Fast Facts
| Name: Å›rÄ«rangam, arangam, kÅyil |
| Deity: Å›rÄ« ranganÄtha, periya perumÄḷ, namperumÄḷ, aḻagiya-maṇavÄḷan |
| Goddess: Å›rÄ« ranganÄyakÄ«, Å›rÄ« ranga nÄcciyÄr |
| vimÄna: praṇavÄkÄra |
| River: Cauvery |
| Facing: South |
| Pose: Å›ayanam; ÄdiÅ›esha-Å›ayanam |
| pushkariṇi: candra |
| Tree: punnai |
| Seven prÄkÄra-s and fifteen towers. |
| pratyaksha: Dharma Varma and Ravi Dharman |
| nakshatra: revati |
This mūla image here is svayamvyakta. This site is reckoned as the first among the 108 Divya Desam. It is perhaps the most important one for Sri Vaishnavas.
Srirangam celebrates festivals throughout the year. Vaikuntha Ekadasi in Margali (December-January) is the most important and widely attended.
The traditional story is that the main Deity here was worshipped by the kings of the Ikshvaku dynasty, and that Sri Rama gave Him to Vibhishana as a parting gift at his coronation. As Vibhishana returned south to Lanka he found that he could not take Him beyond this point, between the branches of the Cauvery river. It is believed that Vibhishana, being a cirañjīvī, returns once in twelve years to worship Him for one night.
Worship here is conducted according to Pancaratra Agama. There are separate shrines for each Alvar, Bhagavad Ramanuja, and primary acharyas. There are also significant shrines for other deities — Sri Rama, Narasimha, a huge Garuda, Chakrattalvar, etc.