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SRIRANGAM(2)

From the Bhakti List Archives

usdeiva • June 11, 1997 


The Great Temple of SRIRANGAM
~~ an Introduction ~~ (Part.2).
Text:  T.S. Sundara Rajan.
====================================

The shrine of tAyAr (SrIranganAyakI)

SrI is the feminine personification of the Grace of the Creator.     
The 
sahasranAmam (occurring in mahAbhAratam) refers to the Lord as 
‘SrI-vatsa-vakshAh’, meaning that SrI dwells in the heart of the 
(anthropomorphic) deity.   The Christian scripture,  for instance, 
affirms that God made man in His own image, and it is acceptable that 
man could contemplate God in human appearance.  Both the SrIsUktam 
and the vishNupurANam contain the core and definition of the SrI 
imagery.    SrI is the embodiment of all auspicious qualities.     
These qualities have been extolled by SrIparASara bhaTTa in his
‘stotram’ known as SrI-guNa-ratna-kOSam.  The sahasra-nAmam refers 
to the Lord both as ‘guNa-bhrt’ and as ‘nirguNa’, that is, the One 
with attributes, and the One transcending attributes.     This
complementariness is matched by the sacred name SrIman-nArAyaNa.  
SrI is worshipped for her principal role of ‘purusha-kAram’, 
intercession with the Lord to show mercy on erring men.   The 
SrIvaishNava religion has steered clear of a polytheistic doctrine 
which stalls by postulating a multiplicity of absolutes or 
infinities.  SrI is therefore not a deity apart from nArAyaNa;  
SrI is ‘anapAyinI’, inseparable.    SrI is unto nArAyaNa as the
brilliance is to the sun, and this is vouchsafed in Sri-rAmAyaNam,
“ananyA rAghavENAham bhAskarENa prabhA yathA”.

The SrIvaishNava know SrI as tAyAr, the Mother. SrIranganAyakI has 
her own exclusive shrine within the precincts of the Great Temple.   
She extends her grace to the devotees through her own festivals 
(which follow close on the calendar of SrIranganAthaÂ’s festivals), 
all celebrated within her own shrine.   The day of asterism
uttara-phalgunI in the month of mInam is of high emotional value, 
for it is on this day that the devotees can worship SrIranganAyakI 
and SrIranganAtha seated together in divine union, and it is 
on this day that SrI rAmAnuja recited his ‘gadya-trayam’ litany.

The sacred tree (‘sthala-vrksham’) of SrIranganAyakI is ‘vilvam’ 
which stands in her shrine, and is of unknown age.  SrIranganAyakI 
is also fondly spoken of as SrIranga-nAcchiyAr and as tAyAr.   
tAyAr appears to us in the classical iconography of holding 
lotuses (‘padma-hasta’), teaching men to be humble, and gesturing
protection.
   
The grace and beauty of tAyAr combine to offer all that a 
supplicant could seek in his devotional life.

The shrine of SrIranganAtha-svAmi 

SrIranganAtha is worshipped in two forms, the ‘achala-mUrti’ 
(or,‘mUla’), the stationary; and the ‘chala-mUrti’ (or,‘utsava’), 
the mobile one.   In the mUla-mUrti, the Lord is  depicted as 
two-armed and reclining in yoga-avasthA (cosmic contemplation) on 
the couch of ananta (Time Infinite).  The ananta-nArAyaNa image, 
and its imagery, have been popular all over the country ~~ such as 
at tiruppullANi near sEtukkarai/rAmeSwaram, tiruvanantapuram, 
SrIrangam, mahAbalipuram, angul in Orissa, deogarh in Lalitpur in 
Uttar Pradesh etc.

The image of SrIranganAtha is reckoned among nine ‘svayam-vyakta’ 
(sui generis, or self-manifested) deities.    

The mahA-nArAyaNopanishad describes the manifestations of nArAyaNa, 
the Supreme,  as five-fold: 

             “ambhas-yapArE bhuvanasya madhyE
                     nAkasya prshThE mahatO mahIyAn
              SukrENa jyOtI:mshi samanu-pravishtah
                     prajApatiS-charati garbhE antah.”

In the ‘param’ state, He is transcendentally Supreme 
(mahatO mahIyAn) and  spans the high heavens (“nAkasya prshThE”)  
in vaikunTham/paramapadam;  ‘vyUham’ is the state of 
diversification as vAsudEva, sankarshaNa, pradyumna and aniruddha, 
of which the vAsudEva form as ‘kshIrAbdhi-nAtha’ 
(“pAlAzhi nI kiDakkum”, “ambhas-yapArE”) is specially extolled;  
the ‘vibhavam’ consists of his various incarnations (most 
significantly the SrIrAma and SrIkrshna avatAram) in the world he 
created (bhuvanasya madhyE); the ‘archA’ is indicated by the dear 
luminous images (SukrENa jyOtI:mshi) consecrated and worshipped 
in temples and households, and accessible (viSEShENa grAhyatE 
vigraham) to the devotees;  as ‘antaryAmI’, he is immanent 
(“charati garbhE antah”) in the hearts of all his creatures. 
  
