Search:
Bhakti List Archives

Far East SRIRANGAM

From the Bhakti List Archives

usdeiva • June 6, 1997 


Sri Mohan Sagar and Sri K. Srinivasan (of Quebec) have taken a break
(their message May 27) from abstruse metaphysics, and refer to the
SrI ranganAtha temple in Angkor Vat, Cambodia, built by the king
sUryavarman II in 9-11 cent.   Sri Srinivasan reasonably surmises that
the king had visited Srirangam, maybe also met SrI nAthamuni/
SrI ALavandAr/uDaiyavar.   

He remarks that there cd be a reference to this in the Cambodian mss.
Someone, placed in the former Indo-China region and preferably in
Cambodia itself, cd look up a good history of Cambodia/kAmbOja and tell
us about it.

I have an English translation of a *Tibetan work (circa 14th cent.) of
Buddhist travelogue which refers to the temple of 'ranganAtha' in
kAnchIpuram;  this probably refers to the 'yathOkta-kAri' who is also
in reclension over the Sesha-dalpa.   I have an *article published by an
Assamese anthropologist, containing the photograph of a large-size
sculpture depicting a deity seated over the Sesha-dalpa (something like
in AihoLe, Karnataka).   On a visit to (north) Korea in Sep'94, I had
noticed an imagery like 'SrI' arising from the sea-waves.   The
coronation ceremony of the monarch of Thailand includes recitation of
tiruppAvai stanzas (referred to as 'lOrpA', perhaps in garbled form).

The exposure of srIvaishNava influences and concretisations in the 
Far East is a very fascinating study in itself.    Thank U, Srinivasan!

aDiyen rAmAnujadAsan, T.S. Sundara Rajan.