finished in 1987 and is 72m (235 feet) high. The passage under this tower is about 30m (100 ft) long. The other gopurams were built between the 14th and 17th century. The temple tank is outside the temple, west of the seventh enclosure.

Seventh Enclosure (Chittai)
Inside the outermost walls, which are 875m (2880 ft) by 750m (2475 ft), there are houses and a bazaar. In the seventh enclosure, by the southern gopuram, is a Vamana temple(Lord Vishnu as a dwarf Brahmin). In the southwest corner of the seventh enclosure there is a fairly large temple dedicated toSri Andal.

Sixth Enclosure
The Jagannath Temple that marks the spot where Sri Chaitanya stayed while in Srirangam is inside the northwest part of the sixth enclosure. Also within the sixth wall are the houses of the Brahmins who serve in the temple. Within this enclosure are the temple’s processional carts.

In the southeast corner of the sixth enclosure there is a temple dedicated to Manavala Mamunigal, the daughter of the Sultan of Delhi, who became very devoted to Sri Ranganatha. There is a painting of the Princess hanging on the wall of this shrine.

Fifth Enclosure (Ahalankan Thiruveedhi)
Before you enter the fifth enclosure (some say fourth enclosure) you have to remove your shoes.

The Rangavilas Mandapa hall is directly in front of the southern gate. Next to this (to your left as you enter the southern gate) is the small, intricately carved Venugopala Temple. Inside the porch of the Venugopala Temple there are paintings which show Krishna having pastimes with the gopis (cowherd-girls). Near this temple there are stairs that lead up to the roof of a nearby building. From there you can get a good view of the gopurams and temple area and can take photos of the gold-plated Sriranga Vimana and the gopurams. To go on the roof you have to get a ticket at the information booth in front of the Venugopala temple.

To the left (west) of the south gate is the Vasantha Mandapa hall and the Chakrathalwar Temple, which is dedicated to the Sudarsana Cakra of Lord Vishnu. To the left of the Venugopala Krishna Temple is a shrine dedicated to Andal.

There is an interesting Museum with bronze and stone sculptures a short walk to the right of the southern gate. The museum is open from 10 am to noon and 3 to 5 pm. Next to the museum is the Samadhi shrine of Ramanujacarya, where you can see his actual body. Srirangam was the preaching headquarters of Sri Ramanujacarya, who spent a good part of his life here.

The Shehsaraya Mandapa (Horsecourt Hall) is on the east side of the temple. It has 8 intricately carved monolithic pillars of men on rearing horses.

On the same side of the temple (northeast side) is the impressive “Hall of a Thousand Pillars.” Each of the 5.5m (18 ft) granite pillars is intricately carved. This hall actually has only 953 pillars. In the center of the hall is a pedestal shaped like a processional car. During Vaikuntha Ekadasi, the processional deity is brought to this pedestal before going on procession.

You can keep proceeding around the temple to the Sri Ranga Nachiyar Lakshmi Temple.
To get to the Sri Ranga Nachiyar Temple from the inner enclosure (inner sanctum), you have to retrace your steps to the 3rd courtyard, because the Paramapada Vasal Gopuram(gate of salvation) on the north side of the third enclosure is always closed, except during the last 10 days of the 20-day Vaikuntha Ekadasi festival. At this time the Lord passes out this opened gate. So you have to proceed out the south gate of the third enclosure until you reach the Garuda Hall, and then you can proceed around the temple (north).

You then exit out the north gate and reach the goddess Sri Ranga Nachiyar Lakshmi Temple, on your left, in the northeast area of the temple. Lakshmi is the consort of Ranganatha. Inside this temple there is the sacred Bilva tree along the north wall.

Along the northeast wall near the Sri Ranga Nachiyar Temple is a shrine dedicated to Vedanta Desika, a famous Tamil Nadu Vaishnava devotee. There is also a temple dedicated to Lord Narasimha by the entrance of the Sri Ranga Nachiyar Temple.