The vEda refers to him as nArAyaNa the para-brahma, and this is 
how he appears in the mUla-mUrti of SrIranganAtha.     nArAyaNa 
also chose to instruct Man (nara) in the badarI-kshEtram, in 
performing penance; hence in the sanctum of SrIranganAtha, an 
image of badarI-nArAyaNa is installed, issuing the message of 
the ashTAksharI-mantram.

The utsava-mUrti, with his spouses SrIdEvI and bhUdEvI, is the 
lord of glory, the lord of the earth.   He is fondly known as
azhagia-maNavALan, the charmer bridegroom; during a long period 
of rapacious invasion of Srirangam (circa 1320 AD), SrIranganAtha 
was removed to different places and finally restored to Srirangam 
when a difficulty arose in identifying this dear personage as the 
lord of Srirangam. It was the templeÂ’s washerman who, grown blind 
and in his last days, sniffed SrIranganathaÂ’s robes and declared, 
Verily is this our lord! nam PerumAL! So was it that the endearment
‘nam-perumAL’ got accepted and grew fragrant with every remembrance 
of him.

namperumAL is of surpassing beauty and of unknown antiquity;  he, 
verily like the eternal  child krshNa of  brndAvanam, has been the 
unrivalled darling of our sanctified memories,  had animated the 
entirety of the divya-prabandham hymns, and the subsequent 
philosophical literature of the AchArya.   He, this namperumAL, is 
held to have been the household deity of the ikshvAku lineage of 
ayOdhyA and the ancestors of SrIrAma.   Commentators cite two 
verses from SrIrAmAyaNam to this effect:

“saha-patnyA viSAlAkshyA nArAyaNam upAgamat.”   (‘ayOdhyA’)

“ikshvAku-kula-dhanam labdhvA lankAm prAyAt vibhIshaNah.” 
                                                                                                                       
(‘yuddha’)

The latter verse identifies vibhIshaNa (the ‘dharmAtmA’) as the 
beneficiary who received SrIranganAtha as a gift from SrIrAma 
himself and, as the benefactor who installed Him in the sylvan 
setting of Srirangam island.  A sculpture each in the third and 
the fourth enclosures of the temple testify to this benevolence 
of vibhIshaNa AzhvAr, as he is referred to in the Srirangam 
tradition.

The great poet kamban extols this belief, and gOsvAmi tulasIdAs 
addresses a significant prayer to SrIranganatha in the lines,
      “bAr-bAr bar mAngUn, harshi dEhu SrIrang,
       pada-saroj anapAyini, bhagati sadA sat-sang!”

In his fragmentary sequel (entitled sahansar-nAmA) to the 
Adi-granth sAheb, guru arjun-dEv fervently includes the name 
of “SrIrang, vaikunTh-kE-vAsi”. In Rajasthan, the rAjA of Bundi 
styled themselves as SrIrangadAsa.   The kESav-rAi pAtan temple 
situated on the northern bank of river Chambal, off Kota in 
Rajasthan, has a stone tablet  of Sanskrit inscription which 
commences with the invocation, SrIranganAthO jayatu!

SrIranganAtha, or namperumAL, as the archa manifestation 
par excellence, has been hymned by one and all of the AzhvAr, 
and by the feminine incarnation of ANDAL. The AzhvAr tiruppAN 
of humble origin, as well as ANDAL, are believed to have 
attained mystic union with SrIranganAtha.

Sri-vEnkatESvara is held to be SrIranganAthaÂ’s manifestation 
in the north of SrIrangam,  and SrISaurirAja 
(in the temple of tirukkaNNapuram) in the east.

The name SrIrangam stands for the seat of glory 
(‘Sriyah rangam iti’).   

SrIranganAtha presides over the principal kshEtram out of the 
108 vaishNava centres (‘divya-desam’) hymned by the AzhvAr.   
Hence the name ‘peria sannidhi’, the Audience Supreme.

SrIranganAtha is not a ‘remote’ deity but one who receives 
endearments and adorations, as for a child of the household.   
His day begins with tender ‘vINA’ recital, and an elephant and 
cow presented in the sanctuary as auspicious gesture.   He is 
given a bath (‘tirumanjanam’) in pellucid water brought on 
elephant-back from the sacred rivers of kAvEri and koLLiDam.   
His ornaments are invaluable and pleasingly crafted, his victuals 
marked by a special cuisine cooked in his large kitchen known as
‘aravinda-nAyakiyAr peria tiru-maDai-paLLi’.

It is common knowledge that the adoration of this dear Lord of 
SrIrangam transcended orthodoxies, counting among his devotees a 
Muslim princess (tulukka-nAcchiAr) who is enshrined on a panel in 
the second enclosure, and herself receives regular worship in this
citadel of vaishNava orthodoxy.     namperumAL himself savours an
occasional dish of wheat pancake (‘rOTi’)  spread with butter to
acknowledge this connection!   The idea of national integration is
therefore a way of life with the devotees of SrIranganAtha.

In the SrIvaishNava tradition, SrIranganAtha is God Absolute in 
communication with man, and just to gaze at him fervently 
(“sadA paSyanti sUrayah”) is fulfilment itself. The Transcendent 
in proximity of human possibilities, the Deity in person who 
leads men through lifeÂ’s mysteries and the duality of distress 
and delight.   <[@@@]>