Ranganatha Swamy Temple is a holy religious place for Hindus located in Srirangam, Karnataka. This temple is dedicated to the Hindu deityBhagwan Vishnu. Here Bhagwan Vishnu is worshiped in the form of Sri Ranganathaswamy. Situated on the banks of river Kaveri, this Ranganatha Swamy temple is considered to be the Vaikuntha of Bhuloka or the abode of Bhagwan Vishnu.
Architecture of Ranganatha Swamy Temple
The entrance of the temple is in line with the Vijayanagara architecture. The roof of the facade is covered with a set of miniature ornamental minarets. Decorated with \"garlands\", the bottom of which has images of Bhagwan Vishnu. In the sanctum sanctorum, the image of Vishnu rests at the feet of his consort Lakshmi, on the coils of the serpent Adishesh, under an umbrella formed by the seven hoods of the serpent. Besides Bhagwan Vishnu, it also has other deities Sridevi, Bhudevi and Brahma ji. There are also other smaller shrines dedicated to Bhagwan Narasimha, Gopalkrishna, Srinivasa, Hanuman, Garuda and Alwar saints in the temple complex. Ranganatha Swamy Temple has been protected by the Archaeological Survey of India as a monument of national importance.
Puratan Prachalit Katha
According to Hindu belief, Sri Ranganathan is an incarnation of Bhagwan Vishnu. According to a popular legend, Gautam Rishi had an ashram on the banks of the Kaveri river in the Vedic period. At that time there was an acute shortage of water in other areas. One day in search of water some sages reached the ashram of Gautam Rishi.
According to his ability, Gautam Rishi honored him and fed him food. But the sages became jealous of him. In the greed of fertile land, the sages together by deceit accused Gautam Rishi of killing a cow and took away his entire land.
After this Gautam Rishi went to Srirangam and worshiped Sri Ranganatha and served him. Pleased with the service of Gautam Rishi, Shri Ranganath appeared to him and gave the entire area in his name. It is believed that on the request of Rishi Gautam, Brahma himself built this temple.
Major Festivals of Ranganatha Swamy Temple
Every year Rang Jayanti is organized in the Ranganath temple on the day of Shukla Paksha Saptami. Celebrated as the birth anniversary of Ranganatha Swami, this festival lasts for a full eight days. It is believed that by taking a bath in the river Kaveri flowing at this holy place on the day of Krishna Dashami, one gets the virtue equivalent to performing Ashta-tirtha.
Adi Shankaracharya and Ramanujacharya had visited this glorious temple in their time and did bhajans.
Popular Name: Sri Ranganathar Swamy Temple