Fourth Enclosure (Alanadan)
Within the fourth enclosure is a huge statue of Garuda and theGaruda Mandapa Hall, which is a beautiful hall with intricately carved pillars. The Garuda Mandapa Hall has 212 pillars. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful halls in the temple. Next to the Garuda Mandapa (to the right of the entrance gate) is the Surya Pushkarani Tank, which is named after the sun-god.

In the northeast corner of this enclosure is the Chandra Pushkarani tank, the moon-pond, where Vibhishana first placed the deity of Sri Ranganatha when he brought the deity here. Next to this tank are shrines dedicated to Lord Rama, Krishna, and Vishnu lying on the serpent Ananta Sesa. Toward the southeast corner of this enclosure is a storage area for the sacred vehicles (vahanas) of the Deities, which are used for processions.

Third Enclosures (Kulasekharan)
To get to the third enclosure you go through the southernAryabhattal Gopuram. The dwajasthamba (flag staff) and bali-peetam (sacrificial altar), both gold-plated, are in front of the inner sanctum. To the left of the entrance gate are shrines dedicated to Lord Vishnu Dasamurti, Lord Hayagriva, and the goddess Saraswati (Goddess of Learning).

Second and First Enclosure (Raja Mahendran Prakara)
After passing through the Nazihiketan Vasal Gopuram, you have entered the last enclosure. As you enter, there is a deity of Krishna to your right. Large mirrors have been put in the corners to reflect the Lord when he issues from the sanctuary (altar).

In the southwest corner is the storeroom of the temple’s treasures. Amongst the large amount of golden items owned by the temple is a gold vessel given by King Edward VII of England in 1875. Behind the deity (north side) is the Tiruvannazhi, the sacred well, and in the northwest corner behind the deity is the Yajnasalai. In the northeast corner is the shrine of Vibhishana.

In the east part of the east corridor, up some stairs, is theArjuna Mandapa. From there you reach the Nachiyar and Serakulavalli Nachiyar shrines. To the south, at a lower level, is the Kili Mandapa. Kili means parrot.

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.

Above the main altar is the RangaVimana (golden tower). 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.

Deities on the Main Altar
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. Along side Lord Ranganatha is Tiruvaranga, who was worshiped as a substitute during the Muslim period, when the original could not be found. At the feet of the Lord is Vibhi-shana, the brother of Ravana.

Story of the Deity
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. Vibhi shana agreed and proceeded to carry the deity south to Sri Lanka. On his way he placed the deity on the ground at Sri rangam, 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 Sri rangam every 12 years to worship the Lord.

Jagannath Mutt & Sri Chaitanya’s Footprints
Jagannath Mutt is a beautiful little temple which marks the place where Sri Chaitanya spent the four months of the rainy season in 1510. The house of Vyenkata Bhatta used to be here. The temple has many paintings depicting Sri Chaitanya’s pastimes at Srirangam. In the center hall of the temple there is a diorama of Sri Chaitanya and a deity of Lord Jagannath. The family descendants of Vyenkata Bhatta still live in Srirangam.

This temple, situated in the northwest corner of the sixth enclosure, is a ten-minute walk from the main entrance of the Srirangam Temple.

About 100m from the south gopuram of the Srirangam Temple, there is a small temple that contains the footprints of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Festivals
Vaikuntha Ekadasi is celebrated for 20 days in Dec/Jan on the Sukla Ekadasi day of the Tamil month of Margazhi. On Vaikuntha Ekadasi day, Lord Ranganatha, wearing a garment of rubies, goes out of the temple in a magnificent procession through the Parampada Vasal gate (gateway to salvation) and goes to the 1000-pillar hall. After Vaikuntha Ekadasi, there is a 10-day festival for Sri Ranga Nachiyar, the goddess Lakshmi, who is brought onto the streets in procession.

In January and April the Lord is taken out of the temple on his processional cart. In March there is a Water Festival at the temple tank, which is outside the temple and west of the seventh enclosure. The Lord and his consort are put on an illuminated boat at night and taken to the stone pavilion in the middle of the tank and offered worship there.

During a nine-day festival in March/April the Lord goes to the temple of Sri Nachiyar, at Woraiyur, to meet his consort. This festival includes several processions, an abhishek (sacred bathing), and a quarrel between the Lord and his consort.

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