SRIRANGAM
From the Bhakti List Archives
• June 11, 1997
The Great Temple of
SRIRANGAM
~~ an Introduction.
Text: T.S. Sundara Rajan.
__________________________________________________________
Issued by Thiru. Rajeev Ranjan, IAS,
Collector, Tiruchirappalli-620001 (Tamil Nadu)
on the occasion of the visit of H.E. President of India,
Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma,
to the SRIRANGAM TEMPLE
on October 26, 1996.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: This material, with minor corrections and
occasional amplification which any second look entails,
was produced as a booklet for a specific occasion; hence
no claims to present the ‘compleat’ book or anything.
The format of an introduction and material limited to
the four ‘sannidhi’ was set for the author by the
VVIP visit agenda.
The ‘bhakti-list’ phonetic system has been adopted as
serviceable, but it is a disappointment that the E-mail is
insensitive to font variation, italics etc.
The practice of making a plural by adding ‘s’ at the end
has been avoided in respect of non-English words; thus,
it is “the four sannidhi”, and not “the four sannidhi-s”;
“the AzhvAr are reverently mentioned”, and not
“the AzhvAr-s...”. The context will convince the reader
that unnecessary anglicism is best dispensed
with.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
SRIRANGAM ~~ the place and the concept.
Srirangam, situated on a densely green island in river kAvEri
in the Tamil midland, has historic claims as the nucleus of the
Bhakti movement which originated in the Tamil region in the
beginnings of the Christian era, later spread to the
MahArAshtra segment and gradually reached the northern
plains of gangA where it emitted humanistic and egalitarian
vibrations during the Mughal times.
The vaishNava bhakti literature had its seeds in the early Tamil
sangham classics. This consisted of a reference in the
tolkAppiam (the earliest extant Indian language work available)
to the tiruvEnkatam hills, the abode of Lord SrI vEnkatESvara,
and lengthy vaishNava hymns in paripAdal. The well-known
aphoristic work tirukkuraL refers to the trivikrama incarnation
(“aDi aLandAn tAyadellAm”) and the lotus-eye attribute
(“tAmaraik-kaNNAn ulagu”) of vishNu-nArAyaNa as specifically
glorified in the vEda. The SilappadhikAram contains full
vaishNava hymns, besides descriptive references to
SrIranganAtha and SrI vEnkatEsvara. The epic-sequel of
maNimEkhalai refers to the vishNu purANa.
It is in the divya-prabandham (or, the aruLic-cheyal) of the
AzhvAr mystics that bhakti found its home and radiance.
The AzhvAr are reverently mentioned in the bhAgavata
purANam ~~ kalau khalu bhavishyanti nArAyaNa-parAyaNah...
dramiDEshu cha bhUriSah (For, it is in the kaliyugam that
steadfast devotees of nArAyaNa will appear; and plenteously
in the draviDa regions).
The divya-prabandham is the collective corpus of the passionate
hymns of the AzhvAr mystics (5-8 cent. AD). It was
SrI nAthamuni who, in the 10th century, retrieved and compiled
this bhakti treasure which is the pride of the Tamil classical
literature. The SrIvaishnava guru-paramparA (inheritance
order of the preceptors) is held to commence from
Lord SrI nArAyaNa himself, and to centre, rightly so, around
SrI nAthamuni and his grandson SrI yAmuna. The AzhvAr
represented all the caste-groups of the society and their works
enjoy the status of drAviDa-vEda at par with the gIrvANa-vEda
in pre-pANiNI ‘sanskrt’. The divya-prabandham is in the
form of adoration of the deities of 108 temples (divya-dESam)
situated in different parts of the country, and employs every
form of poetics (aNi) and prosody (Chandam) available in Tamil.
Of the 108 temples commemorated, it is SRIRANGAM which is
regarded as the Temple par excellence, and is referred to as the
bhU-lOka-vaikuNTham. It is for this reason that the 20-day-
long festival of vaikuNTha EkAdaSI (in the kArtika-dhanur
months) has acquired a unique prominence in Srirangam.
