Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple is the first of the 108 prominent temples of Lord Vishnu, and it is exceptional in terms of its history, architecture, planning, & mythology from an artistic perspective. The sheer magnitude of this monumental art is unparalleled.
“Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple” by Neeharika Gembali delves into the subjects as mentioned earlier, exploring this temple’s uniqueness and iconic nature while discussing a few legends & narratives.
Part I
‘Thiruvarangam’ is a temple located in Srirangam dedicated to Ranganatha Swamy, a reclining form of Lord Vishnu. It is one amongst the few illustrious temples in South India, dating back to the Sangam era, according to the Tamil Literature, and is mentioned in the epic Silappadikaram by Ilango Adigal.
Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, Thiruvarangam is one of eight self-manifested shrines of Lord Vishnu and one of the most important 108 main Vishnu temples. Known by several names such as Thiruvaranga Tirupati, Bhoologa Vaikundam, Periyakoil, Bhogamandabam, Thiruvarangam is the first among the Divya Desams alongside following the Thenkalai tradition of worship.
Part II
Srirangam is also known as the “Temple Island” and the temple complex alone stretches over 156 acres with a perimeter of 4,116 meters. The tremendous site of this gigantic piece of architecture is situated on the island of Srirangam, that is bounded by the Kaveri River and Kollidam River (a tributary of Kaveri).
Covered by rivers on either sides, Srirangam’s Ranganatha Swamy temple has the Sapta-Prakaram design which encompasses the sanctum, gopuram, shrines, pavilions, mandapas, water harvesting systems via temple tanks, and other services with some residential and commercial locations. It has over twenty-one magnificent towers inside all prakaras and the main entrance known as Rajagopuram or the Royal Temple Tower is seventy-three meters high and moves up in eleven progressively smaller tiers.
Part III
Swamy Ranganatha Temple is not only referred to in the ancient Tamil literature of the Sangam era but is also mentioned through stone inscriptions belonging to the Chola, Pandya, Hoysala and Vijayanagar dynasties who ruled over the region. These inscriptions range between the 9th and 16th centuries and tell various stories about the temple.
Vibishana’s Journey: It is said that Lord Brahma worshipped Lord Vishnu for a long time and in his absence, he appointed God Surya or the Sun God to continue the tradition.
Part IV
For a temple as old as Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple, there would certainly be a lot of unique features. A few of them are:
Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple is also considered to be the tallest temple in India with its Raja Gopuram or entrance tower being 73 metres in height.
Part V
Under the Vijayanagara Empire, the temple site saw over 200 years of stability, repairs, first round of fortifications and addition of mandapas. The Vishnu and Lakshmi images were reinstalled and the site became a Hindu temple again in 1371 CE under Kumara Kampana, a Vijayanagara commander and the son of Bukka Raya I.
In the last decade of the 14th century, a pillared antechamber was gifted by the Vijayanagara rulers. In the 15th century, they coated the apsidal roofs with solid gold sheets, followed by financing the addition of a series of new shrines, mandapas and gopuras to the temple, according to George Michell.
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