It is not that Srirangam earned veneration only in the works of
the AzhvAr or other Tamil classics. The marAThi work
dAsabOdham of samartha rAmadAsa, the telugu classic
Amukta-mAlyadA of the vijayanagara emperor krshNadEva
rAya, gOsvAmi tuLasIdAsaÂ’s rAm-charit-mAnas and
guru SrI arjun devÂ’s sahansar-nAma are some of the non-Tamil
works which contain tributes to Srirangam.
It may be mentioned in the passing that the ‘peria-koil’
(Great Temple) of SrIranganAtha-svAmi in SRIRANGAM
ranks among the largest-sized temples and religious centres of
the world, such as Boroboudor in Indonesia, Angkor Vat in
Cambodia, the Vatican in Rome,and Machu Pitchu in Peru.
The bare physical facts about the temple are staggering.
It extends over an area of 156 acres, there are 21 ‘gOpuram’
in all, a total of 49 individual shrines (‘sannidhi’) and 9 sacred
tanks (‘tIrtham’). The ‘punnAga’ is the sacred tree of
SrI ranganAtha. The temple in SrIrangam has, of course, far
greater antiquity than its peers. Srirangam has also had
a recent distinction when (in the year 1987) a 236 ft high
‘gOpuram’ (of 13 tiers and mounted with 13 ‘kalaSam’) was
raised and consecrated over the (existing) southern rAjadvAra
built by achyuta-rAya who ruled in vijayanagara during
1530-1541.
The shrine (peria-sannidhi) of SrI ranganAtha occupies the
core of seven in-set enclosures (prAkAram) ~~ constituting
the total temple-complex, slightly rectangular in shape. This
is the only temple of the vEdic tradition having the full
complement of seven enclosures which have received many a
symbolic and esoteric explanation, such as the seven layers of
consciousness (saptAvaraNam) which one has to penetrate to
attain ‘brahma-jnAnam’. The outermost (and seventh)
enclosure was known as the mADa (to-dayÂ’s chitra) vIthi, the
sixth as trivikrama (to-dayÂ’s uttara) vIthi, the fifth as
akaLankan, the fourth as Ali-nADan (after tirumangai AzhvAr),
the third as kulaSekharan, the second as rAjamahEndran, and
the innermost as dharmavarman vIthi (or, tiruviNNAzhi
pradakshiNam) holding the core of the sanctum sanctorum.
The sanctum is crested with the gold-gilted ‘praNava-AkAra
vimAnamÂ’ with para-vAsudEva-mUrti on the front.
The nucleus of the Srirangam temple was known to the early
chOzha kings (who were titled as ‘kiLLi’, and who ruled from
uraiyUr situated on the southern bank of kAvEri) one of whom
had uncovered it from under heavy layers of silting by the river
kAvEri in its cyclic spate. The temple grew down the ages
through devotion and contribution of several ruling dynasties,
culturing skills and philosophical disquisitions, festivals and
literatures. Its physical development, true to its evolved
character, accommodated every known period and style of
sculpting and architecture. It is reasonable to state that it
was in Srirangam that the culmination and best definition of the
draviDian temple was achieved.
The veLLai gOpuram on the east rises on poignant historic
memories, while the nAn-mukhan (‘chatur-Ananam’) gOpuram
on the southern entrance to the temple is enriched with vivid
terra-cotta of the temple episodes. Besides the main shrines of
SrI ranganAtha and of SrI ranganAyakI, individual shrines are
dedicated to the AzhvAr and the principal AchArya, as well as
some Agama-specific deities. The seated garuDa facing the
main shrine is lofty in height, in scale with the reclining
mUla-mUrti of SrI ranganAtha himself. The cow-pen and
granary (‘SrI-bhandAram’) aresituated to the west of garuDa.
The tranquil eye-view of garuDa directs one to the AryabhaTa
gate, further on to the golden ‘dhvaja-stambham’ (the flag-mast),
before reaching what the kaThopanishad calls the
parama-padam of vishNu, the ultimate destination in the sanctum
where Lord SrI ranganAtha waits to communicate through the
devotee’s longing eyes. For, this is Srirangam, the ‘peria-kOil’
(Great Temple), more than a mere city, a belonging and a longing,
a fulfilment and confluence of all pilgrimages, an ambience of
stimulation and consolation.
The shrine of SrI rAmAnujAchArya
SrI rAmAnujaÂ’s mission was accomplished in Srirangam and,
in a sense, it was SrI rAmAnuja who made what Srirangam grew
to be, the foremost centre of organised worship, the principal
centre of learning and aesthetic sensibilities and human values.
The world outside of the SrIvaishNava community knows
SrI rAmAnuja (1017-1137 AD) as an eminent successor of
SrI Sankara in the vEdic tradition, one who proposed a
pragmatic philosophic modification of SrI SankaraÂ’s doctrine
of monism with its corollary of phenomenal illusion (‘avidyA’
and ‘mAyA’).
SrI rAmAnuja was, however, much more than a mere
dialectician. He had a natural and abiding faith in the vEda,
his dialecics was always informed by pragmatism and enlivened
by a deep humanitarianism, he was lovingly devoted to the Tamil
scripture of divya-prabandham which represented the peak of
human achievement in philosophic profundity, humanistic solace
and literary elegance, he was, like gautama-buddha, a charismatic
leader of men, a sensitive organiser and administrator, and he
ranks among the best-known apostles of truth. His polyvalent
personality is best described, in the words of John Dryden
applied to Shakespeare, as “the large and comprehensive soul”.
SrI rAmAnuja was born in SrIperumpudUr and had his early
education in tiru-puTkuzhi near kAnchIpuram. Dismayed over
his teacherÂ’s limited vision, and pedantry, he sought out for
better sensibilities elsewhere. His inborn humility combined
with his eagerness for knowledge earned for him access to five
eminent preceptors in succession:tirukkacchi nambi, peria nambi,
peria tirumalai nambi, tirumAlai AnDAn, and tirukkOshtiyUr
nambi. He assumed the uttama-ASramam at an early age and
became an anchorite (san-nyAsin) and migrated to SrIrangam in
pursuit of intellectual and religious career and mobilisation of
men in the service of SrIranganAtha. Given his multi-faceted
scholarship, persuasive ability and liberal outlook on human
affairs, he was able to identify and enlist 74 personages
(‘simhAsana-adhipati’) to serve as conduits to irrigate the
extensive community with divine grace and to cultivate genuine
bonhomie (‘loka-hitaishI’). Mudali-ANDAn, his nephew, who
headed the convocation of his 74 disciples, and kUrattAzhvAn,
the scholar-extraordinary, were the mainstay of SrI rAmAnujaÂ’s
career.
SrIrAmAnuja had experienced a deficiency in that he did not have
the fortune to meet the great personage yAmunAchArya (alis
ALavandAr) during the latterÂ’s life-time. Yamuna had left a
message for his vicarious disciple SrI rAmAnuja that he should
write a commentary on the brahma-sUtra to amplify and clarify
the doctrines of the ancient thinkers. This commission took
SrI rAmAnuja (in the company of kUrattAzhvAn) to the
SAradA-pITham in kAshmIram (now in Pakistan-occupied
territory) where he had a happy, if precarious, chance to
go through the bodhAyana-vrtti on brahma-sUtra. Returning to
SrIrangam, SrI rAmAnuja wrote his commentary (famous as the
SrI-bhAshyam) on the brahma-sUtra, with the participation of
kUrattAzhvAn.
The most visible merits of SrI-bhAshyam deserve to be listed.
It had a basic fidelity to the vEda, it upheld an organic unity
suffusing all the vEdic texts through logical reconciliation
(‘samanvaya’) of the seemingly contradictory passages in the
vEda (the bhEda-, abhEda-, and GhaTaka- Sruti), the primary
trust in the essential and functional reality of the phenomenal
world, rejection of the advocacy of despair, delineation of a
positive and humanitarian message of creative freewill
(“krta-prayatnA-pEkshas-tu”) and deliverance and, above all,
a surpassing semantic clarity and logical integrity.
When sectarian intolerance erupted at home, SrI rAmAnuja
had to move to the karnATaka region, and settled down for full
12 years in mElkotE (tiru-nArAyaNa-puram). The local
hoySaLa king vishNuvardhana became devoted to him and
SrI rAmAnuja availed of his support and got mudali-ANDAn to
supervise the building of five temples to SrI nArAyaNa.
SrI rAmAnujaÂ’s return to Srirangam was a great home-coming
and, under his personal tutelage, the twin children of
kUrattAzhvAn (named parASara bhaTTA and vEdavyAsa
bhatta) flowered into outstanding intellectuals who started the
unequalled tradition of philosophic disquisition, vyAkhyAna-
paramparA, which forms the most precious inheritance, to date,
of theTamil language and community in terms of contemporary
information, literary glossary and aesthetic perception.
SrI rAmAnuja was the only personage whose remains were
interred inside the Great Temple precincts. The mUla image of
the AchArya was fashioned over his relics and hence it is known
as the Image per se, ‘tAm Ana tirumEni’. (This image receives,
twice a year, a coat of camphor mixed with saffron, and this
special observance had continued for the last eight centuries
and a half.) The iconic image at his birth-place, SrIperumpudUr,
vividly captures his youthful and handsome appearance and is
known as the Image Dear to Devotees, ‘tamar uganda tirumEni’.
The one in mElkOTE, cast before his return to SrIrangam,
reflects his old age and was blessed by himself; it is known as
the Image Which Pleased Him, ‘tAm uganda tirumEni’.
The shrine of chakkarattAzhvAr (SrI sudarSana)
This shrine is dedicated to Sriman-nArAyaNaÂ’s weapon,
SrI-sudarSanam, the divine discus. sudarSana translates as
the One with Auspicious Appearance. The LordÂ’s other weapons
are the conch, pAncha-janyam; the sabre, nAndakam; the bow,
Sarngam; and the mace, kaumodakI. According to the Tamil
Sangham classics, it was the ancient practice to make infants
wear a medal with the fivesome vaishNava weaponry
(aym-paDai-tAli) embossed on it. These very divine weapons are
carried, even to-day, on the coins of Nepal. The sudarSana-
chakram and the Sankham are popular emblems in Nepal.
The SrIvaishNava observe a five-fold ritual known as
pancha-samskAra, as prescribed in the pAncharAtra-Agamam
and padma-purANam. This is also referred to in the Tamil
scripture, tiruppallANdu of periAzhvAr. The five observances
are: tApah (branding the shoulders with chakram and Sankham),
puNdrah (wearing on the forehead the SrIvaishNava mark
symbolising nArAyaNaÂ’s lotus feet), nAma (assuming the name
rAmAnuja-dAsa), mantrah (the sacred eight-syllable formula),
and yAgah (the daily worship of the household deity).
The sudarSana shrine in Srirangam was installed by the ascetic
kUra-nArAyaNa jIyar who became the first occupant of the gadi
of SrIranga-nArAyaNa jIyar (the pontiff of Srirangam temple)
in 1126 AD [History of the Srirangam Temple: VN Hari Rao].
It was this jIyar who had also visualised and installed the
lofty garuDa facing the main shrine. He was a many-sided
personality and successfully averted many a difficult situation
that arose in the Great Temple of Srirangam. He was an
accomplished mAntrik and was devoted to SrI-sudarSana-upAsana
and, wherefore, he composed a very beautiful and structured hymn
called sudarSana-Satakam.
The sudarSana deity in this shrine is iconised as nArAyaNa
himself, but emphasising the armoury. Devotees, especially when
in distress, flock to this shrine for relief and cure by faith.
The sudarSana shrine in SrIrangam was the first of its kind and
was subsequently replicated in other temples like varadarAja-
svAmi in kAnchIpuram, kAlamEgha in tirumOhUr near madurai,
SrIrangapattanam near Mysore in karnAtaka etc.
/To continue...
- Next message: V. Sadagopan: "PrakeerNa Paddhathi of Sri RanganAtha PaadhukhA Sahasram : 29th Paddhathi"
- Previous message: usdeiva: "SRIRANGAM(2)"
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] [ attachment ]